The Rapture ending explained: Was Bethany telling the truth?
The psychiatric patient has always denied killing her mother – and claims to draw the future… but was it all a scam?
Mammoth Screen
- Tilly Pearce
Published: Wednesday, 29 July 2026 at 11:25 am
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In BBC’s The Rapture, Dr Gabs Fox (Ruth Madeley) has grown increasingly attached to 17-year-old Bethany Krall (India Amarteifio), one of her patients at Oxsmith Psychiatric hospital after she was convicted of killing her mother, Carys.
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For two years, Bethany has maintained her innocence, claiming she has the ability to draw the future – which explains why she drew her beloved mum’s grisly death two weeks before she was found over her body. No one has ever believed her – whether it be doctors, the jury and even her dad Leonard (Sam Hazeldine), the figurehead of an online spiritual movement called The Faith Way.
But something about Bethany’s story broke through to Gabs, who started looking into her claims… and became chilled when Bethany’s drawings started coming true. On top of that, it seems to tie into a complicated conspiracy involving an energy company called Trenmoor, which seems to have MP Caroline Wren in its pocket; a tech firm called Endrion; and Climate First, an environmental activist organisation.
Soon Gabs finds herself unable to trust anyone, having fragile allies in shamed journalist Dick Carwyn (Iwan Rheon), while flirting with the idea of romance with wind farm engineer Frasier Melville (Jack Farthing).
When one lead, Daisy Stokes, winds up dead from an apparent suicide, and Bethany is seemingly attacked in hospital, she knows she needs to act – and helps her potentially dangerous case break out… only for Bethany to make a run for it instead of waiting at the planned rendezvous.
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Has Gabs fallen victim to a massive long con? Or are there more sinister forces at play? Here’s how the series finale played out…
Was Bethany lying about drawing the future?
India Amarteifio as Bethany Krall. BBC/Mammoth Screen
Bethany definitely lied about being attacked by a nurse to push Gabs into helping her break out of the hospital – and was even caught on CCTV getting the tool she used to hurt herself – but apart from that, she’s actually a pretty truthful person.
The great escape badly hurt Gabs’s credibility. With her name leaked to the press as the woman who "jailbroke a psychopath", she’s suspended from work pending investigation.
But, as strange as it may seem, Bethany really does have the ability to draw the future (as long as she’s connected to nature in some way), and did not kill her mother Carys. Her rage by the time Gabs meets her largely comes from the frustration of not being believed, forced to ingest anti-psychotics she didn’t need, and being treated like a psycho killer for two years (which, to be fair, would frustrate anyone).
Bethany ran after her escape because she didn’t trust the Climate First activists who helped with the plan. She feels something is "off" with them, though she can’t put her finger on it. She does, however, trust Gabs, and sneaks into her house when the coast is clear.
That night, as the pair talk about their pasts and regrets, Bethany shares that, in the time she’s been away, she’s drawn two new pictures – one of her father dead with a screwdriver in his eye (just like her mum was killed), and another of a burning wheelchair in the ruins. Bethany fears it means Gabs is destined to die, and she might be at fault.
Who killed Bethany’s mother and why?
So if Bethany didn’t kill her mother, who did? Well, that’s where things begin to tie together – it was Rob, a member of Climate First doing the bidding of Trenmoor boss, Max Leland (Stephen Campbell Moore).
Rob is Max’s "cleaner" and has been helping him discredit Climate First, feeding him information, and getting rid of those that are causing too much trouble. Carys was about to play whistleblower about Trenmoor’s shady dealings, so Rob was called in to "clean up".
Unfortunately for Bethany, she got framed – and now she’s out of the hospital, she is the next job on Rob’s clean-up list. Gabs finds this out slightly too late, as she and Climate First leader Annika look into videotapes to see if they’ve been doctored, which they have.
By the time the real version of the tapes reveal Rob’s face, he’s already been sent to pick Bethany up from Frasier’s house, and has her in his car. So it quickly becomes a race against time to save her before it’s too late.
Bethany’s a smart cookie though, and realising she’s kidnapped, grills Rob into a confession, before attacking him as he drives, causing a violent car crash. By the time Gabs and Dick catch up to the car, it’s smoking and ready to blow. When Dick goes to check the car, Rob is dead, and Bethany is nowhere to be seen.
Stealing Rob’s phone, Bethany calls her father, Leonard, and demands that he meet her at the ruins. Despite his plans to host a "Day of Hope" to his online congregation in The Faith Way, he does as she asks.
How is The Faith Way connected to everything?
Max Leland (Stephen Campbell Moore) and Dr Gabriele Fox (Ruth Madeley) in The Rapture. BBC / Mammoth Screen
When Leonard arrives at the ruins, Bethany demands answers, because she knows her dad is in the pockets of Max Leland too.
As Gabs and Dick catch up with them, Leonard finally admits the truth: he is a puppet for Max Leland, and The Faith Way is nothing but a cleverly curated marketing tool by Endrion, who was hired by Trenmoor to spout anti-climate change rhetoric and provide distraction.
Daisy Stokes was the woman who got him the job, and helped him build The Faith Way’s online following to be trusted with a younger generation, only to then force him to switch things up and make him say things to undermine Climate First’s activism efforts.
The Faith Way also creates distractions so Leland can pull strings with the MPs in his pockets – including Welsh minister Caroline Wren – and push bills through in his favour without public interference. Their latest event, the Day of Hope, is a cover as they get clearance to drill oil in the UK.
But when Bethany started drawing premonitions, Carys believed them to be prophecies of climate disasters, and wanted to help Climate First to prevent them. With no choice, Leonard had to come clean about his work with Endrion and Trenmoor to his wife, and she threatened to whistleblow the operation. Leonard told Max, who in turn took it upon himself to hire his "Cleaner" Rob to get rid of Carys permanently.
He knew that Bethany didn't kill her, but allowed her to take the fall, even gaslighting her to get her to believe she was responsible for her own mother’s death for the last two years.
How does the story end?
As Bethany’s confrontation with Leonard plays out, a wildfire triggered by the car crash with Rob has been growing at a rapid speed, with the forest around them quickly going up in smoke.
Dick is keen to get everybody out alive, and knowing that Bethany’s premonition drawing of Gabs’s wheelchair in a fire looks dangerously close to coming true, they need to get a move on. But Gabs refuses to leave without Bethany, telling her that the drawings may be premonitions, but they can make their own future.
Thankfully she listens, and all four of them rush out of there in a car as the forest and the ruins burn around them.
Leonard is keen to make it up to his daughter, having grown tired of living under Endrion and Max’s thumb. Gabs realises the live stream of Faith Way’s National Day of Hope is set to start in half an hour – the perfect platform to finally get the right message out to the world.
Arriving at the church, Max is already in a bad mood as his attempts to get Climate First labelled a terrorist organisation and banned have failed in a government vote. Caroline Wren was a deciding vote, and she chose against him, making a pointed comment to him in a TV interview with news channels declaring she can’t be bought.
Leonard starts the Day of Hope as planned, with 15 million worldwide tuning in to hear the planned singing celebration – but then he switches things up, declares his daughter innocent, and brings the fugitive teenager on stage to share the truth.
Max demands the livestream be shut down, but Climate First’s computer hackers are one step ahead, making sure that they can’t as Bethany exposes The Faith Way as a marketing tool for a data company (Endrion) being funded by an oil company (Trenmoor).
But she also rallies the crowd, telling them not to fall for online fearmongering while pointing out the Faith Way’s message of community is very real and if they channel it in the right way, the environment can be saved. The future isn’t set in stone.
Max attempts to duck out unnoticed, but instead runs into Climate First leader Annika, who tells him they now have more than enough evidence to take him down for good.
What comes next?
Dr Gabriele Fox (Ruth Madeley) in The Rapture. BBC/Mammoth Screen
With Endrion exposed (and Max presumably arrested), The Faith Way folded and Bethany finally free, Gabs is feeling a lot better about life as she checks in with her psychiatrist.
She later sees Frasier, thanking him for everything he and his ex-wife Nina did to help her get justice for Bethany. He is keen to continue their romance, but Gabs admits she’s not in the right place to start a relationship. While he’s sad about it, the pair part on good terms.
Dick’s reputation as a reputable journalist is finally restored, and he takes Gabs and Bethany to the church where Carys is buried.
As Bethany finally gets to say goodbye to her mum, Dick and Gabs reflect on what they went through, with Gabs revealing she’s decided to take some time off from work, before going into the church to light a candle for her husband.
When Bethany comes to join her, Gabs shares how proud her mum would be for fighting for her freedom the way she did. Confirming she sees her as a mother figure, Bethany sweetly asks, "Are you proud of me?" which makes Gabs smile, and they leave the church united.
The Rapture is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
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Authors
Tilly PearceFreelance Writer
Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist whose coverage ranges from reality shows like Love Is Blind to sci-fi shows like Fallout. She is an NCTJ Gold Standard accredited journalist, who has previously worked as Deputy TV Editor (maternity cover) at Digital Spy, and Deputy TV & Showbiz Editor at Daily Express US.
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