The Wives ending explained: What really happened to Annabelle in C5 thriller?
By Helen Fear |The Wives has come to a deliciously twisted conclusion, with the baddie finally revealed, and Annabelle's disappearance explained - so here's what happened in the ending.
The Morgan women got the shock of their lives at the end of episode 5, when their 'dead' sister showed up just in time to run Maltese small-time criminal Luca over with her van.
But where had she been for a year? The truth slowly came out in the series finale... Here's everything you need to know about Channel 5's The Wives final episode in our ending explained.
***Warning: spoilers from The Wives episode 6 ahead***
The Wives episode 5 mini recap
Episode 6 of the Channel 5 and My5 six-parter The Wives began exactly where the penultimate episode had ended... Sylvie, Beth, and Natasha were picking their jaws off the ground after realising Annabelle was actually alive.
At the end of episode 5, the three sisters-in-law attempted to lure out 'OceanMagic22' - the anonymous texter who had been messenging Sky.
Instead, Luca turned up, having tracked them on their phones. He pulled a gun on them. However, before he could do any damage, a white van arrived and ploughed into him. The driver? None other than 'dead' Annabelle (played by Sherwood actress Christine Bottomley).
Of course, 'OceanMagic22' turned out to be Annabelle, attempting to contact her daughter.
The Wives ending explained: What really happened to Annabelle?
Annabelle revealed she had been in hiding for one year, since she vanished the previous summer. She faked her own death, and allowed her family - most importantly her daughter Sky - to believe she was dead.
She then explained that Charlie had tried to have her killed. Annabelle told her sisters-in-law that Charlie had paid hitman Luca to abduct Annabelle, and get rid of her.
In her words, Annabelle had tried to leave Charlie, but he wasn't prepared to let that happen. His motive? Annabelle's money.
Crucially, she also revealed that Beth had "set Annabelle up with a text". Someone had texted Annabelle from Beth's phone, asking her to meet. That's when the hitman pounced. The text was then mysteriously deleted.
Why didn't Annabelle just go to the police?
Annabelle told her estranged family that she had paid Luca to let her go. She promised to stage her own death, and disappear.
If she reappeared, and proved Luca hadn't completed the job, Luca threatened to kill to Sky... So she was blackmailed into keeping quiet.
We're not sure we buy it. Which leads on to our theory below...
The Wives ending explained: Did Charlie try to kill wife Annabelle?
No, Charlie was guilty of being smug, insensitive, and an adulterer, but he did not hire a hitman to kill his wife Annabelle.
Of course, in true thriller fashion, we were led to believe it was him until the very end. Especially, when he tried to avoid arrest by heading to the port with Sky and Jade.
In an attempt to do a runner, Charlie hoped to get a boat to Sicily. However, Frankie alerted wife Beth who made her way there, closely followed by the police...
Charlie was about to leave on a boat when the police arrived and threatened to shoot him…
His reasons for running? He didn't trust the police to believe he was innocent. At the end of The Wives series 1 episode 6, Charlie was rotting in jail having been set up, while the real culprit walked free...
The Wives ending explained: Who was Sky's dad?
Beth had voiced her suspicions in episode 5, and found out conclusively in episode 6 that her husband Frankie had slept with her sister-in-law Annabelle.
He insisted it was a one-night stand at a drunken Christmas party. Annabelle confirmed that Sky was Frankie's daughter.
When Beth confronted Frankie about his infidelity, he begged her not to leave him. Although Beth was frosty as hell with her husband afterwards, it was unclear whether they'll separate or work through it.
Who paid a hitman who kill Annabelle?
Some weeks later, we saw Frankie visiting a broken Charlie in prison. Acting the concerned brother, he got Charlie to hand over the business until he gets out... Like when hell freezes over.
That's when the alarm bells really started ringing... In the next scene, we saw Frankie meeting with undead Luca. He handed him a bag of cash, and told him he needed "to finish the job he paid him to do a year ago" and then leave Malta.
Beth's husband Frankie was the culprit all along. Not only was he Sky's secret dad, he was the 'family member' who had paid Luca to kill Annabelle.
Why? Although it wasn't explained, we can assume it was all about money and power. At the end of the series, Frankie had control of the business, including eventually Annabelle's money. He also asked Sean to join the business - presumably for his own gain.
We also know that Frankie had always lived in Charlie's shadow. So what better way to get revenge?
What else happened in The Wives final episode?
At the end of The Wives, everything seemed like happy families again (mostly). Sky was reunited with her mum Annabelle, and the sisters-in-law were all reunited. Sky seemed remarkably happy, bearing in mind her dad was in jail for trying to kill her mum!
Viewers saw that Natasha had the secret stash of poker chips in her wardrobe... Would Luca ever be back to claim them? She's obviously assuming he won't (as she thinks he's dead).
The Wives ending explained: Will there be a series 2 of The Wives?
Channel 5 has not yet confirmed if there'll be a series 2 of The Wives. In some ways, it was the perfect ending for a thriller, although not for Charlie obvs... However, the ending of The Wives series 1 episode 6 certainly left enough loose ends for a series 2.
Will innocent Charlie languish in jail forever more? Will Frankie get away with murder? And will Luca actually go ahead with the hit?
Also, our theory is that Annabelle and Frankie could have been in it together. We can't be the only person who saw Annabelle smiling as Charlie was arrested? This could all be investigated by amateur sleuth Beth in another series.
And Frankie and Annabelle do have a child together? Watch this space.
