The Capture series 3 ending explained: Rachel Carey's bitter loss against 'Simon', and what this means for a possible S4
More red herrings than a fish market
The Capture series 3 has come to a tense – sometimes bewildering – ending and, if you came away understanding everything that happened, you probably deserve a special qualification in Correction.
Long story short, reinstated SO15 Commander Rachel Carey fought the ‘bad guys’ (also known as The Increment) and lost. Spectacularly. In fact, she even tried to play them at their own game by using Correction to deepfake footage. But she was just a lone woman standing in a viper’s nest of middle class, middle-aged white men who ruled the world. Devastatingly for her, the ending seemed to show that she could never win against them.
Back as Commander, Rachel Carey was working autonomously and had the ‘power’ she needed to hunt down The Increment. But it just wasn’t enough. Basically, nothing Rachel saw was real. And she couldn’t trust anything. And frankly, neither could we. Rachel was fighting a losing battle, although at the end she swore she would not give up.
Here’s the ending of The Capture series 3 unpacked, and news on a possible series 4. Note: Noah Pierson was revealed to be Captain William Walker. But we will refer to him as Noah throughout this article for the purposes of clarity. Frankly, I think we’re all confused enough already.
***Warning: spoilers from The Capture series 3 ending ahead***
What happened in The Capture series 3 ending?
The penultimate episode of The Capture series 3 dropped several bombshells. First of all, Noah Pierson confessed to Isaac’s murder (even though we’d known it all along). He later revealed his ‘real identity’ as William Walker, Special Forces. As Noah and Rachel reluctantly worked together to bring down The Increment, Noah revealed he was being coerced by The Increment who had control over his heart device.
Of course, we also learnt that Rachel Carey’s colleagues Kendricks and Paige had been compromised. The Increment had ‘dirt’ on them, and had blackmailed them into compliance. But the biggest bombshell of all was that Simon was actually AI, not a real person.
The final episode picked up where we left off, with Rachel Carey and Noah Pierson taking refuge with Gemma, Danny and Wizard. But it wasn’t a refuge for long. Reptilian former Home Secretary Rowan Gill threw DSU Gemma Garland under the bus during the Frederickson Inquiry into Correction. He exposed her as the “mystery MI5 female spy” who had run the Correction programme. Gemma was actually Jacqueline Goldcross, who had posed as a high-ranking police officer working at the heart of Counter Terrorism Command. She was a shady so-and-so, but we’d grown to like her. And so had Rachel, who saw her as a kind of mentor.
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‘Correction kept us safe’
During the inquiry, Gemma explained the need for Correction. She said: “During my 10 years under cover inside SO15, MI5 had failed to stop a succession of terrorist attacks. The public were tired of excuses. We needed to find a way to stop violent extremists before they could act. Correction kept us safe. It stopped mass shootings. It saved lives.”
Shockingly, she was shot dead during the Frederikson Inquiry by The Increment assassin Noah Pierson, who was back under their control. Whether Gemma was actually dead is also up for debate, but more on that below. And, of course, the footage of Gemma’s death was deepfaked to incriminate James Whitlock again.
Confronted with Noah in the tunnels underneath London, Rachel said: “You just killed Gemma Garland.” To which Noah replied: “I know. I am as surprised as anyone. I was coming to save you. But as soon as I powered up my heart and my hand set there was a new mission waiting for me. I’m a soldier, I follow orders.”
Of course, with Gemma Garland dead, the world would believe that Correction had died with her. Noah told Rachel: “If you leave Simon to use Correction as he wants, he’ll leave you alone.”
Meanwhile, we learnt that the whole Frederickson Inquiry into Correction was also a total cover-up. Lord Justice Frederickson (played by Adrian Rawlins) was in on it, too. Despite seeing Noah Pierson murder Gemma Garland in cold blood, Frederickson joined the chorus saying it was John Whitlock. It was a whitewash.
The Capture series 3 ending: Who was Simon?
Simon was a computer. Yes, artificial intelligence was making the UK’s biggest decisions. We learnt that AI was being used to support, map, execute and command ops.
Simon was able to factor in more risks and variables than any officers on the ground, “eradicating human error”. As we were told “the stats don’t lie”.
Computer Simon was calling the shots. It was Simon who ordered the death of Isaac Turner, Gemma Garland, and John Whitlock. Simon ordered The Increment to take Rachel Carey hostage, and was controlling Noah Pierson’s actions.
In The Capture series 3 ending, Colonel Figgis – following Simon’s orders – wanted the UK on a war footing to increase military spending. Figgis told Rachel: “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
What was Noah Pierson’s real identity?
Rachel Carey discovered that Noah Pierson was actually Captain William Walker of UK special forces. But not just any special forces. He was a member of The Increment.
One year before the events of The Capture series 3, Noah was sent on a mission to Russain-occupied Ukraine with his squadron. Their mission? To free the Ukrainian hostages held there. However, the mission went horrifically wrong, and all the hostages were killed – something Noah struggled to forgive himself for. His lasting image of the 22 hostages before the Russians bombed them was the face of a flame-haired, rose-skinned woman called Clara staring hopelessly at him… Remind you of anyone?
When Noah was left behind at the camp, the sole survivor and in great danger, The Increment saved him. Something they used to make him feel indebted to them. They put a cardiac recorder in his chest for two purposes. Firstly, to make him “perform better than before” and, secondly, to keep track of him. Basically, they used him as lab rat.
When they asked him to kill Isaac Turner, because Simon said it needed to be done, Noah actually said no and tried to leave The Increment. But they used his implant to control him. They had essentially implanted a “kill switch”. Without the implant he could barely function. He became their puppet and was “just a cog in the machine”. He was forced to kill Isaac Turner, or be killed himself.
After Noah Pierson killed Gemma Garland, Rachel Carey fatally shot him. But, really, he was a pawn in a much bigger game that really no one else understood apart from the men in the centre of it.
The Capture series 3 ending: Who were The Increment?
Noah was part of an elite squadron – aka E-Squadron – who called themselves The Increment. Not part of the SAS (Special Air Service) or SBS (Special Boat Service), they were comprised of “the very best of the very best of both”. They were answerable to no one but themselves, and MI6.
At the top were Former Home Secretary Rowan Gill, Dr Neuman, and Colonel Figgis. In Noah’s words, they were an “AI worshipping cult”.
In a bid to bring The Increment down, Rachel Carey played them at their own game. She used Correction to recreate the footage of the QE2 attack. Rachel, and a select few of trusted staff, used AI to show Noah Pierson as the shooter. Of course, this was what had actually happened. She was simply restoring the footage to its original form.
Video of Noah Pierson shooting Isaac Turner was “recovered” and released to press. Appearing live to the nation, Rachel Carey told viewers: “The footage of James Whitlock was deep-faked. He was nowhere near Westminster when Isaac Turner was shot.”
She continued: “William Walker was not acting alone. And we will not stop until all the people behind this act of treason is bought to justice.”
But, of course, The Increment – or rather Simon – was one step ahead. Just seconds later, they realised their own version of the news. And Rachel Carey was powerless to stop it.
Was Noah Pierson really a Russian spy?
E-Squadron The Increment flooded the internet with disinformation about Noah Pierson’s true identity William Walker. They released doctored footage of him speaking Russian, and ‘revealed’ him to be a Russian agent called Sajmonu Sedkin.
This fit their narrative. They rewrote history, saying that Pierson/Walker was actually working for Russian Black Ops. Of course, none of it was true. Confronting Colonel Figgis in the closing scenes of the series, Rachel said: “You’re staging a Russian false flag op. What’s the end game? Simon says WW3?”
In fact, the shady powerful figures at the heart of The Increment wanted the UK to feel attacked by Russia. The country subsequently began preparing for war in response to Russia’s “act of war”. Even though, Russian spy Sajmonu Sedkin wasn’t real, and Russia hadn’t really instigated the death of Isaac Turner at all.
Why did Noah Pierson kill Isaac Turner?
Neil Pierson, who was actually Captain William Walker, killed Isaac Turner. He admitted it in episode 5. But, of course, we knew already knew that. As did Rachel, as she’d seen it first hand in The Capture episode 1.
Isaac was intent on rooting out deep fake. But certain powerful forces (aka Simon) didn’t want this. After all, they were abusing it to get what they wanted.
Simon’s algorithm predicted that Isaac Turner would “start a war with Russia if he became Prime Minister”. Or not start a war with Russia – “whatever was cool with The Complex at the time”. The Complex? Noah explained they were “military” and “industrial”.
In short, Simon believed that Isaac was a threat to British democracy. The computer also told Noah to kill Rachel Carey, although it knew he wouldn’t. After all, Rachel looked like the Ukrainian Clara. As Noah told Rachel: “Simon predicted I would choke.”
Noah was then assigned his next mission. Transform from Will to Noah, take over the CTC and get innocent man Whitlock charged with Isaac Turner’s murder. In the meantime, they knew they would be “killing Rachel’s reputation” as she continued to insist she saw Noah kill Isaac – despite the “corrected” footage showing otherwise.
Why was James Whitlock framed?
The Correction programmes’s first case was that of James Whitlock. Seven years before, he started sending serious death threats to local councillors, police officers, and magistrates. He “posed a serious threat to public safety”. So SO15 hacked his devices and “discovered a murder manifesto”. He was planning a shooting spree and had filmed a confession. When he got spooked, James deleted all the evidence, and SO15 used Correction to “recreate it”.
He subsequently got 18 years for conspiracy to murder. Until Rachel Carey exposed Correction and Whitlock was set free.
In a bid to get him back behind bars, the compromised footage of Isaac Turner’s murder was deepfaked to show James Whitlock as the gunman. An easy target, he had previously been accused of malicious communications, threat to kill, and conspiracy to murder. All overturned at the time.
Of course, after being framed for Isaac Turner’s murder, he was accused of mass murder, preparation of terrorist acts, and possession of an unlicensed firearm. He was Simon’s puppet, but swore he didn’t kill Isaac Turner.
The Increment wanted James Whitlock charged with the murder of Isaac Turner. He was only ever a scapegoat. When CTC released him on bail, he was killed by The Increment.
What happened to Rachel Carey in The Capture series 3 ending?
Meanwhile, the E-squadron with Colonel Figgis at its head had something on Rachel Carey. They knew she’d used Correction to try to expose them at the live news conference. They also knew every detail of her inner life. She would never be free of them as they would always have the power to trip her up using advanced AI and tech. And how much of the events in series 3 had been manipulated entirely to get Rachel to use correction in the first place?!
In The Capture series 3 ending, Rachel was a broken woman. She had fought the corrupt men in power and failed (albeit heroically).
In a fraught scene with Colonel Figgis, he made it clear they could work side by side in the future – if Rachel stays in her lane and doesn’t interfere with The Increment’s work.
In short, they silenced her. Lonely, outnumbered, and fighting a losing battle, Rachel sought solace from her sister Abigail. In fact, she even asked her to move in with her. It was a moment of humanity in a hopeless situation.
Did DSU Gemma Garland really die?
In the very last few seconds of The Capture series 3, Rachel Carey posed for a selfie with her sister Abigail. Once Abi went to bed, Rachel looked more closely at the picture and was stunned to see Gemma Garland’s face in the background. Zooming in, Rachel saw her old adversary in the background of the selfie she and Abigail had just taken.
Immediately, we assumed her shocking death had been deepfaked, too. But then our rational brains took over. I mean, cut us some slack, it was a looooong 75 minute episode and we’d begun to doubt every single thing we’d seen.
Gemma’s swish flat was high-up in a tower block, hardly likely that Gemma Garland – or the ghost of – had arrived on her balcony in the dead of night. Then, when Rachel looked back at the picture, the image of Gemma had disappeared…
Was Rachel finally losing her mind? Or, more likely, was The Increment showing Gemma that they controlled everything, even her mobile phone? More sinister still, they seemed to be sending her a warning. The threat very clearly said ‘bother us and you can expect the same fate as Gemma’.
What else happened in The Capture series 3 ending?
- James Whitlock was released and his files were deleted. Of course, The Increment subsequently killed him. He was simply a pawn in their game, and no longer useful.
- Paige had been blackmailed by BBC journalist Natasha, and was the leak within CTC.
- Carey’s transport was hijacked when she was kidnapped by Figgis. Once in their custody, The Increment pretended to have Rachel’s sister Abi as a hostage and ‘shot’ her. We later discovered this was a deepfake. But it showed that Rachel was prepared to do whatever it took to protect national security. These scenes also revealed that The Increment knew everything about Rachel, including some personal details we had never known. Namely, that Rachel had secured a bank loan to be able to freeze her eggs, and that she had joined a dating app.
- Veritas – affectionately nicknamed Carey-cams – looked set to get the green light. But, by that point, it all felt like a rather hollow victory.
Will there be a series 4 of The Capture?
BBC One has not confirmed if there’ll be a series 4 of The Capture. But it’s worth knowing that series 2 and series 3 weren’t commissioned until a few years after the previous series had aired.
As always, the BBC’s decision on The Capture’s future will depend on the success of series 3. And, of course, the willingness of Holliday Grainger who plays Rachel Carey. As for the rest of the cast, half of them are now dead! The characters of Paapa Essiedu, Ron Perlman, Lia Williams, Killian Scott, and Joe Dempsie were all killed off in series 3.
Talking about a possible series 4 of cyber thriller The Capture, creator Ben Chanan recently admitted that he prefers to write each season with the conviction that it could be “the last”.
Talking to Radio Times, he said: “I always write each season like it might be the last. It takes a couple of years to make a series. So, even when we start plotting it and start writing it, we’ve got to think ahead to how people are going to feel in a couple of years’ time. And, frankly, it’s just a bluff. We just go for it and the world either catches up or we’re catching up with the world.”
Of course, a series 4 must surely follow Rachel Carey as she continues her quest to wipe out Correction and the evil powers of The Increment. But at what cost?
Read more: The Capture filming locations for series 3, including a stunning UK landmark on the coast
