“Black Bird” Episode 5 was probably the most melancholic hour in a miniseries or any piece of work in the crime genre. In addition to unfolding the “friendship” between Jimmy (Taron Egerton) and Larry (Paul Walter Hauser), it told the story of one of Larry’s alleged victims, Jessica Roach (Laney Stiebing), via the storytelling device called narration. And it was done with the sole purpose of establishing the fact that a victim of a hate crime is never defined by it. They live a life before a monster masquerading as a human being comes to get them. In that life, they are loved, and they love others. That is their legacy. Because if they are remembered for the crime that was committed against them, then the perpetrator wins, even if they get the death penalty or life imprisonment for their actions. Also, Jimmy gets pretty concrete proof that Larry is a stone-cold killer.
Spoilers Ahead
Jimmy Learns About Larry’s Map
The final episode of “Black Bird,” titled “You Promised,” opens with a disturbing montage to illustrate the nightmare Jimmy is experiencing. He is woken up by Larry, who says that his stories could be the reason for the nightmares. Jimmy points out that since Larry is referring to his confessions as “stories,” that means he has lied to him about doing anything criminal. When Larry tries to convince him that he isn’t lying, Jimmy starts to tease him about his details being off. He says that Larry keeps talking about digging graves, but, as per his story, he never dug one for Jessica Roach. Larry drones on about not getting the right moment to do the burying while Jimmy refutes all of it. That aggravates Larry so much that he shouts at him. Jimmy pretends he still doesn’t believe him. So, Larry asks him to come to the woodshop later so that he can prove his point.
Later, Jimmy is visited by CO Carter (Joe Williamson), and he tries to get him to talk about the person he’s supposed to rat on. So, Jimmy plays a game of chicken with him just to hide the fact that he’s actually a snitch, and Carter goes away, for the time being. We briefly see James Keene (Ray Liotta) suffering another stroke before going back to Jimmy. This time, Vincent Gigante (Tony Amendola) pays him a visit to give him a veiled death threat. James goes to the woodshop where Larry is working on a map, which is surrounded by his wooden bird toys. He says that he’s going to ship them to Gary (Jake McLaughlin) and explains that each of the birds he has carved essentially represents all the people he has killed. Jimmy remembers the etchings on the paper that Larry just rolled up and realizes that it’s actually a map pointing out the exact spots where Larry’s victims are buried.
As per usual, Larry starts to compare his alleged killings with Jimmy’s body count and tries to instill meaning in every interaction he has had. Jimmy says that if every interaction in the world held the same weight, everyone would go insane. This infuriates Larry and he explains how he is a deity to his victims, performing acts of kindness on them. Jimmy asks him to be specific, and Larry confesses to killing Tricia Reitler (Rachel Looney). Actually, not just Tricia, but a total of 21 (or more) girls. Jimmy requests that he give his victims some much-needed peace by revealing their locations and letting their loved ones find them. Larry says he won’t because then he isn’t going to win his appeal and get to live beyond those walls again. Finally, Jimmy loses his cool and reveals that he’s there to out Larry for the murderer that he is. Larry attacks Jimmy, and the following day, Jimmy is thrown into solitary confinement.
Gary Indirectly Admits That Larry Is A Killer
While James recovers in the hospital, Jimmy rots away in solitary confinement, begging for a pen or a pencil or anything that he can use to draw Larry’s map before he forgets the details. With no other option left, Jimmy bites into his fingers, draws blood, and starts to etch the map onto the walls with it. Larry mails the map along with a wooden bird to Gary. Officers Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi) and Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear) arrive at the Hall household. As Gary starts to compliment McCauley on her looks, she tries to use this opportunity to shift the conversation indoors. Gary realizes that they intend to look for something and asks them if they have a warrant to enter the premises. Brian says that they don’t. So, Gary says that, in that case, they’re going to have the conversation outside, and he goes in to fetch water (or lemonade, maybe).
McCauley waves to Robert (Charles Green), but he doesn’t wave back and continues to burn whatever he’s burning. Then she and Miller sit down with Gary to talk about Larry’s appeal and slowly pivot the conversation into his misdeeds in an attempt to get further confirmation about Larry’s case. Initially, Gary resumes his old spiel about how Larry only wants to be seen, and that’s why he tells these tall tales, but he’s actually innocent. Miller doesn’t fool around and says that he knows that Gary knows that Larry is guilty of killing all those girls. Gary goes inside, and the officers get ready to draw their guns because they assume that he’s packing. Instead, Gary appears with a bunch of folders and a pack of six. He asks them to look through it and see Larry for the person, while he has his beer.
In the prison, Jimmy tries to convince a CO that he isn’t rambling and that he needs to get in touch with the FBI. But the CO reacts negatively and tells him to not mention the FBI to him again. We cut back to Miller, McCauley, and Gary, talking about their family history and their present situation. McCauley tries to bring the conversation back to the topic of Larry doing terrible things. Gary is initially hesitant to talk about it because he thinks the FBI is going to press more charges against him. But, eventually, he starts telling the story of picking up a hitchhiker 10 or 15 years ago who got drunk. Gary wanted this girl to “take Larry’s cherry.” From what I can gather, Gary then sexually molested her (because he says that once she was not feeling any pain) and then passed her on to Larry. And he admits that Larry essentially raped the girl.
‘Black Bird’ Ending Explained: What Is Larry’s Fate? What Line Of Work Does Jimmy Choose?
The conversation between Miller, McCauley, and Gary ends with Miller accusing Gary of always knowing that Larry is a killer. At the prison, Jimmy is finally rescued by Dr. Zicherman (Christopher B. Duncan), and McCauley rushes in to apologize for the whole misunderstanding. But all Jimmy keeps asking for is a pen. He starts drawing the map and marking the burial spots. Gary receives the package from Larry. Jimmy also reveals the murder weapon Larry used to kill Jessica Roach and that Larry told him how he folded the clothes after killing Tricia Reitler. McCauley realizes that that’s the key to keeping Larry in jail. Robert Hall burns the map and the wooden toy. Jimmy’s sentence is commuted. He finally meets Miller, who thanks him for his work. He regrets not finding the places where the girls are buried, but McCauley assures him that his work has ensured that Larry won’t bury any more girls.
Larry’s appeal is rejected, and he is sent back to jail. A line of text states that after losing this appeal, Larry tried to take his own life and failed. We see Jimmy returning to James and Sammy (Robyn Malcolm). Jim apparently died of a heart attack five full years after Jimmy was released. Next, we see Gary paying Larry a visit at the prison. Larry appears sick and tired. He says he is suffering from insomnia. He says that he doesn’t belong in prison. But Gary says that he does. Larry appears shocked as Gary says that he’s guilty of the things he’s been accused of and he should accept it. Jimmy appears to be back doing his whole womanizing thing. However, as he looks out of the window and at the green patches of land, he is reminded of Larry and his horrifying stories. We learn that Larry eventually went back and forth about the murders, but the bodies were never found. He’s still in jail. And Jimmy is still helping the FBI profile serial killers.
