Under Salt Marsh episode 5 recap: The evidence stacked up against Jackie's lover Dylan Rees as another child went missing
Rising floods cut Morfa Halen off from the world, with the killer still at large
Under Salt Marsh fans have been left dying for the series finale, after this week’s episode 5 ramped up the tension – here’s a recap of the most explosive revelations.
Never mind Wuthering Heights. If you want tempestuous weather, thwarted love, and atmospheric drama, Under Salt Marsh delivers on every count. Without the 15 certificate.
The latest episode of the crime drama (Friday, February 20), saw rising floods cut Morfa Halen off from the world. And a killer still at large.
As the townspeople were forced to evacuate, DI Eric Bull closed in on the truth behind the illegal waste-dumping operation at the heart of all three cases. Meanwhile, Jackie acted alone and confronted a suspect, putting her own life in danger, not to mention jeopardising the investigation.
Here’s a recap of all the explosive developments in Under Salt Marsh episode 5.
***Warning: spoilers from Under Salt Marsh episode 5 ahead***
Under Salt Marsh episode 5 recap: Ned Bevan’s involvement in Nessa’s death
In the penultimate episode of Under Salt Marsh, the water closed in on Morfa Halen. Nothing could come in or out – unless you had your own boat, of course. Like Solomon’s eldest son Ned Bevan.
As DI Bull suspected when Solomon confessed to finding Nessa’s body, he was actually just covering for his son. Ned was the person responsible for the landfill. He had found Nessa’s body in the quarry and decided to bury it “for the good of the farm and his family”. But that didn’t mean he was the killer. In fact, Ned seemed scared of being killed himself.
He told Jackie: “I was desperate. I didn’t know what to do, I would have lost everything. I didn’t kill Nessa. She was already dead when we found her. She must have fallen in. I had no idea she’d been strangled. It wasn’t August, and it wasn’t me. We didn’t kill her.”
Ned had found Nessa’s body, buried her and hadn’t said a word. He continued: “Someone was there before us. Someone found her when she was alive. Someone else. I’m sure they killed August, and I could be next.”
As Ned attempted to leave, Jackie tried to stop him but was pushed out of the way. As she fell back, she banged her head. By the time she’d regained consciousness, Ned was fleeing Morfa Halen on his boat.
Cefin did not go to the farm the night he died
In the latest episode of Under Salt Marsh, Jackie Ellis discovered that Cefin had NOT gone to Solomon’s farm on the night he’d died. In fact, he and his friend James Rees were together and had walked along the path by the salt marsh not far from where Cefin’s body had later been found.
When Jackie confronted James, begging him to tell her the truth and asking why he’d lied in the first place, he admitted he’d been covering for his uncle Dylan.
James said: “I don’t want Dylan to get in trouble. He told us not to go. He told us to stay away. Or else the Black Sow would try to drown us. It really scared Cefin.”
So it’s clear now that Dylan knows more than he has let on. He also is aware of something dangerous in Morfa Halen – likely the illegal waste – and tried to warn his nephew James and his friend Cefin away from it. But where were Cefin and James going, and what didn’t Dylan want them to see?
Under Salt Marsh episode 5 recap: All the evidence stacked up against Dylan Rees
Viewers do not – as yet – know who had paid August Antonov £50,000 for his silence, or who set his caravan on fire presumable to destroy any evidence. However, the farm worker had been clever enough to bury some crucial evidence by his porch. The bag of documents contained a letter from the council responding to August’s concerns about the landfill. He had been trying to expose it before he died.
Of course, he also knew that Nessa had been buried there, having found her dead body along with Ned Bevan. Also among the incriminating documents was a record of the deliveries to the sea wall. Every Thursday at low tide, the dodgy shipment of illegal waste came in. But to the sea wall NOT Solomon’s farm. And Dylan Rees signed for the delivery every time.
We know that Dylan’s hair was found on James’ dead body. We also know that he was working on the sea wall the night Cefin died. And he was the one signing off the dodgy deliveries of illegal waste. Crucially, when Jackie finally found out the incriminating truth about Dylan, she went to confront him. And he returned home wearing the very same type of white hazmat suit drawn in the pictures by Nessa and Cefin before they died…
There have been three dead bodies in Morfa Halen: Nessa, Cefin, and August. But is there just one killer?
There is toxic waste in the sea wall
In the closing minutes of Under Salt Marsh episode 5, DI Eric Bull made a horrifying discovery. Having found out that the trucks of illegal waste go to the site of the sea wall, he investigated…
Once there, he saw a seeping orange liquid leaking from the unfinished wall. He said to himself: “It’s in the wall. It’s in the [bleep] wall.”
It quickly cut to the next dramatic scene, so we didn’t get the full picture. However, we can only guess that there is sodium hydroxide in the brick. The toxic substance was found in the water in Cefin’s lungs after he died. We’ll have to wait until the final episode to discover the full implications of this.
James went missing
As DI Eric Bull found his toxic discovery, and Jackie Ellis found out her lover – and father of her baby – Dylan wore a white hazmat suit, there was another twist.
Young James Rees, Cefin’s best friend, went missing. In the closings second of the penultimate episode, his frantic mother cried out his name, and asked if anyone had seen him.
Did he run off after his heated conversation with Jackie about the night Cefin died? Or has someone taken him?
What else happened in episode 5 of Under Salt Marsh?
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- Storm Alec continued to batter Morfa Halen, forcing the residents to take refuge on drier land. Every time there’d been a storm in the town, they’d taken shelter at Solomon’s Farm. But, this year, no one wanted to go, having found out about their connection to the deaths and illegal toxic waste. But Solomon braved the storms to apologise and to insist they all follow him to his barns for safety. Eventually, they did.
- Relations between old friends Jackie and Eric came to a head when they had a bitter argument. Eric, knowing damn well he’d told her too much, was worried she’d compromise the investigation with her impulsive, emotional ways. And he was right. When he insisted he’d been trying to protect her, he blurted out the truth about Dylan’s hair being found on Cefin’s body. And she drove there to confront him. Oh no, Jackie.
- DC Jess Deng threatened to report DI Eric Bull for his handling of the investigation. And his “toxic” relationship with Jackie, which was compromising the case. She was right, of course. But DI Eric Bull is trying to correct the wrongs of his past.
When is the finale of Under Salt Marsh?
The final episode of Under Salt Marsh will air on Friday, February 27, 2026. The finale will be available from 2am on that morning.
A synopsis for the episode says: “In the midst of a violent storm, the residents of Morfa Halen form a search party for James.
“Jackie and Bull discover the horrifying truth behind the crimes that haunt Morfa and, as Bull fights for his life and Jackie faces an unbearable choice, the storm reaches its peak. In a final reckoning among the salt marshes, Morfa’s darkest secrets are laid bare.”
GULP.
