Sharon Horgan has once again done what she does best, bringing the complexities of life to the screen through brilliant storytelling in HBO’s Youth. The 8-episode series follows Alex, who has the glamorous job of a literary agent in London. However, her life is not as glamorous as it appears to be.

50-year-old Alex is seen struggling to balance work while raising her teen son and looking after her parents. In the previous episode, Alex seemed to have figured it out as she managed to balance everything. Just when it seemed that Alex had overcome nearly every obstacle and finally found happiness in both love and life, everything came crashing down when she discovered that Patrick might wish to have a child.

That tension went a notch up in episode 8 of the show. So, here is everything that went down in the finale.

After episode 7, the finale began on an emotional note. It began with Alex’s sister, Delly, visiting her to return a dress for the award ceremony. As Delly finds Alex crying over her situation with Patrick and her UTI,  she urges her to focus on her big day at the award ceremony.

In the last episode, Sam informed Alex that Charlotte Arbor was set to receive the lifetime achievement award, while Jessie Finlay was nominated. So, it was a big day for Alex and Sam’s agency. However, things quickly turned awkward at the event.

Before Alex could share her issues with Sam, the latter informed her about the issues in her marriage. What is worse is that the strap on her dress had come off. Meanwhile, Alex informed her about her situation with her UTI and Patrick. The two later headed to the event along with Ruari. And it seems the teen also has his own share of troubles.  

As Plum is late to the event, he worries that something he did may have upset her. In the last episode, Ruari, who was supposed to spend time with Plum, left her apartment after she had fallen asleep waiting for him to come out of the washroom. He feels guilt about the situation. But even a bigger problem awaited Alex at the event.

Charlotte's daughter Livonia, who was upset over being ignored by her mother, decided to take things into her own hands. She revealed to Alex that she was going to announce to the crowd that it was she who had written all the books under Charlotte's name after she returned from her retirement. This led Alex to continue to persuade Charlotte to mention her daughter during her acceptance speech while Ruari kept texting Plum.

Ruari also gets tense over her mother’s involvement in efforts to bring Malcolm back into the agency because of his reputation. Things get worse when Alex receives a text from Jessie Finlay, who informs her that she will not attend the awards ceremony. While the event was supposed to be a big day for Alex, it kept getting worse with more shocking revelations and unexpected twists.

Amid the chaos, she also rushes to the loo because of her UTI. One of the shocking revelations comes when their rival Grayson gets on stage and claims that he had already signed Yafa Barghouti. This is the same writer Alex and Sam have previously fought over since the latter wanted Alex to drop the writer. This gets the two friends back in an argument again.

But when Alex comments on Sam’s situation in her marriage, the latter gets upset and decides to leave. Seemingly, the two friends are in the same boat. On her way out of the venue, Sam gets a text from her husband, saying that he has made up his mind to leave for Lorcan's house and take some time off.

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That left Alex to deal with some of the biggest hurdles, which included handling Livonia.

Ruari, who was upset over the situation with Malcolm and Plum, ends up insulting his mother with a bizarre comment. However, he quickly realises his mistake. Later at the event, Charlotte gets up to receive her award. And as Alex turns to thank Livonia for her patience, she realises that the latter had a stroke, and they had to rush her to the hospital.

While Sam is absent, Alex goes on stage to receive Jessie Finlay’s award for her debut novel. On their way out, Ruari finally meets Plum. She was not upset with him but was late due to unexpected issues. The two hug and share a kiss while Alex quietly leaves the place.

However, on her way out, she met Malcolm and ended up spending the night at his house. On her way out the next morning, she gets a call from Sam, who tells her that Malcolm has signed with their agency, much to their dismay, and that she got a bonus for her work. Although this is a reason for Alex to celebrate, the eventful night clearly left her exhausted.

Later, Alex finds Patrick standing in front of her house. But as he tries to make amends, Alex argues that he should have told her about his feelings or his wish to have kids. When Patrick argues that he is not ready and that it was just a part of his therapy session, Alex reminds him that he may want to have kids in the future and regrets his decision to stay with her. The episode ends with Alex lying next to Ruari, watching videos that aptly show the coming-of-age story of Alex in midlife.

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What do you think about Youth episode 8? Let us know in the comments.