The Crowded Room episode 5 recap & review: Savior

In The Crowded Room episode 5, Danny delves into the part of his life concerning Adam and unravels the beginning of one of the most traumatic experiences.

Recap

Danny takes Rya and viewers to his past, to his childhood when he had Adam, his twin brother, always by his side. However, the flashback soon takes a turn for the sad route. Adam goes to stay with his father for a while while Danny gets bullied at school.

Later, he asks his mom Candy to take him with her to her second job, and eventually, she agrees. It’s an adult bar and the place where Danny witnessed a horrific incident in the form of racial violence, which traumatizes him and becomes, in his own words, the moment that triggered all the problems that followed.

Marlin soon enters their life, as a savior. He’s nothing like he’s in the present. He’s amicable and a counselor at a juvenile detention center, shown to actually work for the welfare of the young men who strayed off the path. He meets Candy and the two hit it off really well.

Marlin is even great with Danny. Meanwhile, Adam returns and at the school, Danny’s approached and touched inappropriately by Mr. Jones, but Marlin’s arrival prevents from anything dire occurring. Before that, Danny is a bit traumatized by Marlin and Candy when he sees them having sex.

On their way home, Danny is told by Marlin that he’s to propose to Candy, following which he says that they have to make a pact, asking Danny to keep a secret. He then takes him to a farmhouse to show something, while the implications clearly are that he’s going to sexually abuse him.

Danny is stopped by Adam, who asks the former to not worry, advancing forth with Marlin in his place. Danny looks on as the scene suggests Adam getting sexually assaulted by Marlin. Rya asks when this was and Danny reveals it was mere months before Marlin and Candy’s marriage, and that his sexual assaults continued long after that, while Candy never knew of it.

Rya then asks Danny how Adam died but Danny refuses to reveal that just yet, bringing The Crowded Room episode 5 to a close.

Review

• Episode 5 of The Crowded Room has been the most difficult entry so far in the miniseries, and finally reveals much of the trauma that informed Danny’s life decisions that have led him to this point.
• It’s extremely dark and depressing to see what he went through at such an age, but it always does strike the wrong chord when morbid stuff like this is showcased in a rather beautiful manner with the slow-mo shots and symbolisms thrown in for good measure as well.
• The show takes a long time to unravel the details that most are already aware of too, which makes it a real chore at times.

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Also Read: Is The Crowded Room based on a true story?