‘The War of the Worlds’ finale recap: What happened in Episode 3?

The BBC’s new The War of the Worlds mini-series concluded in the UK tonight.

Based on H. G. Wells’s classic sci-fi novel, the three-part adaptation has been written by Peter Harness (Wallander, Doctor Who).

The cast is led by Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) and Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), alongside Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) and Rupert Graves (Sherlock).

Here’s a plot recap for the third episode, which aired at 9pm on Sunday 1st December 2019 on BBC One:

Everything seems to be red, the ground, the sky – is this Mars?

Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson) and Ogilvy (Robert Carlyle) are here, but there’s no sign of George. Most people are ill or starving, and some sort of red weed covers the Earth. This isn’t Mars at all – it’s Earth in the aftermath of the Martian invasion.

At the orphanage, black smoke engulfs the sky so day never dawns. Along with Mrs Elphinstone (Susan Wooldridge), George (Rafe Spall) is now ill. Frederick (Rupert Graves) decides they need a plan of action so he inspects the orphanage with Amy, looking for supplies and potential weapons.

All of a sudden, a Martian appears – a spider-like creature that inhabited the tripod. It impales one of the party and the others make a run for it. George becomes more and more delirious and he and Amy hide in a nearby butchery.

Back in the ‘red world’, Amy is reunited with Ogilvy. Together they piece together the events of the Martian invasion, hoping to find the clue to the Martians’ weakness.

But in order to unlock the key to a human fight-back, Amy must face traumatic memories of her own.

In the butchery, George is lucid enough to realise he needs to save Amy. He goes outside to face the Martian, so that Amy can escape…

H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds novel is available on Amazon.