Summary
There are some major swerves in “Chapter 5”, the penultimate episode, as blood is spilled in earnest and truths are told.
This recap of Tribes of Europa season 1, episode 5, “Chapter 5”, contains spoilers. You can check out our spoiler-free season review by clicking these words.
Things aren’t looking good for David. For one thing, he’s imprisoned in the same cell that Grieta once occupied. For another, he’s slated to be executed in the Crimson capital, and General Cameron wants to pursue peace with the Crows — something they’ll never accept, and which will likely lead to their complete dominion over Europa. David explains all this to Liv, who takes him his last meal, and insists that the only option is for her to kill him. He still has enough loyal friends to help her, and she’s best positioned since Cameron will inevitably want to meet with her. It’s a moral crisis for our intrepid heroine to kick off Tribes of Europa episode 5, and one that she doesn’t take lightly, even after Sam gives her a neurotoxin that’ll simulate a heart attack and keep her off the hook.
Yarvara’s relationship with Kiano continues to be complicated, too. Since he has confessed his desire to be a Crow, she spars with him to teach him what that would entail and basically concludes that his fear of death makes him weak. Fair enough. And things only get weirder for them when Varvara is invited for dinner with the Kapitan and takes Kia along. While Kapitan explains that the Atlantian Hoverjet had nothing recoverable and that the cube is the only item of value, Kia sneaks off to meet with his father, who isn’t keen on the Boj idea. Dewiat, the golden child of the Hakkar, witnesses this interaction and plans to use it to ensure that Kia doesn’t remain in Varvara’s favor, but as we’ll see it doesn’t end well for him. But before that, Varvara is passed over for the Highlord position on account of still not being able to recover the cube, and in her anger and humiliation, she slaps Kia across the face when he tries to be sympathetic.
Elsewhere in Tribes of Europa season 1, episode 5, Moses causes a distraction so that Elja can sneak back inside Bracker’s sanctuary to try and steal back the cube, but Bracker has anticipated this too and wants to know what Elja has planned. The young lad confesses the real story of the cube and that he has been tasked with returning it to the Ark — he proves it by activating it, at which point we get a longer glimpse of the red-tinted footage, but I confess to still not being able to make much sense of it. Bracker agrees to let Elja and Moses go on the condition that he’s the first to know if they find out what caused Black December, which seems reasonable, really.
At the same time, Liv meets with Cameron and seriously contemplates spiking his schnapps before eventually agreeing to his own plan, which is to send a Crimson delegation to Brahtok to exchange Grieta for Liv’s family and negotiate for peace. David, a principled man, understands why Liv stuck to her own.
Two cliffhangers in a row cap off the penultimate episode. In the first, Kia is summoned before Varvara again and discovers she has violently butchered Dewiat, who she had taken to bed in Kia’s place. Still obviously a bit distressed, she tries to convince Kia to stab himself in the heart, which he’s about to go through with until she stops him. This earns him his Boj, and she gives him her dagger to fight with. That’s something for the finale to handle. And in the second last-minute development of Tribes of Europa season 1, episode 5, the Crows arrive at Bracker’s place, and the cube, detecting the hostilities, enters combat mode. Elja, clutching the device in its new gun form, heads back inside.
