Summary
“The Crowded Room” explains Danny’s condition in an elegant and satisfying fashion, while a few plot twists help to clarify a couple of the show’s potential plot holes. It all finally makes sense, but it still feels long-winded nonetheless. Tom Holland’s exceptional performance yet again saves the series.
We recap the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 7, “The Crowded Room,” which contains spoilers.
Danny’s (Tom Holland) trial is getting ever closer, and Rya (Amanda Seyfried) still hasn’t told the criminal about the voices in his head. “The Crowded Room” brings to life Danny’s internal struggles as he starts to witness the world within his own head for the very first time.
Meanwhile, Rya tries to convince the judge that Danny needs medical help.
The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 7 Recap
Rya and Danny meet once again, but something is different this time. Rya is nervous; she’s decided to finally show Danny the truth. She plays him CCTV footage from the Rockefeller Center shooting.
In the footage, Danny is clearly alone, firing at random strangers in the crowd.
Danny can’t quite believe that the footage is real and has an instant breakdown. To save him from this trauma, Danny is forced into a deep sleep, and Yitzak takes over as the alter ego in charge. Yitzak threatens Rya, choosing violence straight away.
While Yitzak closes in on Rya, Danny wakes in his own mind. This is imagined as Marlin’s barn, yet there are many levels to this structure. Danny descends the stairwell, finding his alter egos arguing with one another.
Who are Danny’s alter egos?
There’s Jack, of course, the British alter ego that Rya has conversed with already, but there are a few surprises as well. Both of Danny’s high school friends, Mike and Jonny are also figments of his imagination. The three alter egos argue while Yitzak (another alter ego) causes chaos in the real world.
They worry that Yitzak could ruin their plans and contemplate who should take over in his place. In the end, they entrust Mike with this responsibility. He takes over just as Yitzak is about to assault Rya. The guards rush in and drag Danny back to his cell.
Back in Danny’s mind, Jack and Yitzak discuss their options. Jack worries that if Danny receives treatment, then they will all be killed off.
They need to keep Danny in prison for their own survival.
A few days later, Danny’s lawyer, Stan, and Rya meet for the pretrial hearing. Rya needs to convince the judge that Danny has a multiple-personality disorder.
The judge has brought in the District Attorney and a world-renowned psychiatrist for this unorthodox hearing.
What happens at the pretrial hearing?
The psychiatrist refutes Rya’s findings, and the judge asks Danny to enter the meeting. Danny speaks with a British accent, under the control of Jack. He answers all the questions logically and denies knowing Yitzak or Ariana.
Jack’s little performance disproves Rya’s theory. The judge is irritated by all this nonsense and leaves the hearing unconvinced. Stan tries to negotiate with the District Attorney, but she won’t hear him out either. Danny is going to trial.
After this mini-victory, Jack and the other alter egos discuss their plans going forward. Yitzak actually sides with Rya, though, and wants Danny to face the music alone. Jack shoots Yitzak dead for this betrayal.
Next, Ariana wakes Danny in his own mind; she is also one of Danny’s alter egos. She shows him the barn’s layout and convinces him that all these alter egos are just in his mind; they are not real people.
Ariana explains how they only appear when Danny is in danger or lonely, or scared. They help him by taking over, taking the pain in his place.
Who are the undesirables?
She directs him to the lowest level of the barn, where many dead bodies are left to rot. Ariana explains that these bodies are just different versions of Danny, the alter egos that served a purpose but are no longer needed anymore. Jack refers to them as the undesirables. Yitzak has now joined this graveyard of alter egos after being shot.
Jack reappears, continuing the explanation. He says how the incident in the barn with Marlin made Danny want to die. The trauma broke him and caused the creation of all these alter egos. They are his guardian angels, here to protect him from further danger.
The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 7 Ending Explained
As the episode draws to an end, Jack makes his final plea. He states that Rya wants to rid Danny of these alter egos, to destroy them all. Jack worries that if they leave, then Danny will die too. Danny can’t plead insanity; he needs to go to prison to survive.
Danny wakes in the real world and meets with Rya. The Professor is furious about yesterday’s hearing, where Jack made a mockery of her entire case. Rya says that she’s put her career on the line for this. Then Danny starts to cry, begging for Rya’s help.
He is petrified by the voices in his head and wants them gone immediately.
What did you think of the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 7? Comment below.
