The Crowded Room ’s Episode 10 finally exposes the whole truth behind Danny’s jigsaw psyche as we learn the fate of his future with a court verdict.
I have to say, I’m sad to see this series come to an end, but all good things must, right? Some have said The Crowded Room is mundane and all over the place. Others, like me, have fully supported its structure and been encapsulated by what the actual truth is behind Danny’s reality, appreciating Tom Holland’s nuanced performances. In a rapidly unfolding tizzy of anticipated events, The Crowded Room Episode 10 wraps up its narrative and finally exposes the whole truth—and nothing but the truth!—behind Danny’s abuse, who started it, and when it started. We also learn the truth about Adam and what really happened to him.
At the end of Episode 9, we saw Danny’s attempt to control his alters fail after his mother, Candy (Emmy Rossum), took the stand and flat out denied her son was ever abused. Her lie deflated Danny’s trust in his mother and clearly shattered what remained of his broken heart—an event that allowed him to surrender the spotlight back to his alters. Jonny appeared and attempted suicide back in prison, leaving us wondering if Danny will physically survive.
The Crowded Room ’s Episode 10 opens with Danny in his bunk lying next to Ariana (Sasha Lane), who is clearly there to keep Danny awake and alive … until he can no longer fight it and succumbs to his blood loss, falls out of his bunk, and lands on the floor unconscious in a pool of blood. Do not fret, though, my friends! Danny survives physically, but his psychological survival is very much still up in the air. None of this delays his trial, however, as the judge rules Danny’s case will proceed.
Meanwhile, as Rya (Amanda Seyfried) and Stan (Christopher Abbott) discuss what effect Danny’s suicide attempt will have on the jury, we find out Jack (Jason Isaacs) has returned to secure control of the spotlight. He greets Rya and Stan in the hospital as they arrive to check on Danny, and Jack promptly chastises them, ordering them to go away: he’ll be handling things from here.
Back in the fragmented structure of Danny’s mind, we see Danny curled up on the floor inside some a cage—the door to which Jack chains shut to ensure he remains in control. As Jack tells Danny to rest, he makes the remark that he will “fill the place with water” if Danny tries to escape. We’re left to wonder if this will be the end of Danny once and for all. As Rya and Stan discuss what is next, Rya realizes that in order to bring Danny back, they must present him with the whole truth all at once as opposed to gently in bits.
“We have to tell him,” Rya says to Stan. “That’s what’s so beautiful about Danny: If you tell him the truth and prove it to him, he’ll believe you.”
As the court case resumes, Stan puts Danny on the witness stand, knowing he’s actually putting Jack up there. In taking this step, Rya and Stan now have the power to fight Jack by presenting Danny with enough evidence of his past in an effort to resist his alters and return to the spotlight. I have to say, the control with which Tom Holland portrays Danny portraying Jack portraying Danny is outstanding. He effortlessly oscillates between both characters with seamless innocence in his eyes, and it’s truly exhilarating to watch.
Stan and Rya’s tactic works, and the court is finally exposed to Danny’s multiple personality disorder as he awakens in his psyche and fights to get out of the prison in which Jack has secured him. And, in a moment of pure love, Danny’s other alters surround Jack to prevent him from stopping Danny from reclaiming his light. It is most heartwarming.
This entire courtroom scene brought me back to 1996’s Primal Fear, where Richard Gere puts his client Aaron, who claims to have no memory of his crimes, on the stand and pushes him just enough to provoke Aaron’s alter, Roy, to appear for everyone to see, thus leading to a mistrial. However, in Norton’s case, he actually was lying about having an alter ego and it becomes clear he created the story just to be acquitted of his heinous crimes. This is not the case with Danny in The Crowded Room.
As Danny returns to reality on the stand and Stan questions him about what really happened to Adam, we finally get the truth, which is what I have suspected all along: Adam, indeed, was never actually real; he was simply the first alter Danny created in an effort to absorb the terrifying abuse … but then there’s a twist. We learn that it was Danny who sent Adam away for wanting everything that happened with Marlin to happen.
“He wanted Marlin to do it because he wanted everything to be okay,” Danny tells Stan in a most heartbreaking and shameful moment. “He didn’t want our mom to be alone. He wanted Marlin to do whatever to him, so I had to send him away.”
Danny comes to realize his own truth that he never had a brother; he created one. He is Adam as much as he is Danny and Jack and Jonny and Ariana and everyone else. That seems to be convincing enough to the jury, as they return with a “not guilty by reason of insanity” verdict. Danny is acquitted of his crimes and set free, where he voluntarily enters a psychiatric hospital for fusion therapy to align himself with his alters and regain control of himself and his life.
Two years later, we find Danny a totally different person as Rya goes to visit him in the treatment center. He’s awake, aware, intelligent, and fully in control of his emotions and psyche. He seems to be the perfect amalgamation of the best of all his alters. He has even become a spectacular painter, which works as a source of healing for him. Seeing him in such control of such beauty fills us as viewers with hope not just for Danny himself but also for the awareness and acceptance of mental health within the medical system, the legal system, and within society.
We also learn Candy visited Danny and admitted that his father was, in fact, the first person to abuse him and she knew it; it’s why she took Danny and left. She further admits her failure as a parent where protecting Danny from Marlin was concerned, then apologizes. Danny, being the wise, experienced soul he is, accepts her apology even though he knows she will never change.
What I love about this show is that it became a study of the effects of childhood trauma as opposed to an exploration of just a certain mental health issue. Furthermore, it also touched on the sensitive issues such as abandonment and PTSD trauma survivors face. The Crowded Room does a very nice job of showcasing what traumatic responses look like and how generational cycles of abuse can fracture one’s awareness and identity if not stopped and treated.
Overall, while The Crowded Room works successfully to bring awareness to the effects of childhood trauma on one’s mental health, it more importantly works to create empathy for people in mental distress by exposing Danny’s external behaviors. In doing so, it allows us viewers to truly experience Danny’s life and situation from an internal, subjective position as opposed to a more objective reality.
My only hang-up with the show is how it address the narrative around Marlin. This child predator manages to walk away, completely unscathed for his crimes, leaving us feeling like justice for Danny is not wholly achieved. So much of The Crowded Room followed Marlin’s sleazy actions, so why didn’t it take the time to resolve that? The fact that it didn’t left me facing a circle that is not yet closed for Danny, but that’s just me. Clearly, we see him healing and hopeful by the end of Episode 10, and that’s just going to have to be enough resolution for those of us captivated by the series.
The Crowded Room Episode 10 is now streaming on Apple TV+. Find out about the true story that inspired The Crowded Room!
