Summary
“Sanctuary” is an uneventful and frustrating installment. There is lots of talent behind this production, but the non-descript flashbacks and purposely ambiguous tone are ruining the show’s initial potential.
We recap the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 2, “Sanctuary,” which contains spoilers.
The Crowded Room continues to explore Danny’s (Tom Holland) past and his unique relationship with the mysterious Ariana (Sasha Lane) in episode two. “Sanctuary” follows the same format as the premiere, cutting back and forth between Rya’s (Amanda Seyfried) interviews and flashback sequences set after Danny’s fight with Bill.
The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 2 Recap
In the present, Rya searches the abandoned boarding house in 1979, noticing blood splatters on the walls. She finds Danny’s drawing book in the fireplace. Rya continues the interviews, asking Danny why he got a gun in the first place.
Danny explains that he wants to save Ariana.
Back in 1977, Danny wakes the morning after his beating. He’s covered in blood, and Marlin is outside, banging on the boarding house door. Yitzak tells Danny to sort this mess out if he is staying.
Danny speaks with Marlin and an anxious Candy. They ask him to come home, but he refuses.
Danny settles into life in his new home with his new family. Yitzak buys his study books and offers to protect him from the bullies if he follows the house rules.
While shopping for the gang, Danny bumps into Annabelle, who is now home for the summer.
Why does Danny throw a party?
Annabelle apologizes for how she left things, admitting that she got scared. She suggests that they should hang out again sometime. Danny makes up a party as an excuse to hang out that Friday with her. He gives her his new address and gets to work on planning his first-ever house party.
In the car park, Danny spots best friend, Jonny. He asks his friend to supply the party with drugs. Mike and Jonny are next seen at the boarding house for Danny’s impromptu party. Annabelle turns up with a gang of friends.
Ariana rolls the joints, and everyone is welcomed to the ghost house.
Eventually, Danny and Annabelle find themselves alone together. When everyone has gone, Danny and Annabelle start to kiss. Ariana enters unannounced, though, and takes over, kissing Annabelle.
Danny is asked to join in, but he doesn’t feel like it, possibly overwhelmed by the sudden change in dynamics.
The following day, Annabelle and Danny kiss. She leaves, and Danny hangs out with Ariana for the rest of the day. He describes her as a night person to Rya.
Ariana clearly has many secrets and always returns upset from her nights out. Danny tries to press her to answer these many questions, but Ariana deflects.
They go to the cinema. On leaving, a man called Benny teases her, calling her a puta, which is Spanish slang for prostitute. Danny asks who the man is, and Ariana flips. She says that they cannot be best friends before storming off.
Who is Jerome?
That night, Ariana heads to a nightclub, where she is instantly chatted up by a woman called Grace. This stranger lets Ariana use her bar tab. She soon ditches Grace to be with Jerome, though, one of her familiar acquaintances. He seems to be in love with her. They dance and drink before getting more intimate in the club’s toilets.
Afterward, Jerome asks to meet with her outside the club, hoping to make things more serious. Ariana panics and makes out with Grace to destroy the relationship.
This upsets Jerome, who gets violent. They are then both chucked out of the club. Ariana storms off, away from Jerome, and heads home with smeared mascara.
Back at the boarding house, Ariana tells Danny that she needs help. In the present, Rya calls Ariana’s behavior unstable and erratic. Danny defends Ariana, though. Rya asks what Danny is leaving out, and he, too, gets aggressive.
The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 2 Ending Explained
The episode ends with a dream-like scene that hints at a more sinister side to this tale. Ariana walks into a flooded cellar. The camera pans passed two dead bodies. Is this underneath the boarding house? Are these corpses those of the house’s former inhabitants? Or is Ariana a serial killer herself?
What did you think of the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 2? Comment below.
