Summary
Answers are forthcoming in “Push Comes to Shove” — the ending reveals the truth to the entire mystery while also finding closure for some characters.
This recap of Netflix’s Tiny Pretty Things season 1, episode 10, “Push Comes to Shove” — the ending explained — contains significant spoilers.
We recapped every episode — check out the archive.
The opening
Well, here we go folks — the ending of season 1 of Tiny Pretty Things. And let’s be honest, if we weren’t aware of the source material, then this mystery has certainly been a headscratcher. Luckily, the final episode gives us the single answer we wanted.
The finale begins with the ballerinas performing Ripper while Bette is questioned at the police station and her fingerprints are taken. Her mother comes into the station to speak to her; she tells Bette that she needs to tell a better story as the police have a good one. “Push Comes to Shove” sees the character in a bad position; there’s something not right, and you can feel it.
Celebration all around
The audience loves Ripper, and the ballerinas get a standing ovation. At the after-party, the ballet dancers celebrate their success. June is complimented by her mother, who is a stark contrast to the start of the series. June is desperate to secure the role for a potential tour of the performance. Meanwhile, Monique and Ramon celebrate privately and bring up percentages of commission for the tour. “Push Comes to Shove” sees both characters feeling they are free and more powerful, but there’s still a cloud hanging over them which comes to fruition by the end of the finale.
Caught in bed
While Oren and Neveah are in bed together, the monitor officer catches them together. Monique walks around the corner and tells Neveah that her time is up at the school. Oren claims that if her time is up, so is his. Monique agrees that they can both finish the show, but afterward, their time will be up. They may as well keep having sex at this point. They’ve basically got a hall pass.
Prove that you care
Nabil tells June that he wants her after all this time, but June doesn’t believe him, stating that Cassie always wins. She wants Nabil to show Ramon that she can deliver to prove he cares about her. We called this in an earlier episode that there is a romance brewing between both characters.
Caleb is not happy with Monique
Monique tells Caleb that she’s offering him a full scholarship. She feels like everything is clean now. Caleb tells Monique to stop playing him and stop having sex with Ramon. Monique wants Caleb to take the opportunity. We felt sorry for the ballet dancer in this scene; he’s clearly infatuated by the woman who has abused her power with him from the start.
Matteo picks up Bette from the police station with his mother which shocks Bette’s family. She’s not out of the woods yet. What was strikingly obvious about this scene is that Bette finds more companionship and family togetherness with Matteo’s family rather than her own in her hour of need.
Tell the truth Cassie
Naveah visits Cassie in the hospital. She wants her to tell the truth about what happened on the rooftop at the press conference. Cassie says “Sleeping Beauty wakes up and the world finds out she is a b*tch”. She then reveals that she heard every conversation next to her bedside when she was in a coma; she has dirt on Naveah. Cassie does not want to save Bette at all. These scenes are impactful for the audience because we’ve always cared about who pushed Cassie off the rooftop. Now that she is awake and shown her true colors, there’s no sympathy at all.
June’s theory
Ramon has brought back Delia for the solo role for Ripper as part of the tour plans, and June is dismayed. Suddenly, June sees Delia in a hoodie while performing and she has memories of Delia that night when Cassie fell. June tells Bette and the others of her theory, and suddenly, Bette remembers her sister acting strange. Delia was buying herself an alibi via her sister as shown through the flashbacks. Bette was too drunk to realize what was happening.
Yes, folks, we have the answer — Delia pushed Cassie off the rooftop!
Did the mother know?
“Push Comes to Shove” then sees the characters needing more answers and context after the reveal.
Bette asks her mother if she knew that her sister Delia pushed Cassie off the rooftop. Her mother, Katrina, asks Bette to make this sacrifice for the family and “earn her place”. This is truly a horrendous moment for Bette, who is asked to do an unforgivable thing.
The press conference and Cassie’s accusation
Cassie takes part in a press conference, and she doesn’t reveal the truth about what happened that night — she tells the world that Bette pushed her. Meanwhile, Bette stands on top of the rooftop looking down, evidently suicidal at this point. Delia finds her and tells her not to jump. She tells her she wanted to come clean, but her mother told her not to, as they can get through this as a family. Delia admits that she was jealous of Cassie due to Ramon and their fling. She was also scared that her career was going to dwindle. Delia offers Bette a hand to bring her down.
June warns Neveah that Bette is on the roof. They tell Bette that they can fight this together. Meanwhile, Nabil confronts Delia — he tells her that Ramon is “Jack in the Ripper”.
At least these previous scenes showed Delia’s motive — if they had extended that into a second season, I think fans would have exploded in pure rage.
“We pay Monique DuBois”
Neveah is feeling odd because Oren has fallen in love with her. It’s messed her up, and she feels Oren is moving too quickly. She doesn’t mix love with dancing.
What happens next is probably one of the best moments of the series. During a performance of Ripper, the dances play the recording of Travis revealing how ballet dancers are sent to the VIP club to be hostesses for the older rich men and that they pay Monique for the service, which ultimately leads to sexual abuse. “We pay Monique DuBois” continues to repeat over and over again as the ballet dancers dance to the beat. The audience is in shock, but eventually, they clap. Monique walks backstage, and she looks at all her dancers. Neveah promised that she’d bring her down. And of course, officer Cruz turns up for questioning — she’s ridiculously and absurdly timely as usual.
The ending
Monique is shaken as her colleagues tell her that this is over for good. She doesn’t want to give it up. Caleb walks into the office and vows to help her, which we found to be a strange turn in the story, especially as he feels betrayed by her. Meanwhile, in the dorms, Cassie returns. Bette tells her that she may have ruined her life, but the group knows who they are now and what they are capable of — “you can’t win”. The problem is, Cassie believes she already has won.
As the episode ends, it’s revealed that Ramon has been killed — but who did it? We will have to wait for a potential second season, which will undoubtedly drag out the mystery for 10 episodes again.
Answers are forthcoming in Tiny Pretty Things season 1, episode 10 — the ending reveals the truth to the entire mystery while also finding closure for some characters. As usual, the Netflix series provides a nice tie-in to a potential second season.
So who killed Ramon? Our money is on Caleb.
Additional points
- June’s mother tells Ramon to give her daughter the part. There’s an implication that Ramon could be the father.
