It doesn't take Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) long to settle into luxury living in Rome, utilizing the access he has to Dickie Greenleaf's (Johnny Flynn) funds. First, he finds the perfect apartment, and while this building has a temperamental elevator, he doesn’t seem to mind walking up the stairs as much as he did in Atrani.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for his peace to get interrupted in Ripley episode 5, "Lucio," when Dickie's friend Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner) makes a surprise visit, and Freddie concludes something is awry. Tom takes drastic measures to continue masquerading as Dickie, and endures another challenging cover-up.
Find out what happens in Ripley episode 5 with our detailed recap.
Tom's new apartment
While Tom dreams that Dickie's body has surfaced, the lack of newspaper stories about the dead American proves Tom is safe for now. When Tom inspects a potential apartment, he explains his family is in the shipbuilding business and he is in Rome studying painting. The landlady, Signora Buffi (Margherita Buy), points out a working phone, which Tom seems impressed with, but it will cause him issues in the long run.
Tom goes shopping for essentials after paying two months' rent upfront. One purchase is the Mina record of the song he saw performed with Dickie in episode 2; another is a large block glass ashtray. Tom also picks up Dickie's repaired watch from the jeweler and writes a letter to Marge (Dakota Fanning). Tom says he loved the scarf she made (the one he threw away) and gives vague plans about maybe going to Sicily.
At American Express, when he goes to pick up Dickie's suitcase he sent ahead, one teller looks suspiciously at him, but nothing seems to be an issue yet. When Tom gets back to the apartment, the elevator is working again.
Freddie's visit
Tom has followed in Dickie's footsteps and started painting (he is already a better artist). He ignores his apartment buzzer and doesn't answer the telephone when it rings.
Unfortunately, this doesn't get rid of the unwanted visitor as there is a knock at his door, as the landlady told Freddie that Dickie is home. Of course, it is actually Tom, who tells Freddie that Dickie is out and won't be back until later. Luckily, Tom removes Dickie's ring before Freddie sees it on his finger.
Despite Tom's assurances that Dickie is out, Freddie decides to stick around. First, he grabs a drink and then comments that Tom's shoes match his. You see, Freddie and Dickie bought their Ferragamo shoes in Florence, but Tom claims they are from New York.
Freddie is annoyed Dickie stood him up for Christmas in Cortina, so he has come to Rome to find out why. How did Freddie find the apartment? It was the phone company that gave him Dickie's name.
Freddie asks too many questions
After a tense back and forth, Freddie asks Tom to pass on a message that he is staying at the Excelsior (the same hotel Tom first stayed in after he killed Dickie). Freddie leaves but quickly returns with more questions after the landlady insists Dickie is home.
Alarm bells had already gone off the first time they met in Naples, as Freddie was convinced they had already met, which Tom denied. Freddie followed up on their mutual connection with Bob Delancy, who told Freddie that Tom was not an accountant but a forger of false IDs, bank letters and other documentation.
Freddie wants to see the back of Tom's Rolex to see if it has Dickie's initials engraved and also calls out the stolen shoes. Freddie says he will return with the police, though admits he probably shouldn't have told Tom his grand plan. He's right, as Tom uses the heavy ashtray to hit Freddie, and two blows are all it takes to kill him.
Getting rid of Freddie
There is a lot of blood on the floor, so Tom removes Freddie's silk scarf to mop some of it up. He casually cleans the ashtray before looking through Freddie's pockets. Tom finds Freddie's British passport and keys to a Fiat.
First, he checks where Freddie's car is and finds several Fiat models outside. Tom locates the right car and returns to the apartment to clean up the mess. There is blood spatter on the painting by his front door, which Tom wipes clean. Next, he needs to make it seem like Freddie drank a lot, pouring vodka down his throat. The killer then smokes Freddie's cigarettes where the now-dead man sat.
A lot of blood still seeps out of the wound, and Tom puts a hat on Freddie’s head to cover it up while he gets him downstairs. They get in the elevator, which stops working before they have reached the ground floor. Episode 1's opening with Tom pulling a body down some stairs is now revealed to be Freddie. Tom has left blood in the elevator and on the steps, but first he needs to get Freddie into his car.
Tom has to improvise when he sees other people out on the street. First, he kisses Freddie and then tells a man walking his dog that Freddie had too much to drink. Tom drives Freddie out of Rome to a deserted countryside road and gets a taxi home from a nearby tavern. He cleans the blood on the stairs and elevator before anyone has noticed foul play. Tom has left Freddie slumped in the Fiat passenger seat but realizes he has left Freddie's passport behind.
Frustrated, Tom gets a taxi back to the tavern and then walks to the car, where he retrieves Freddie's things to make it look like a robbery. He returns in a different taxi, throwing Freddie's passport down the sewer grate.
Cleaning up after a murder is hard work, and Tom looks even more exhausted, making his way up several floors to his apartment. Tom does not notice the blood he has missed on the stairs or the cat paw prints in red. How long before the police come knocking?
All episodes of Ripley are available to stream now on Netflix.
