The Tower season 3 ending explained: who dies as Shakiel is brought to justice?

The Tower season 3 is a gritty crime thriller starring Game of Thrones favourite Gemma Whelan, based on Kate London's third novel, Gallowstree Lane. The first three episodes see the Metropolitan Police trying to bring down drug kingpin Shakiel Oliver with an undercover operation. But a huge twist in the final episode turns everything on its head. Here's everything that happened in episode 4...

The Tower S3 episode 1 recap
The Tower S3 episode 2 recap
The Tower S3 episode 3 recap

The final episode opens With Sarah going to see Ryan's mum, who is in shock after Tia was kidnapped from their home. She describes the men who took her daughter, describing King with his kingfisher tattoo. But when Sarah asks who Ryan is with, she is reluctant to reveal anything at first, but eventually admits he is with Shakiel Oliver.

Meanwhile, Lizzie and another officer are watching the council CCTV and see Shakiel arriving at Steve's flat. He's there to collect Steve for the job he wants help with, but Steve tells him he wants coffee first, trying to delay things. However, Shakiel tells him there is no time and they have to move now. At the Perseus offices, Kieran is getting ready to leave - the time has finally arrived for all their work to pay off and for them to get their drugs kingpin.

Sarah and her team are on a mission to find Tia, but King and his friend aren't daft and have turned her phone off to avoid being tracked in the car on CCTV. Sarah realises she has to tell Kieran about Tia being missing as it could affect his operation to bring down Shakiel.

Meanwhile, King is annoyed that Ryan isn't answering his phone (little do they know he has turned it off as per Shakiel's orders and now only has a burner phone on) and so they bundle Tia in the boot of a car and decide to call Ryan from Tia's phone but from a moving car to avoid being tracked.

Sarah calls Kieran and he is fuming to learn that not only is King after Ryan, but that he has also kidnapped Tia too, knowing this throws a massive spanner in the works when it comes to operation Perseus going smoothly. He tells Sarah to sort it and asks her to keep him informed.

Meanwhile, Steve and Shakiel are driving around London with Lizzie and the rest of the Perseus team tracking their every move. Shakiel calls Ryan and asks him to go to a local carwash and keep watch for the police. He goes inside and gets a drink, checking his own phone while he is there. He sees he has three missed calls but doesn't see who they are from, still following Shakiel's orders not to use his own phone.

While Ryan is inside the carwash cafe, Steve and Shakiel see another car pull into the car park and flash its lights at them. Steve pulls up alongside the other car on Shakiel's orders, all the time with Lizzie and the other officer watching the CCTV and relaying information on movements to Kieran. But when Lizzie spots Ryan's bike on the CCTV she wants to rewind and see who it belongs to, but the other officer won't let her, telling her to focus because the firearms exchange is about to take place.

As Shakiel gets out of his car, the Bulgarian gang gets out of the other and the exchange is about to take place, after checking that each has what they promised in the boot of their vehicle, they swap cars and start to drive off as the CCTV team relay all the information of what is happening to Kieran, who is in a nearby car and ready to pounce with the rest of the firearms team.

Sarah and her team are looking into the number plate of the car that King drove Tia away in and they get a match with one that was on Gallowstree Lane the same night that Spencer was killed. They work out it is a rental and after calling the hire company they get a positive ID on King from them. They also get a track on Tia's phone, meaning they can pinpoint where she is.

Meanwhile, Steve and Shakiel drive off with the firearms in the boot of the car when they are pulled over by a marked police car. At first, Shakiel thinks it is because they are two black men driving an expensive car but then he sees the officer is wearing a vest and soon twigs what is happening... before he can move quickly enough the police come from every angle and get Shakiel in cuffs, along with Steve, who is face down on the floor. As Kieran gets to the scene he finally comes face to face with the man he has spent the last two years trying to bring down. But what no one realises, is Ryan has been watching the whole thing unfold from afar.

Inside the CCTV room, Lizzie is still concerned about the bike that she saw appear and when she rewinds the tape, she sees it was Ryan, who has seen the whole police ambush. She calls Kieran and tells him that Ryan is there and has a gun, but Kieran has already asked Steve to go back to the flat in case Ryan shows up there... meaning Steve's return home to his family has been delayed.

As Ryan watches Shakiel being taken away in a police car, he cycles away, but as he is passing another police car he sees Steve in the back shaking hands with the head of the police firearms team and the penny drops that Steve has been playing them. Feeling lost, Ryan checks his phone and sees missed calls from Tia. When his phone rings again, he thinks it is his sister, but King tells Ryan he has kidnapped Tia and wants to meet. Ryan tells them to meet him at Steve's flat and he will show them who the real snitch is.

On CCTV Lizzie sees Ryan pull a gun on Steve at the door of his flat and force him inside. She tells Kirean and he organises a firearms team and a negotiator, telling her to meet him at an estate agent opposite Steve's flat so they can watch the house, but they soon hear a gunshot and Kieran decides to head into the flat, leaving Lizzie panicking that he's going to get hurt.

Meanwhile, King has spotted Sarah and Lee in an unmarked police car and soon a chase begins. But King crashes into another car and he and his sidekick make a run for it and while Lee chases them, Sarah has to force the jammed boot to get Tia out.

At the flat Ryan is getting increasingly agitated. He is almost going to shoot, but when Kieran mentions that they know where Tia is, Ryan starts to calm down. Kieran's phone rings and he asks Ryan, who still has him at gunpoint, if he can answer it as it will be about Tia. He gets confirmation from Sarah that Tia has been saved and he puts Tia on the phone with Ryan, once he knows she is okay, she begs him to come home safe. But when Ryan looks out of the flat window moments later, he sees King has arrived. Lizzie has also spotted him and calls to see where backup is, but they are still two minutes away.

Not wanting to sit and wait, Lizzie grabs a weapon and heads out to find King, but Ryan sees her and he panics, recognising her from when she arrested him. Just as Steve and Kieran are getting him to calm down and gain his trust, they find themselves back at square one. As Lizzie confronts King and almost gets herself stabbed in the process, backup arrives and they corner King. But as this happens, there is a gunshot from upstairs in Steve's flat and Kieran has been shot in the chest by Ryan. Lizzie rushes to his side and tells him she loves him, but Kieran is in a critical condition and barely conscious.

Meanwhile, Alice arrives at Mary's house to collect the phone evidence that she has for the Portland Tower case when her phone rings and she learns about Kieran's shooting. She is the one who has to tell Mary that her husband is in the hospital being operated on and offers to drive her to see him. But as Mary goes to get her bag, she sneaks into the garage and smashes the phone with a hammer.

Sarah finds King in his cell where he is told he's under arrest for Spencer's murder, Tia's kidnap, and possession of an offensive weapon. But down the corridor, Ryan is putting up a fight as he is arrested for murder and this is the moment that we learn Kieran hasn't made it and has died from being shot in the chest by Ryan at Steve's flat.

Lizzie is waiting in the hospital corridor as Mary comes out from seeing Kieran. Mary tells Lizzie that she destroyed the phone before walking away. Lizzie goes in to see Kieran, who is still lying on an operating table, and she cries as she hugs him and we see flashes of their time together as she remembers happier moments.

Steve is in the usual spot where he used to meet Kieran, but this time it is Sarah who comes to talk. She tells him that the police are trying to recover the phone that Mary destroyed, but it is unlikely they will succeed. Steve says he is pleased as Kieran was a good man and doesn't want the evidence against him to come to light. He also reveals that Ryan won't reveal where he got the gun from, meaning they can't pin the blame for Kieran's death on Shakiel. However, he gives Sarah a USB that has the information she will need to get Jurrell for Lexi's murder. He tells her to get Shakiel for him and Kieran before telling her he is going home to see his boys.

In the interview room, Sarah and Elaine are questioning Jurrell again. He won't give up Shakiel, but his loyalty comes crashing down when they play him the recording that Steve gave them which hears Shakiel telling Steve that Jurrell is like a dog, and only does the jobs that he won't go near himself. Sarah tells Jurrell that he might want to think about his loyalty now as it will determine how long he spends in jail.

Meanwhile, Steve is reunited with his sons, while Lizzie is consumed with grief as she looks at her son, Josh, who now doesn't have a father. Sarah tries to call Julie, but she doesn't answer.

Elsewhere, Ryan is put in a police van and we see flashbacks that show how quickly he was swept up unwittingly into Shakiel's world. Someone then gives him a note from Shakiel that reads 'You did it, my guy'.

All episodes of The Tower season 3 are available to watch on ITVX.