‘Mare of Easttown’ Star Speaks out About Final Moments of Shocking Episode 5

Mare of Easttown has been filled with twists and turns, but viewers still didn’t expect the ending of the HBO series’ fifth episode. Colin (Evan Peters) and Mare (Kate Winslet) finally found themselves confronting the man who has been kidnapping young girls in their small town, and the standoff turned deadly when the man pulled his gun and shot Colin before he could even pull his gun.

Peters opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the shocking death of his character, admitting he knew his character wasn’t long for the Easttown world after he only received the first five scripts for the series. Having Colin be killed just as the investigation came to a head was “incredibly tragic,” Peters told the outlet, explaining that his character was originally supposed to be a source of “a little levity.”

“Originally, we toyed around with the idea of making him overcompensating for his imposter syndrome as a little more cocky,” he explained. “And it just felt, when he dies, you want it to be shocking and tragic. So we decided to make him a little bit more of a bumpkin, trying to figure it out. He’s okay. He’s not the best detective. You know, he’s good. He gets the job done, but he’s not Mare.” At the end of Colin’s arc, he’s finally coming into his own as a detective when he’s killed, which Peters said is a fitting end: “He at least got that.”

It was a “pretty shocking” way for Colin to go out, but Peters said the cop was “not a quick draw,” so it fit with the standoff scene. Getting involved in the project in the first place, Evans said he “jumped” at the opportunity to work with Winslet. “I was sent the materials, and it said, ‘Kate Winslet as Mare.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, I got to really bust my a— and try to get this one,’” he said. “I jumped at the chance to work with Kate. It was [also] a great whodunnit and it takes place in a small town, and I come from a small town, so it felt like it was going to be a very real experience. The material was very grounded.” Colin’s interest in Mare, paired with his questionable detective skills, makes the death of the late officer even sadder. “He’s kind of a tragic character in that way,” Peters noted. Mare of Easttown airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.