The Equalizer Season 5 Episode 5 ending explained: Who was the culprit trying to murder the comedian Craig?

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The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 was released via CBS on Sunday, November 24, 2024. The episode, titled Take My Life ... Please!, revolved around a standup comedian who had a murder hit put out on him. The equalizing team decided to investigate the situation and try to keep the comedian safe.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Equalizer season 5 episode 5.

The episode revealed how Craig the comedian had many rivals and soured bonds, who wanted him dead. However, at the end of the episode, it was a rival comedian, who was responsible for the fatal and life-threatening hits. Craig had replaced him on a comedy show and went on to garner success, leading to the jilted comedian's fury and hope that he could regain his career by killing Craig.

The official summary for the episode reads:

"The team investigates who is trying to put a hit on a stand-up comedian; McCall grapples with her feelings for Dante, who is still in town deciding how to proceed with Big Ben; Delilah continues her college search."

What was Robyn's dilemma in The Equalizer season 5 episode 5?

A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)
A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)

For the past few episodes in the storyline, Detective Marcus Dante has returned to town. Marcus' return forced Robyn to confront her feelings about him, especially evident in The Equalizer season 5 episode 5.

After Marcus took over a job in Los Angeles, he moved away from Robyn and the equalizing team. This made Robyn miss him immensely, and put any romantic notions on hold. Marcus is temporarily back in New York, attempting to deal with the aftermath of his father Big Ben's surgery. Due to this return, Robyn found it difficult to quash her feelings.

However, she hit a dilemma: she wanted to give her ex-husband Miles a chance to win her back so that the couple might be able to reunite with their family. For the past few episodes, Miles has been seen trying to make an effort for Robyn, making it more challenging for her to sort out her feelings.

On one hand, Robyn has the stability of a shared history and a daughter if she gets back together with Miles. However, she'll have to dismiss her emotion for Dante before making such a huge decision.


What was Craig the comedian's case on The Equalizer season 5 episode 5?

A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)
A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)

To avoid her conflicted feelings, Robyn decided to focus on a case at work instead. She was contacted by Shauna, a comedian named Craig Harris' wife. Shauna informed Robyn that her husband's life was in danger and someone attempted to run him down on the street after one of his shows.

However, after poking into the case, the team realized that Craig did not want to press charges. His wife disagreed with him and had chosen the unofficial route to try and solve the matter. Robyn decided to confront Craig and got to him just in time to see his car crash into a few water barrels. An investigation revealed that someone had cut the brakes of the comedian's car.

Craig agreed to talk to Robyn after this. He revealed that he was short on funds and his son had gotten injured. To pay for his son's medical bills, he decided to claim his life insurance for the family if he got killed. To put this plan in motion, Craig asked a few trustworthy friends to come up with a plan to kill him.

Unfortunately, his friends started trying to kill him before he changed his life insurance policy since they all had reasons to be upset with him. This was the point where Robyn decided to step in.


Why were Craig's friends and loved ones trying to kill him?

A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)
A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)

Craig revealed to Robyn and the team that, even though he trusted his friends, he was on rocky terms with them. He had bankrupted one and gotten a second in trouble with law enforcement after blaming a prank on him. He also stole another friend's partner and ended up marrying her.

Even though Robyn and the team traced Craig's friends, some more of his faulty equations came to light. Craig revealed that he was also not on good terms with his first wife Markesha. He had openly mocked her career at the time when they were together. He started regretting that many people wanted him dead, but Robyn and her team still soldiered on to find the person who was truly responsible.


The Equalizer season 5 episode 5: Who was finally responsible for the murder attempts on Craig?

A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)
A still from The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 (via @theequalizercbs / Instagram)

At the end of the episode, it was revealed that Craig's career had indirectly paved the way for the hits on him. His career took off when he was asked to join a comedy tour as a replacement for another comedian. The jilted comedian felt that Craig's career was his, and thought he could reclaim his pot by murdering the competition.

Before one of Craig's shows, Robyn and her team showed up to protect Craig. They arrested the rogue comedian, even though he shot at Craig. However, Craig did not get fatally injured as the bullet only grazed his shoulder. After this whole debacle, Craig also realized that he needed to be kinder to the people in his life to avoid such things happening again.


Audiences can watch The Equalizer season 5 episode 5 streaming via CBS and Paramount+. New episodes of the show are released via the platform on Sundays.