Miriam smiling and Abhi looking afraid in Crossfire
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Explaining Crossfire’s Finale: Staff Revenge and Unresolved Trauma

There's wasn't a happy conclusion for everyone

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Crossfire on BBC One concluded with episode three last night and, if the ending didn’t make much sense to you, here’s a full explainer.

In the final episode, Jo and her friends finally made it out of the hotel alive and returned back to their lives in the UK.

But were their lives ever the same after the terrifying ordeal?

Here’s the ending of Crossfire explained.

***Warning: spoilers from episode 3 of Crossfire ahead***

Ben with his arm around three kids in Crossfire
Ben got stabbed by a former hotel staff member (Credit: BBC)

Crossfire ending explained: The terrorists used to be staff members at the hotel

Towards the end of Crossfire, we find out that the terrorists who invaded the hotel were actually former members of staff.

While holding injured civilians hostage, one of the gunmen explained his reasons for the attack.

Talking to the hotel manager’s wife, Bea, he said: “You thought me and my brother were idiots.

“You are going to pay for what you did to us.”

So it turned out that the terrorists hated how they had been treated when they worked for the hotel – and came back for revenge.

We also found out that Iker, one of the hotel staff, was working with them on the inside.

Pointing at Iker, one of the gunmen told Bea: “It was him who gave us a key.

“He hates you as much as I do.”

However, Iker felt guilty for his part in the attack and wanted to escape before it was too late.

Iker crept into the same room Mateo was hiding in and took as much stuff as he could, including his phone and a passport.

He told Mateo: “I’m not going to prison for what they did.

“It’s not my fault, okay? I didn’t know what they were going to do.”

Ben’s luck had run out

Throughout most of the series, we thought Ben (Daniel Ryan) was safe.

Ben was one of the first people to make it out of the hotel safely when he and a group of other civilians found an exit out the back.

However, Ben found himself in trouble when he lost the two kids, Kim and Sunny, who he was asked to look after by Jason.

Ben desperately searched around the complex, looking for the two kids, until eventually he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jo was chasing the traitor, Iker, out of the hotel with a rifle when she met Ben outside looking for Kim and Sunny.

Jo tried to shoot at Iker but Ben was in the way and couldn’t understand what Jo was trying to say.

Desperate to get away, Iker turned around and stabbed Ben in the chest.

Ben fell to the ground as Jo rushed over to help him, but sadly his wound was fatal and he died.

Abhi looking afraid in Crossfire
Abhi found out about Jo and Chinar’s affair (Credit: BBC)

Crossfire ending explained: Abhi received some devastating news

As Jo and her friends made it back to the UK, they struggled to come to terms with everything that had happened in the Canary Islands.

One of the people most affected by the attack was mother-of-three, Abhi.

During the horrors at the hotel, Abhi’s husband Chinar sacrificed himself to save his children.

He surrendered himself to one of the gunmen so his children could get away and escape.

What a hero!

However, when Abhi was sent to sort out Chinar’s stuff, she discovered a devastating secret about her late husband.

She asked her friend Miriam to look through Chinar’s phone and delete anything she wouldn’t want to see.

But what Miriam found was way too important not to share!

Miriam discovered that Jo and Chinar had been exchanging flirty messages.

Jo and Chinar’s secret affair was finally out of the bag.

Jason smiling in Crossfire
In episode 3, Jo and Jason mended their relationship (Credit: BBC)

Jo and Jason gave their relationship another go

Tension rose between Jo and Jason throughout the BBC series, as the pair tried to navigate their broken marriage.

During the first night at the hotel, the couple even kicked off in front of their friends.

The pair then seemed doomed when Jason found out about the steamy text exchange between Jo and his best friend Chinar.

However, after Jo and her family made it back to the UK, things appeared to be looking up for the couple.

After Jason’s horrible fall from the balcony, Jason was forced to be in a wheelchair and be looked after by Jo until he recovered.

But while the idea of Jo looking after Jason may have seemed like a recipe for disaster, the pair were finally reconnecting with each other.

Jo and Jason seemed to have worked out their differences and were willing to give their relationship another try.

Mateo behind his desk at the hotel in Crossfire
Mateo survived his bullet wound (Credit: BBC)

Crossfire ending explained: Mateo survived his injury

Towards the end of episode two, Mateo got shot after rescuing his hotel guests.

Jo lay him down in a hotel room before going out to look for her daughter.

However, Mateo’s wounds looked so bad that we weren’t sure whether he’d still be alive when she got back.

Mateo was eventually taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Happily, at the end of episode 3, we saw Mateo and his wife Bea sitting happily together on the beach with their two children.

Jo returned to her job as a police officer

Jo’s comeback as a police officer had been hinted at throughout the series.

From telling Jason that she wanted her job back, to using her former police officer skills to rescue civilians in the hotel and being rewarded for her bravery by the police force.

But like she said in episode 3, she wanted to come back for the right reasons…

After coming back from the Canaray Islands, Jo – played by Keeley Hawes – didn’t feel like much of a hero.

She felt guilty for shooting the young boy and blamed herself for Chinar and Ben’s death.

However, after talking with Miriam and Abhi she realised that the incident wasn’t her fault at all.

In the final moments of episode 3, we saw Jo tying her hair back and putting on her uniform.

Jo was finally back as a police officer!

Read more: Crossfire star Keeley Hawes’ best roles ranked – which is your favourite?

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Crossfire series 1 is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

What did you think about the final episode of Crossfire? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Aaliyah Ashfield
Digital Marketing Apprentice

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