Netflix’s Red Rose deviated from its supernatural barriers and instead dug deep into the horrors of social media and the haunting lack of privacy in this modern world. By the end of season 1, the show unraveled several mysteries but left some of the bigger threats and questions untouched to explore in a potential season 2.
As the lines between the virtual world and our reality blurred with each episode, keeping up with the finale got slightly confusing. I’ll help you connect the dots and weave the dark spider’s web that you’ll need to follow if you want to prepare for a second season of Red Rose.
What is the Red Rose? When did it Bloom? Who Was its First Victim?
At the beginning of the series, Rochelle downloaded a seemingly harmless app on her phone called the Red Rose. Just to pass away the time after a hectic exam season, the teen girl had no idea how the app would soon turn her life upside down.
The app soon turned on her, slowly but surely controlling the teenager’s life. First, it taunted her with clips of her dead mother, and then it manipulated her messages and turned everyone against her. Soon it turned her frolicking summer into a digital nightmare with no end, and when she “killed herself,” no one thought to question it.
But was Rochelle the Red Rose’s first victim? It wasn’t until the finale we’d know it all began with Jacob and Alyssa. Jacob had created a network of cameras to watch his crush Alyssa, and with him watched many dark web viewers, but she rejected him after he made his move.
Jacob may have created Red Rose, but it was all for Alyssa – so when she killed herself after being tortured and mocked by the watchers, Jacob killed himself. So Rochelle indirectly became the third victim of the app, and as we know, she wasn’t the last.
The Gardener’s Takeover and Ambition Exposed
But these suicides aren’t what they seem to be. When Jacob is rejected, all the watchers make him a joke. But one watcher, the Gardener, empathized with him, and in his weak moment, Jacob granted him access to the website. The Gardener uses it to torture Alyssa, kills her when the crowd demands it, and kills Jacob when he learns the truth.
With a taste for power, wealth, and killing, The Gardener harvests other victims, starting with Rochelle through the app’s invasive software. Killing Roch and Simon and who knows who else, the Gardener would have gone on, but Jaya hacked the password-protected website. Later on, even though it would cost them the evidence to expose the dark web users and the Gardener himself, Jaya deletes the Red Rose App.
Who is the Gardener? Is the Red Rose Threat Destroyed Forever?
Jaya tells the team it was Rick who was the Gardener, but after the evidence is wiped, it is revealed that it’s a setup by the real Gardener. A woman, either the true mastermind or just another messenger, confronts Jaya and reveals herself as the woman who let Noah escape.
She then explains the real Gardener wanted to see if Wren was capable of murder, and once Jaya deleted the app and the website, Rick was the perfect scapegoat. The Gardener’s plan went on perfectly, and she is still free to wreak havoc through the dark web again.
And it turns out she wasn’t lying! At the end of the final episode of season 1, we see the Red Rose has shifted its target location from Bolton, England to Tokyo, Japan, where an innocent young man hits the download button for the app. The Gardener and the Red Rose live on, but will we get a chance to see their second phase of murder and mayhem?
Will there be a Red Rose Season 2?
The Gardener has plans for Wren, and Wren will surely seek vengeance. Once Jaya tells her that the Red Rose is up again and The Gardener is still out there, she will undoubtedly move to find her and hold her accountable for Rick’s imprisonment.
But will BBC or Netflix bring Red Rose back for season 2? I don’t know that yet since no updates for a second season have followed the series premiere on Netflix in February 2023. But considering the show’s positive reviews and climbing popularity, we might get some good news soon.
If season 2 is greenlit, we can expect it to drop on Netflix, which has bought the show’s rights, sometime in 2024.
About Red Rose
Red Rose is a 2022 British horror drama created by Michael and Paul Clarkson and produced by Eleven. The series first premiered on BBC and is now available on Netflix internationally.
The series follows a group of friends from Bolton, who want to blow off some steam after their exams, but their fun summer turns into a nightmarish reality when one of them downloads the Red Rose app.
The series stars Amelia Clarkson, Isis Hainsworth, Natalie Blair, Ali Khan, Ashna Rabheru, Adam Nagaitis, and more.
Source: Netflix
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