After the Flood season 2 ending explained: Heartbreak and redemption

If you thought season 1 of the hybrid crime and environmental thriller After the Flood was dramatic, season 2 raised the stakes – and then some.

It opened with the discovery of two bodies: Xav Palmer and Todd Drake, both of whom had been shot after they were already dead. The baffling case was one that Jo, now a newly qualified detective, was determined to crack.

But that wasn't the only investigation unfolding.

Away from the spotlight, Jo and Pat – separated after Jo discovered he'd been pocketing backhanders through his involvement in Mackie's illegal schemes, a decision he had since come to deeply regret – were secretly building a case against the sergeant.

Mackie had the power to destroy them both, with Pat facing up to seven years in prison if his corruption came to light. Still, despite the risks, they pressed on and appeared to make a crucial breakthrough.

But Mackie was already one step ahead and refused to go down without a fight, triggering a devastating finale that shattered Jo's world.

For a full recap of how After the Flood season 2 wrapped up, read on.

After the Flood ending explained

Is Pat dead?

If you thought Pat would miraculously recover from his harrowing ordeal, you were sadly mistaken.

After Mackie read Pat's texts on Jo's phone explaining that he'd tracked down Saskia Bale – one of the many young people the sergeant had fostered and exploited as part of his criminal schemes – and believed they finally had enough evidence to bring him down, he took drastic action.

Mackie lured Pat to the beauty spot where he had once proposed to Jo by sending messages from her phone. After revealing himself, Mackie attacked Pat with his baton, then fetched a rock and repeatedly smashed it over his head.

Pat was still alive at that point – but only just.

In one final act of vengeance, Mackie kicked Pat's limp body over the edge of the sheer rock face and he died on impact.

Does Mackie get his comeuppance?

After Mackie beat Pat with his baton, the detective managed to throw his phone into nearby bushes while Mackie went to retrieve a rock to finish him off.

That quick thinking allowed Jo to track him down, eventually discovering Pat's lifeless body. But that wasn't Pat's only stroke of brilliance.

He had also placed a tracker on Mackie's car, proving the sergeant was present when Pat died. Despite Mackie's protestations, the data, stored on Pat's phone, was there in black and white.

Jo then launched herself at Mackie, but he grabbed her and threatened to take them both over the edge. She successfully fought back, however, unleashing the full extent of her fury on him, before two police officers swooped in and arrested him.

As Pat's body, concealed in a body bag, was wheeled into an ambulance, Mackie was taken away in a police car. With tracker data and forensic evidence stacked against him, all signs point to Mackie going to prison for Pat's murder.

And now that DS Sam Bradley has been alerted to Mackie's wider wrongdoings, an investigation seems inevitable – one that could finally embolden those previously too afraid to speak out, including Saskia.

Who was DS Sam Bradley really?

Jill Halfpenny's DS Sam Bradley was an anti-corruption officer, sent to Waterside to investigate Jo and Pat.

The trail began with Pat's brother-in-law Keith, who had unknowingly provided a link. Keith had been entangled in Jack Radcliffe's insurance fraud scheme involving "stolen" farming equipment.

Original murder victim Daniel Eden and Lee Ellison, who had previously been fostered by Mackie, oversaw the shipments, while Mackie and Pat ensured there was no police interference.

When the operation collapsed, Keith pleaded guilty to tampering with shipping container documentation, but insisted he didn't know who he was really working for.

Joining the dots, authorities discovered his connection to Pat – a detective in the serious crimes squad with access to sensitive intelligence – and to Pat's wife Jo, also in the police.

The inquiry found that the couple had amassed more than £23,000 in joint savings via cash deposits over seven years (all Pat's doing), a major red flag that prompted Sam's covert investigation.

Who killed Xav Palmer?

Declan – Donna Rower's son and councillor Tony Rower's grandson – murdered Xav.

Devastated by his grandfather's cancer diagnosis, Declan drank heavily. Later, Xav arrived at the house looking for the Benson family's stolen shotgun, which he had hidden there.

This followed Xav injuring his leg while trespassing on Geoff Dixon's land and managing to evade Jo.

Already volatile, and harbouring deep resentment towards Xav – who treated Donna with consistent disrespect – Declan snapped, stabbing Xav multiple times with a screwdriver.

Tony initially took the blame and was the one who shot Xav's body with the Benson gun, in an effort to link it to Todd's death after learning that crucial detail from fellow councillor Molly, who had been told by Jo.

Who killed Todd Drake?

Todd died in a car accident – but Xav later shot his body.

Xav broke into the Aexous chemical plant with Todd, whom he'd met at a grief group, and Layal, a local teacher and member of Molly's cold-water swimming crew. They were searching for evidence of illegal chemical discharges into the river.

Inside, Todd suffered an epileptic seizure, forcing them to flee empty-handed. While escaping in the van, Todd's condition worsened, causing Xav to crash. Todd was killed on impact.

They later dragged his body onto the moors, where Xav shot the corpse with the Benson's shotgun to make it look like murder.

Who was poisoning the river?

It was Alan Benson all along who was poisoning the river.

Years earlier, Benson had sold farmland to Geoff Dixon that had once been used as Benson landfill. Beneath the land – and directly under the water table – sat barrels of toxic waste, later uncovered by Jack.

Initially, Jack considered exploiting the discovery to recoup losses from his failed business in season 1, persuading Benson to write him a cheque in exchange for silence.

But thoughts of Molly ultimately pushed him to do the right thing, demanding Benson publicly admit responsibility and clean up the contamination he'd caused.

After the Floods airs on ITV1 and ITVX.

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