Riot Women (S1, Ep. 6): A Finale That Earns Its Noise

 

The Season 1 finale of Riot Women doesn’t go for easy triumph. Instead, it delivers something better — catharsis that feels earned.

After a season packed with rage, trauma, and fragile hope, Episode 6 finally brings the band’s personal battles and professional dreams into the same room. And it works. Here's my recap and review. 

The band steps into a professional recording studio to lay down their first official track — a major leap from Beth’s living room rehearsals. The shift in setting feels symbolic. This isn’t pretend anymore.

During the session, Holly gets an eye-popping surprise that forces her to reconsider just how real this band’s potential might be. For the first time, “Riot Women” sounds less like a midlife rebellion and more like a future.

Kitty heads to court over the damage to Gavin’s Jaguar. What looks like a looming disaster flips unexpectedly when Gavin’s credibility collapses. He claims not to know Kitty — despite their history — and is himself facing assault charges.

The case falls apart.

It’s not triumph. It’s a relief. And for Kitty, that distinction matters.

The emotional core of the episode belongs to Kitty and Tom.

With Beth gently pushing for reconciliation, Kitty finally tells Tom the truth about her childhood and the circumstances of his birth when she was just twelve years old. It’s raw. It’s painful. And it lands.

Rosalie Craig and Jonny Green play the scene with devastating restraint — no melodrama, just two people trying to bridge years of silence. It’s arguably the most powerful exchange of the season.

Picking up from Episode 5’s hospital visit, Holly finds a smart, calculated way to expose PC Rudy Rudenko’s harassment — finally giving Nisha the leverage she needs.

It’s a quieter victory than a courtroom collapse, but just as satisfying.

Just when things feel settled, the finale drops one more twist: former gangland boss Keith Eckersley, played by Jonathan Pryce, appears with life-altering news for Kitty.

It’s a classic cliffhanger, not cheap, but genuinely intriguing, and it firmly opens the door to Season 2.

This is widely considered the strongest episode of the season, and for good reason.

Episode 6 earns a confident, emotionally grounded finale that proves Riot Women was never just about a “menopausal punk band.” It was about buried trauma, systemic rot, female friendship, and the terrifying act of being heard.

Emotionally, it refuses shortcuts. The reconciliation between Kitty and Tom is messy and incomplete, but real. The studio session provides musical payoff without turning saccharine. Even the legal win feels complicated.

Series creator Sally Wainwright continues her unflinching critique of toxic masculinity, though some critics still argue the male characters skew heavily villainous. This episode does soften that slightly, offering glimpses of nuance without abandoning the show’s sharp edge.

And that’s what makes the finale land. It doesn’t betray the darkness of the season — it integrates it. The band finds its voice. Kitty finds a sliver of peace. And just when stability feels possible, the future cracks open again.

So here’s the real question: Was this redemption, or just the calm before another storm? What did you think of the season finale? Leave a comment.

You can catch Riot Women on BritBox.