The BBC crime series Wolf, drawn from Mo Hayder’s 2014 novel, follows Detective Inspector Jack Caffery as he juggles multiple cases. He’s working to solve a present-day crime, digging into the Donkey Pitch killings from the past, and is haunted by his younger brother’s unresolved disappearance.
Although some parts of the show may seem exaggerated, the six-episode series finds a strong balance between heartfelt scenes, chilling horror elements, and extremely dark humour. The cast includes Ukweli Roach from Annika, Juliet Stevenson, and Iwan Rheon of The Light in the Hall.
Because the storyline jumps across three time periods, several viewers are already searching for clarity about how Wolf ends, especially now that it’s fully available on BBC iPlayer before airing on regular television.
We’ve provided a breakdown of how it all concludes—uncovering who the real Donkey Pitch killer is and giving details about what became of Caffery’s missing brother.
What seems like a rescue turns into terror when fake cops arrive with deadly plans (Photo: Wolf/Columbia Pictures)How the Donkey Pitch Killer Was Identified in the End
As the plot developed through the earlier five episodes, viewers were increasingly disturbed by what happened to the Anchor-Ferrers family. Upon returning to their house in Monmouthshire, they were confronted with strange and frightening events that echoed the Donkey Pitch murders from years back. When DS Honey and DS Molina came knocking, the family assumed help had arrived—only to discover that these two were not actual police officers.
Instead, the impostors held Oliver, Matilda, and their daughter Lucia hostage. Around the same time, DI Caffery stumbled upon the family’s dog wearing a collar with a note crying for help. That discovery led him deeper into investigating the Donkey Pitch murders, where two victims, Sophie and Hugo, had been killed long ago.
During the final episode, Caffery uncovered new details—Hugo had been romantically involved with Lucia Anchor-Ferrers behind Sophie’s back. After Sophie unexpectedly showed up one evening, Hugo tried to humiliate her in hopes that Lucia would leave. Their cruelty ended in tragedy, sparking Caffery’s suspicion that Lucia may have retaliated against them.
Lucia’s Troubling Past and Her Connection to the Killings
As events progressed, Oliver revealed through voiceover that Lucia had a history of disturbing behaviour as a child, including the filmed killing of a cat. Caffery realised that Lucia had been one of the culprits in the Donkey Pitch case.
As he headed to the Anchor-Ferrers house, it became clearer that Lucia and Molina shared more than a partnership in crime—they were romantically entangled. Their twisted bond became even more evident after Oliver’s death, when they were shown getting intimate.
When Caffery arrived at the house, Molina opened the door and introduced himself using the family’s surname. The detective was allowed inside and subtly brought up Sophie, Hugo, and Lucia. He noted aloud that it seemed there had to be two people responsible for the Donkey Pitch crimes.
The tension quickly escalated when Molina grabbed a large kitchen knife and attempted to attack Caffery. However, the detective had anticipated this and tripped Molina before overpowering and strangling him in a brutal scuffle. Caffery then went upstairs and spotted Lucia standing on the Juliet balcony, seeming prepared to jump.
He informed her that Molina was gone and added, “You don’t want this to end, do you?”
Lucia’s Confession and Tragic Ending
Caffery began piecing the truth together for Lucia—he said she and Molina enjoyed frightening their victims and were responsible for what happened to Sophie and Hugo. Lucia confessed that she once hoped someone would rescue her from her suffering, but no one ever did. Eventually, she believed she didn’t deserve saving and fully embraced her darkness.
When she mocked Caffery for thinking she might jump, something unexpected occurred—Lucia genuinely slipped and fell. Afterwards, the detective was seen reading a letter taken from Oliver, in which the father admitted he saw his daughter leave the house the night of the Donkey Pitch murders. She had no alibi, and he had never told his wife or the authorities, claiming he had “no excuse” for his silence.
As the police moved in, Caffery found Matilda Anchor-Ferrers attempting to flee via the roof. He was able to calm her and let her know the ordeal had come to an end.
Later, he sat down with Sophie’s grandfather and presented him with a choice: learn everything about what truly happened, or leave it alone. After confirming that the person responsible could never hurt anyone else, the man said the rest no longer mattered to him.
What We Know About Jack Caffery’s Brother Ewan
Throughout the series, Jack was certain that a neighbour named Ivan Penderecki was behind his brother Ewan’s disappearance during the 1990s. Ewan had never been found, but Jack believed Ivan had left toys on their lawn over time as a cruel taunt.
Unraveling a decades-old mystery leads Caffery closer to answers about his brother (Photo: Wolf/Columbia Pictures)Toward the end of the final episode, Caffery visited the Walking Man—the person who initially put him on the path that led to solving Sophie and Hugo’s case. Jack insisted that he deserved to know the full truth about Ewan now that he’d done what was asked of him.
It was then revealed that Penderecki had been stalking Ewan before finally abducting him. A plan was in place to snatch him on his usual route home from school. However, a heated argument between Jack and Ewan in the treehouse that day gave Penderecki another opportunity to act.
Although the Walking Man attempted to ease Jack’s guilt by saying Ewan would have been taken anyway, the detective couldn’t let go of his belief that he should have trusted his childhood memory of seeing Ivan inside the house. He felt he had failed by keeping quiet and not telling his parents.
When the Walking Man asked his age at the time and Jack said “eight”, the older man gently pointed out how young that really was. As the episode closed, viewers saw Jack return to the family home and start dismantling the treehouse by hand—gripped by sorrow, regret, and fury.
Later at the police station, it was found that a toy bearing Ewan’s fingerprints had been manufactured years after the presumed time of his death. The last scene showed Caffery setting the treehouse on fire while crying—a heart-wrenching image that could open the door for a second season, possibly giving him a chance to get more clarity and justice for Ewan.
You can now watch all six episodes of Wolf on BBC iPlayer. The series airs on BBC One every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm.
