Safe episode 7 recap: what killer secret is Sophie hiding?

Sophie and Tom looking at a phone in Safe episode 7
Sophie has been hiding a huge secret from Tom. (Image credit: Netflix)

Safe on Netflix is a twisty-turny thriller adapted from a bestselling Harlan Coben book of the same name, and despite it landing on the streaming site back in 2018, fans of Fool Me Once are revisiting the series after watching the Fool Me Once ending

The story follows a single father to two teenage daughters called Tom (Dexter's Michael C Hall), who is struggling after the death of his wife a year ago. But Tom's life is thrown into further chaos when his eldest daughter disappears in mysterious circumstances. 

After Jenny's boyfriend, Chris, winds up dead in a pool his body is then dumped in a reservoir and secrets from the past are unearthed. But while we now know that Jenny is still alive, Tom's hunt for her takes another dark turn when a devastating fire next door sees the body count rising, and now the penultimate episode reveals a shocking secret that has long been buried. 

Here's everything you need to know about what happens in Safe episode 7...

The episode opens with a flashback to Sia's party once again, but this time we see Ioan upstairs desperate for the loo, only for the bathroom to finally be vacated and not only Jenny walk out, but also Henry. But what were the pair doing in there? 

After the opening credits, we see Emma following Pete in her car, and he gets cross, pulling over and demanding that she leave him alone. But before he can say any more, she blurts out that he is her dad. He's understandably shocked but takes the news well and the pair share a hug. 

As they catch up on the last 30-odd years, Emma tells Pete that her mum, Carena, has died and that the reason she is finding him now is because she is pregnant. But that's not all - she also admits that her colleague who we already know about that was killed in the line of duty was actually her boyfriend and the father of her unborn child. 

Marc Warren as Pete Mayfield in Safe

Pete is shocked to find out he has a daughter. (Image credit: Netflix)

Back at the gated housing estate, Tom blackmails the security guard into letting him see the gate CCTV and he soon finds footage of Bobby, the mysterious bar owner, arriving at the estate. 

But as he remembers seeing Bobby's car parked at an empty house nearby, he is distracted by Ioan, who is walking home. He corners the teenager about his affair with his married teacher and he presses him for more information about the night of Sia's party - which is when Ioan tells Tom about seeing Jenny and Henry in the toilet together. 

Tom goes to speak to Henry, but Sophie won't let him, claiming he is too poorly to be grilled. Instead, Emma takes Henry to the police station to be questioned, and Sophie is fuming that Emma has gone above her. She isn't allowed to be in the room when Henry is questioned, so Josh goes instead. Henry reveals that he was talking to Jenny in the toilets after she asked him to work out who was tracking her phone, and he reveals that she knew Tom was reading her messages. But as Emma presses for more information, Henry has a seizure and is rushed to hospital.  

Meanwhile, Tom and Pete go to Heaven to find Bobby, but once again the barmaid tells them that he's not been seen since yesterday. Working out what the keypad code is, Tom breaks into the staff area while Pete keeps watch. As he creeps into an office, we see Bobby watching him in a dark room on CCTV, and behind him lying down is Jenny. 

Tom gets some paperwork for another bar that Bobby owns but fails to find Jenny, despite her being so close. But as the barmaid from earlier finds him, she warns him to leave as Bobby is dangerous. 

As Pete and Tom go to leave the bar, they are shocked to see their neighbour Eric arrive, but when he sees them both he scarpers. 

Tom and Pete try and find him, but he manages to lose them and sneak back into the bar, where he is seen getting a message from the barmaid. But what Eric doesn't realize is that Pete has found him and has slipped his phone into his pocket so they can track him. 

At first, Eric doesn't go anywhere but home, but later they follow him down a country road and he is seen pulling into Jasmie Hall, the clinic that Tom discovered Rachel had been visiting before she died. 

Marc Warren as Pete Mayfield in Safe

Tom and Pete follow Eric to Jasmine Hall.  (Image credit: Netflix)

Back at the station, Emma is questioning Jojo again about the lead-up to Chris's death as she is convinced there must be something they are missing. But while initially nothing Jojo says seems to shed any light on who killed Chris, Emma is suspicious when he reveals he found Sia's pendant in the pool filter while he was cleaning it after they moved Chris's body.

Emma takes Sia to her house, which still has police everywhere, and they look in her jewelry box, but when Sia finds the necklace she claims she has never seen it before in her life. 

Back at Jasmine Hall, Tom and Pete make a nuisance of themselves again and Tom almost gets tasered by the security staff for breaking into a secure unit. However, Eric comes to his rescue and tells him it is time he 'finally knew the truth'.

He takes Tom to a room at the clinic and introduces him to his son, Craig, who is mute and has one side of his face badly scarred from a fire. 

Eric tells Tom that Craig was a victim of the school fire from years ago that killed 8 children, and was considered lucky because he didn't die, however, he has lived a miserable life since. 

Eric tells Tom that Rachel used to come and visit Craig regularly because they were friends, but the real bombshell comes when Eric reveals that the fire wasn't a random arson attack that everyone thought, but it was actually pupils from the school trying to get revenge on a teacher. 

He says there were five children involved... his son, Craig, Helen, the woman who died in the house fire the previous day and Bobby, the mysterious and dangerous bar owner who has Jenny. 

But there were two others also involved... Rachel, Tom's late wife and also Sophie, the woman who Tom's been having a relationship with! But why did Rachel keep her crime a secret from Tom and why has Sophie also been lying to him about the same thing? 

All eight episodes of Safe are available to stream on Netflix now. 

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.