Somewhere Boy (Season 1) Recap and Ending Explained: Somewhere Boy is a touching coming-of-age story about Danny, a troubled young boy held captive all his life by his father, Steve. Even though that characterization is hard and mustn’t be taken at face value, it is the essence of Danny’s “inner monsters.” Somewhere Boy does a remarkable job of painting the context for the viewers with compassion and even-handed morality nicely spread across its four corners. Its small, compact, and highly effective cinematic universe pointedly takes us on Danny’s journey of redemption after Steve commits suicide and Sue, Steve’s sister, brings Danny to her home.
Even beyond Danny, Somewhere Boy offers us impressive heartfelt characters. Sue, Aaron, and Steve each have their arcs. Their portrayals are not taken lightly by the makers. They are given sufficient attention and substance to not just be sidekicks but significant presences in Danny’s journey. Lewis Gribben is reminiscent of Lucas Hedges’s quality work in Manchester by the Sea. The Scottish actor gives a major breakthrough role as Danny, just as Hedges did in the aforementioned film. The nuance in his performance is elevated by and stems from his deep understanding of Danny, which reflects in his tender, confused gaze and body language.
Somewhere Boy is a difficult watch but has elements of warmth and family to soften its serious-minded themes. In this piece, we break down the newly released series episode by episode and answer all the major questions you have about the series, including an ending explainer.
Somewhere Boy (Season 1) Recap:
Episode 1
This is a story about Danny, a young boy coping with the suicide of his father, Steve. The two lived alone in a dilapidated house together. Sue, Steve’s sister, came the day after the suicide and took Danny with her. She herself has a family of five. She is divorced from her first husband and is presently married to Paul, with whom she has two kids, Joe and Tammy. Her eldest child, Aaron, is from her previous marriage and is tasked by Sue to be a good mate to Danny. He isn’t too keen on helping him out, struggling with his own adolescent life with no friends and girlfriend.
It is indeed a tough time for Danny, as we see him confounded by the outside world. Steve was the only face he had seen for many years since his mother passed away. Through a difficult confrontation, we learn that Danny was abused by Steve. Not physically but by restricting him within the four walls of their house. As a result, Danny is apprehensive and fearful of embracing this challenge. It is like a new world for him. We quickly discover that Danny is inept at the most ordinary of things in life, like knowing about human anatomy.
He has recurring nightmares about himself and his father being attacked by “monsters,” whose existence Steve drilled into Danny’s mind from a young age. Through flashbacks, we see that Steve wasn’t an evil man at all. He could never overcome the grief of seeing his wife die. Her death wiped off all colour from his life, and subsequently, Danny’s. While talking to Paul in the kitchen, Aaron completely forgets that Danny is outside. Sue asked him to keep a watch but Danny ran away. Even this action is innocuous as he looks for the “monsters” Steve warned him about.
But he doesn’t find any and when he comes back, he cannot find the house. In a panic, he goes into Siobhan’s house, Sue’s neighbour. She retrieves him from the house. The ordeal is traumatising for Danny and Aaron realizes that he needs to take special care of his cousin. Danny was exposed to old films and music, something he has based the rhythm of his life around. We see snippets of these movies and hear shades of these songs in the background and in flashbacks. The makers do a fine job of establishing the loneliness of a young child that became second nature to him as the years passed by.
Episode 2
Steve holds Danny dearly to himself as he lost his wife in a car accident. Danny does not know this fact and believes “monsters” took her away from him. The therapy sessions he has been mandated to go through are brief, ineffective, and professional, to the extent that it doesn’t reach the roots of Danny’s problems. Paul and Sue argue over the former’s insistence on burying Steve in a flimsy coffin essentially made out of cardboard. His funeral is impending in this episode, which will spill the beans for our young protagonist.
She takes him to the church where the service will be held. The Father wasn’t warned beforehand but Sue realizes her mistake and briefs him about what to expect later. During the car ride, we learn that Aaron is himself struggling to get on with his biological father. They don’t talk much and he seldom visits due to Paul’s presence in the house. Danny encourages him to approach the relationship positively as he revered Steve to no end.
Danny has trouble sleeping once again and quietly sits on the bed where Sue and Paul are having sex. She promptly gets up, makes tea for him, and puts on an old video from Steve’s marriage. It is an insightful peek as we discover how happy the family was before her death. Sue tries to tell him that his mother died in an accident. But Danny is confused and refuses to believe that Steve “didn’t always do the right thing for Danny.” Danny picks out an old-fashioned suit for the funeral while shopping, inspired by what he has been exposed to all his life.
The funeral doesn’t go as well as he expected it to. Hardly anyone shows up, except Steve’s old friend, Angie. He wanted Steve’s life to be celebrated with anecdotes about his life. Sue makes an effort to get Angie to tell a story about him but hers is about a lame dinner date that didn’t go all too well. Something else she says about a “hit and run” is what catches Danny’s fancy. He ends up realizing that “there is one monster in the world”; the man who killed his mother.
Episode 3
Danny has managed to get his hands on Aaron’s phone and browses the internet to get pieces covering his mother’s accident. He has found the “monster” and now wants to pay him a visit. Danny insists he wants to go out but Sue ensures he doesn’t go out alone. Aaron is invited by their neighbour Siobhan’s son, Sam, to the bar to watch football and hang out. From his reaction, it seems that his erstwhile friends’ group has called him for company after a long time. Sue is happy to hear the news. Danny senses an opportunity and asks to tag along.
Aaron is hesitant but Sue encourages him to take Danny. While in the car, Danny reveals his true intentions of meeting Mark Denscopme, the man who killed his mother. He lives at Mead Farm but Aaron dissuades him from going. When he meets his friends, Aaron tries to distance himself from Danny, whom they might find weird. Earlier, Danny is seen picking up a spade bit from Paul’s workshop, which he and Sue had just find out about. Paul suspects Danny took it but Sue isn’t sure.
When Aaron is busy enjoying the match with his friends, who do not seem to like him too much (as Danny also pointed out), Danny heads out. He takes a bus to Mead Farm. Sam reprimands Aaron for being harsh on Danny, even when “it is not Danny’s fault.” Aaron realizes Danny is gone and scurries after him. In a flashback, we see Steve taking Danny to a hospital after he broke his arm quite badly. But Danny is so scared of the outside that they do not go.
Aaron catches up to Danny before he can reach the farm. The latter insists he only wants to take a look at Mark and so the former agrees to take him. They go around the farm when Mark sees them. Both the boys run towards the car and damage Mark’s gate. He gets them to stop, takes a photo of their license plate and says he will call the police. The kids apologize and promise to make it up to him. Mark gives them a chance and calls them on Monday to start the repair work. Paul expresses his anxiousness over Danny’s mental state. He feels insecure about having their young children around him. But Sue shuts him down. As they head back home, Danny comforts Aaron and says he “knows how to deal with monsters.”
Episode 4
In a flashback, Danny gets intrigued about the outside when he sees a pamphlet of a pizza place stuck to Steve’s boots. He says he wants to go out but Steve gets angry when Danny won’t listen. Steve agrees to “teach” Danny about how to “protect himself.” Aaron explains to Sue that they have got a part-time job picking fruits. She is worried but Aaron successfully convinces her that it is harmless. We see Danny is still hiding the spade bit in his pocket. They meet a girl, Daisy, when they reach the Farm, as Mark isn’t there. In a condescending tone, Aaron warns Danny to “act normal” and “not reveal his true self” before they start work.
Daisy instructs them to get a pile of waste to the spreader, which might take them a lot of time. Sue meets Vicki, who used to take therapy sessions with Danny in the past. Sue expresses her concerns over Danny’s state. She needs reassurance that he is on the right path and will get well. When his wife died, Steve took Danny to the middle of nowhere. Sue says she was relieved when Steve was gone, since he was a nightmare to live with. She followed him to the house, in the past, but got thrown off when she saw Steve taking out a rifle from his car.
Steve teaches Danny how to shoot that very rifle. He takes out a plyboard from one of the walls to make a target. In the present day, Danny explains to Aaron that he was never locked up – he could up and leave at any time. But he chose not to. They have a fight when Aaron suggests Steve made up the monsters. Danny unleashes the dog and it menacingly heads inside the house. He realises that Daisy is Mark’s daughter and drops his plans of killing him. Mark discovers Danny has freed the dog and gets him in his truck to look for it.
But in fact, the dog was rabid and killed one of Mark’s cattle. That is why he was chained up. Mark shoots the dog with his rifle. He was indeed “tied up for a reason.”
Episode 5
Danny is reluctant to go back to the Farm but Aaron trudges him on. It is implied that Aaron likes Daisy and Paul teases him about it without knowing the details. While shovelling the manure, Danny asks Aaron “How could Daisy love him?” He pleads with Danny not to tell her anything about the accident. The trio use Mark’s truck to buy supplies for the party that night at the Farm for all the hands, for their hard work. Danny and Daisy bond over their love for old songs and films, even discussing Brief Encounters “briefly”. But Aaron is detached from the conversation, having no familiarity with old movies.
He reluctantly leaves the two alone in the truck to fetch supplies. Daisy mentions that when she was young, his dad “went somewhere” for “something he did.” Danny is itching to tell her the truth but does not. The kids start the festivities for the party with mushrooms. Daisy praises Aaron for how he worries about and looks after Danny. There are inklings of budding love between them. Danny is in his own world on mushrooms. He truly enjoys his time dancing, drinking, and merrymaking. But the cracks of his trauma seep through as he sees visions of his father.
Daisy and Aaron make out to solidify their interest in each other. Danny is overcome with anger and guilt and he confronts Daisy with the truth. Despite Aaron’s attempts to silence him, Danny tells Daisy that Mark killed his mother in an accident and went to jail when she was little.
Episode 6
Danny and Aaron do not tell Sue about what happened last night. In the flashbacks, we see a younger Danny growing discontent with his situation. He wants to see more of the outside world and has lost enthusiasm for his hermit-like lifestyle. Steve does not appreciate it and takes the bold step of “abandoning” Danny for the day. Aaron meets with Ben, his biological father, to discuss moving in with him for the time being.
Ben is reluctant as he has his own family staying with him. Siobhan, their neighbour, is having a brunch party that day. Aaron doesn’t want to go but Sue makes him. Paul stays back at home, making an excuse for work. Tensions are quite clearly high after the debacle the previous night. Sue is also anxious as her friends try to trivialize Danny’s situation. Aaron is confronted by Danny about their friendship, and if it exists anymore after last night. Aaron pushes back hard, saying it is over and that Danny’s “messed up issues” are because of his “cruel father.” Danny lashes out and chokes Aaron in his anger, letting go of the astonishment about his capabilities.
Mark shows up at the house and Paul calls the family back home. He reveals what the boys did. Mark asks to talk alone with Danny, who then confronts him about why he killed Danny’s mother. Mark pleads his innocence, saying it was an accident and he didn’t mean to do it. He himself struggles with the incident and pleads with Danny not to take this forward. In the aftermath of Mark’s revelations, Aaron wants him out. When the truth is presented to Paul and Sue, even the former agrees with Aaron.
Somewhere Boy (Season 1) Ending Explained:
How does Danny cope with his newfound independence?
The next morning, Sue takes Danny to a youth hostel by the sea. During the car ride, Sue reiterates that even though she loved Steve, he was not kind to Danny. She leaves Danny with tears in her eyes at the hostel. In a flashback, we see Danny and Steve celebrating his 18th birthday. But Danny is uncharacteristically uninspired. He finally expresses his wish to “Want more than what they had.” Steve is gravely upset but knows deep inside it is time to let go. In the present, Danny wanders around the beach like a wraith.
He goes about the places without purpose and in deep contemplation of what lies ahead for him. Danny is given a break by a young boy, Ash, who invites him to a party with a group of girls. With nothing better to do, Danny agrees to go with them. He bonds with Ash and learns that men can have physical relationships with each other. Danny even does karaoke, singing a soulful rendition of “Button Up Your Overcoat.” He looks like a different person altogether.
Why has Aaron grown resentful of Danny?
Although he spoiled Aaron’s romance with Daisy, Aaron opens up to Sue about why he really wanted Danny out. First, she brought Paul and his kids into the mix. And then when Aaron was feeling increasingly distant from her, she brought Danny home. Sue emotionally hugs and comforts Aaron, saying her love for him will never be diminished by anything. Daisy is also upset with Aaron for having sent Danny away when Aaron goes to take Sue’s car from the Farm. Ash leaves the party and Danny follows him to his date. Ash abandons his date, when he sees Danny outside, to go back to his apartment.
They have sex but Ash gets up to go back home since he has work in the morning. Danny grows almost violent when he does, asking Ash to stay. Ash is frightened by his behaviour but Danny lets him go.
Why does Danny go back home?
Danny walks all the way back home. He tidies up the house which has been left deserted since the suicide. Like old times, he falls asleep on the couch. Danny wanted the comfort of familiarity since his experiment in the outside world had mixed results. It goes on to show Danny’s immaturity due to his limited exposure to anyone else beyond Steve for all his life. There is also an element of him missing Steve, as we saw constantly through flashbacks in the series. But at its core, Danny wants to lock himself away again as the outside world didn’t seem as good to him as he had expected.
Who is Fran? Why did Steve bring her home?
Fran is the woman we saw Steve bringing back home on Danny’s 18th birthday after he expressed he wanted more than Steve and his relationship. Steve did it out of spite as he always felt he never had love as Danny did at his age. Danny and Fran got along well and the former was even happy with her presence in the house. However, the revelry was short-lived as Fran discovered that Steve was undeservingly keeping Danny home. Before leaving, she even told him that “there is a world out there you have not seen.”
Why did Steve commit suicide?
When Danny panics and asks Steve to “save Fran from the monsters,” Steve decides to hunt an animal and smears its blood all over his face. Danny sees Steve do that and Steve comes in and lies to Danny about having fought off monsters to save Fran. Danny is disenchanted and Steve suddenly announces he will be going out that day. He has accepted in his mind that he cannot keep lying to his son anymore. He confesses to Danny that he wasn’t wrong about the outside world and its “horrors.” Later that night, we see the events from episode 1 playing again. Steve calls Sue and goes back to bid farewell to Danny.
Danny is fast asleep as Steve walks in with his rifle. He asks Danny not to turn around and points the rifle at him. But he does and runs away from the house in a panic. Danny is pursued by Steve. He trips over a log of wood and watches the night sky full of stars in its dizzying beauty. Steve catches up to him but Danny does not want to die. He is in awe of what he saw and takes the rifle from Steve. He accuses him of lying to Danny for years. Steve emotionally asks Danny to shoot him and make it look like suicide.
He says that they need to sever this bond and Danny needs to be free. He must let go of Steve to move ahead in life. Steve calls himself a “monster” for being so unfair to Danny all this while and says to him, “You know what to do with monsters.” He puts the barrel to his neck and provokes Danny into shooting him. So Steve did not commit suicide in the conventional sense of the act. It should still be called one as Danny had no intention of pulling the trigger.
Aaron finds Danny walking by himself when he looks for him in the car en route to the house. Danny embraces him and Aaron reciprocates his feelings. They get in the car and drive towards the warmth and care of home; where Danny really belongs.
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