'The Shards' Episode 5 Recap & Ending Explained: Is Cha Cha Dead?

In episodes 3 and 4 of The Shards, we were introduced to Rhonda, one of Bret’s favorite classmates who had a neurological condition, a rich dad, and a thing for rollerskating. She was abducted by The Trawler, locked in a cage, and was fed only eels. Matt was nowhere to be found, and on top of that Rhonda was gone; but since Debbie, Susan, Thom, and Robert were focused on Dance Off and Robert’s welcoming party, Bret got upset. Neither the party was canceled, nor the prep for Dance Off was aborted, but Susan and Robert did start a campaign to raise awareness regarding Rhonda’s disappearance by putting her face on bottles of sparkling water. Since Bret was sure that The Trawler was actually Robert, he followed Robert to his aunt’s rental house. Once Robert had exited the house, Bret went into its basement and found an iguana covered in blood and a school jacket in the cage where Rhonda was supposed to be. We got some miscellaneous information about Terry’s creepy feelings towards Bret, Ryan’s work in the adult film industry, Liz’s decision to join said industry, and Thom’s problems with his mother. After that, the focus of the show remained on Robert’s welcoming party. That was where Bret learned about the rumor that Robert had allegedly killed his own mother. When Bret confronted Robert about that, he had a full-on meltdown on the dance floor and he almost killed himself. While all that was going on, a mysterious guy (who may or may not be The Trawler) broke into the room where Ryan and Debbie were getting intimate with each other, locked the room from the inside, and held them hostage with a knife. Bret and Thom barged into the room, ensured that Ryan and Debbie were safe, and then Thom told the guy to leave (and he left). In addition to all that, it was revealed that The Trawler was not only holding Rhonda captive, probably somewhere that couldn’t be easily discovered by Bret, but he had Matt in a cage as well. What happened next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Preparations For Dance Off Are On

Episode 5 of The Shards opens with Bret trying to teach Thom how he should perform during Dance Off, but Thom isn’t taking it very well because he doesn’t know how to dance, he thinks that Robert is “stealing his girl,” and, as per Bret, he is a little off-center after his encounter with that creepy guy at Robert’s welcoming party. Bret asks Thom to come clean with him regarding what’s actually worrying him and Thom assures him that it’s just the Dance Off prep that’s making him sweat. While this is going on, Debbie and Susan sit down with Steven at their favorite burger joint to pick the dress that is going to secure Debbie’s win at Dance Off. Debbie isn’t satisfied with anything that Steven has in store; so, Steven pulls out a flyer featuring Cha Cha just to remind Debbie that she has to go above and beyond if she actually wants to beat Cha Cha. That makes Debbie so nervous that she starts doing coke in public in what’s supposed to be a family-friendly setting (this is your reminder that the show’s young protagonists are supposed to be high-schoolers); and then she orders Steven to refill her supply because she is running low. On that note, Steven leaves. Debbie and Susan’s orders arrive at the table and while Debbie has gone for the healthy option, because she needs to look good on camera, Susan has gone for the unhealthy option, because apparently junk food doesn’t really affect her body. This fact (along with Susan’s innate ability to be the center of everyone’s attention) really gets Debbie all worked up and she essentially pleads with Susan to try and lose in Dance Off, thereby giving Debbie the chance to win something in her life (which is virtually impossible as Susan casts a very big shadow over those around her).

Terry Bribes The Producers Of Dance Off

On the day of Dance Off, Bret, Debbie, Susan, and Robert arrive at the TV studio together; Thom is nowhere to be seen because, as mentioned before, he is incredibly unconfident about dancing. Meanwhile, Cha Cha is seen getting frisky with the host of the show, Tony Cruz. It’s insinuated that that’s the reason why she keeps getting the spotlight every time during the show. And since she has given Tony so much pleasure with her “performance,” she wants him to tell his wife about her so that she can officially be a part of his life; if he doesn’t, she threatens that she will go and spill all the beans to his wife. Going back to the kids, they are greeted at the dance floor by Terry and Steven. He complements everybody’s looks and then hands over Steven a brown envelope full of cash. What’s that for? To bribe the camera operators so that the focus remains on his daughter. Just so that Debbie doesn’t think that he is helping her win because he doesn’t believe in her talent, Terry assures her that the bribe money is just to keep the camera on her; the heavy lifting still has to be done by Debbie herself. Anyway, once everyone is ready, the show begins. That’s when Steven enters the production control room with a tray full of delicacies to motivate them to give Debbie the maximum amount of footage; and, of course, the producers gladly do Steven’s bidding. Yet Cha Cha ends up stealing the first segment of the show, while Robert continues to creep closer and closer to Susan; and Bret has no choice but to watch this chaos unfold in silence. As prep for the next segment begins, Steven approaches Ryan and lets him know that he is aware of the fact that Ryan works in the adult film industry. It’s unclear what Steven wants from Ryan but considering how sinister Steven is, I don’t think his intentions are really good.

Cha Cha Blackmails Cruz

While touching up for the next segment of Dance Off, Bret is approached by Terry. He starts off by talking about how he is trying to make it up to Debbie for being an absent father. Then he veers into the topic of Bret’s film treatment (he refers to Less Than Zero as Less Than a Hero, which says everything there’s to say about whether or not he has actually read the film treatment) and calls it promising, which raises Bret’s hopes. Terry says that the film treatment is Chinatown and Bret is not Robert Towne, but with the right inputs, the project can be elevated to those levels. Bret doesn’t have an ego which is why he is open to rewrites. As soon as he says that, Terry invites him to the Beverly Hills Hotel and then heads back to the dance floor. Bret looks petrified because he knows exactly what that means; the question is whether or not he is ready to go the extra mile to put his foot in the door to this entertainment industry. Meanwhile, Cruz and Cha Cha get into a heated fight in his office about the latter’s decision to become his wife. Regardless of what Cruz says about how damaging it will be if he starts publicly romancing an 18-year-old kid, Cha Cha seems adamant about reaping the benefits of her “efforts.” She even reveals that she is pregnant with Cruz’s child to put some extra pressure on Cruz. It is unclear if she is telling the truth about the pregnancy or not, but Cha Cha is convincing enough to put Cruz on the backfoot and really make him think about whether he wants to spend the next few chapters of his life with his wife and children or Cha Cha. While Cruz freaks the hell out, Cha Cha heads back to the dance floor.

Robert Humiliates Thom

Thom finally arrives at the studio but he is still extremely anxious about dancing. Robert asks what Susan intends to do about the couples dance section of Dance Off and Susan says that she wants to sit that one out. Robert questions Susan if that’s something she really wants to do or if her decision is being influenced by the thought of Thom being upset over her participating in the couples dance section with Robert. This leads to a conversation between Robert and Susan about what the latter wants to do in life in general, and Robert advises her to do whatever helps her get closer to her dream of moving to NYC and practicing ballet. Right when Susan is about to agree to do the couples dance with Robert, Thom shows up and asks Susan to join him. Hence, Susan runs off to be with Thom. Meanwhile, the voting lines are opened. Liz votes for Cha Cha, Terry votes for Debbie, and Steven votes for Susan. As Bret is walking from the washroom to the dance floor, he crosses the public phone booths, and one of the phones starts ringing. He picks it up and hears (what he thinks is) The Trawler’s voice telling him to “eat it.” He freaks out and then hangs up. Thom approaches Robert and asks him to step outside for a chat. Before Thom can say anything, Robert gets freaky with him under the guise of teaching him how to perform at the couples dance, and it angers Thom. He starts whining about how Robert is stealing his girl; so, Robert sits Thom down and tells him to keep his insecurities (and daddy issues) to himself and move out of the way so that he can become a part of his friends group because he is the jolt of energy that they need and Thom is yesterday’s news.

Thom And Robert Get Into A Fight

During the Q-and-A section of Dance Off, Cha Cha talks about winning the show and eventually becoming a mother and a wife, which prompts Cruz to take the mic away from her and listen to the next question. Steven, pretending to be a caller, tries to expose Ryan’s association with the adult film industry in front of everyone, but Ryan handles him well enough to protect his side hustle. Terry also pretends to be a caller to talk to Debbie and emotionally manipulate all the listeners to vote in his daughter’s favor. But since Debbie figures that it’s Terry on the phone, and she calls it out on air as well, that tactic goes into the garbage bin and sends Terry on a downward spiral. The last caller turns out to be The Trawler, which prompts the producers to bring this section to a close and get the contestants back on the dance floor for the slow dancing segment. Debbie and Bret do their best to get ahead in the race. Cha Cha pairs up Ryan to surge ahead in the votes. Robert invites Susan to the dance floor so that she doesn’t miss out on the fun. Off-stage, Terry’s spiraling out continues because he has done too much cocaine; so, Steven says that he’s going to bring some Quaaludes from the car to bring him down from his high. On the way to the car, Steven encounters Thom and tells him that Robert is stealing his girl on live television. Without giving it a second thought, Thom gets into a fight with Robert on the air. After a while, the producers are forced to cut to commercial so that the two can be separated. Thom leaves the studio while Robert hangs back because he knows that he has not only won the battle, but the war as well.

Cha Cha Is Dead, Rhonda Is Alive

After the debacle on the dance floor, Debbie and Susan give each other some positive affirmations in the washroom. They almost start a fight with Cha Cha as she enters the washroom, but the girls limit it to verbal jabs. After Debbie and Susan leave, The Trawler enters the washroom and murders Cha Cha. Everyone returns to the dance floor and they immediately notice Cha Cha’s absence. Since there’s no time to go looking for her, the producers give Cruz the go-ahead and announce the winner. Yeah, of course, it’s Susan who wins the Groover of the Week prize. Debbie is heartbroken and she rushes to the washroom. Bret goes after her and both of them discover Cha Cha’s body in there. Moreover, in the ending of The Shards episode 5, a bloodied and bruised Rhonda roller-skates onto the dance floor, asking the room what has she missed out on. So, what’s going on? I think the show wants us to think that since The Trawler was busy going after Cha Cha, Rhonda got the chance to escape from her cage and make it to the most public event to get help. In case you are wondering why Rhonda didn’t go to the police, you have to remember that she has a neurological condition that doesn’t always allow her to think straight; so, it’s no surprise that she waded into the studio where Dance Off was happening instead of a police station. But it’s possible that The Trawler and the person who killed Cha Cha are two different people. Maybe Rhonda escaped on her own and it’s Cruz who killed Cha Cha in order to keep her from derailing his professional and personal lives. For a second, I thought Rhonda herself could be The Trawler and she killed Cha Cha out of jealousy or something, but that doesn’t add up. Alternatively, if we are to believe that the protagonist of the show, Bret, is actually The Trawler, it’s totally possible that he killed Cha Cha to give the love of his life–Susan, not Debbie–the upper hand. However, that doesn’t make sense too because when Cha Cha died, the votes had already been cast; so, what would be the point in killing her at that point? Hence, I’ll stick with the theory that Cha Cha was killed by Cruz (pretending to be The Trawler) while Rhonda escaped The Trawler’s clutches by herself (and she has nothing to do with Cha Cha’s death). Do you agree or disagree with that? Let me know in the comments section below.

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