'Shardlake' Episode 4 Ending Explained: Matthew Shardlake cracks open Master Singleton's riveting case
Warning: Contains spoilers for 'Shardlake'
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: 'Shardlake' Episode 4 ends with the revelation of the murderer of Master Singleton, Simon Whelplay (Joe Barber), and Orphan Stonegarden (Charlotte Christof). The series streaming on Hulu from May 1, 2024, follows Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) solving the case with Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle)
Shardlake works for Thomas Cromwell (Sean Bean) who assigns him to unravel the mystery behind the death of his commissioner Master Singleton who had been killed at St. Donatus, a monastery that was being closed for its wealth to be distributed to the King.
The mystery gets deeper when Shardlake learns about the death of Orphan Stonegarden from Simon Whelplay and witnesses Simon's death due to poisoning too. The story gets further complicated when he learns of Cromwell being involved in the false confession of Mark Smeaton's (Louis Goodwin) affair with Anne Boleyn from Jerome (Paul Kaye).
So what happens at the end of Episode 4? Does Shardlake solve the mystery of all the deaths? Will St. Donatus be shut down? Here we explain the end of 'Shardlake' Episode 4
St. Donatus gets shut down due to corruption charges
Under pressure from Thomas Cromwell, Shardlake begins working aggressively towards finding the truth about corruption in St. Donatus. He recovers details of a sale deed where he understands that Brother Edwig (David Pearse) has illegitimately sold land and kept it off the account books.
Brother Edwig who denies it at first, confesses and runs away after pushing Shardlake. Jack goes after him and with the corruption charges, it is decided that St. Donatus will be shut down.
Master Singleton's murderer is revealed to be Alice
Shardlake learns from the prison entry book that Alice Feweter (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis) was one of Mark Smeaton's visitors in prison. As it turns out, Alice was Mark's cousin and swain and the murder of Master Singleton was an act of revenge and justice in her opinion.
Jack who is in love with Alice is heartbroken by this news but promises to keep her locked in her room till morning before they leave the town. However, he lies to Shardlake about the knowledge of a secret door through which Alice escapes.
Shardlake promises to keep it a secret from Cromwell and also tells Jack that he knows about Jack killing Goodhap (Matthew Steer) but promises to hide that too.
Brother Edwig tries to kill Shardlake
Brother Edwig admits to Shardlake that he killed Orphan and poisoned Simon. He also admits to the corrupt land sale for the gold that would help organize his redemption prayer.
He tries to murder Shardlake who reverses the sword on him and kills him in self-defence. The series ends with Shardlake and Barak returning to London.
'Shardlake' trailer
