White House Plumbers Episode 5 Recap – Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck’s political satire “White House Plumbers” on HBO was inspired by Egil “Bud” Krogh and his son Matthew Krogh’s nonfiction book Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices and Life Lessons from the White House. This series chronicles the exploits of E. Howard Hunt (played by Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (played by Justin Theroux), two individuals involved in the Watergate scandal. “White House Plumbers” presents an intriguing perspective by exploring how a serious national tragedy can be seen from an amusing angle in retrospect. One key theme in ‘White House Plumbers’ is the amount of hush money provided to Howard, Liddy, and their associates as an inducement; this becomes the real focus rather than any actual break-in taking place at all.
In the conclusion of ‘White House Plumbers,’ the Hunt family experiences immense grief following Dorothy’s passing. Howard refuses to testify during the Watergate trial despite advice from his attorney and pleas from his children; yet subsequent events unfold quickly, leading former superiors of both Howard and Frankie to share revealing tales with all. You will find it all here; if you require information on episode five of ‘White House Plumbers,’ you will find it all here.
White House Plumbers Episode 5 “Jackasses, Clowns, and Idiots” Recap
“White House Plumbers” brings us full circle in its final episode with Dorothy’s burial, signaling the end of this miniseries as a second season is highly unlikely to begin. Howard keeps silent about his impending divorce until William F. Buckley Jr. and Manuel Artime offer comfort; later, he finds solace among them until he is forced to sell their family home and give their care over to Artime – with David even going so far as to trust Artime with his care as his situation worsens further, eventually relying upon his godfather Artime as his caretaker.
At the wake, McCord visits Howard and brings a casserole that he and his wife prepared for Dorothy Hunt. While speaking, he alludes to government involvement in Dorothy’s death by mentioning Bud Krogh’s appointment by Nixon as Transportation Undersecretary. Later that night, Howard discovers a ledger containing information regarding Dorothy’s hush money, which she kept. He gives it to Kevan with instructions to destroy it, but Kevan refuses.
Howard suffers a stroke, and Kevan visits him in the hospital. Witnessing the consequences of Howard’s actions on their family, she turns against him and issues an ultimatum: either testify against himself, or she will make his books public.
Judge John Sirica treated Howard, Liddy, and their fellow defendants harshly throughout their trial. As their superiors distance themselves from the break-in, Howard and Liddy remain loyal to the Nixon administration while further incriminating themselves by staying true to their principles despite pressure from outside forces. McCord betrayed his team by seeking an audience with Judge Sirica, which led to him receiving a lesser sentence than the others. When jurors returned a guilty verdict for each burglar, their sentences varied accordingly; Howard received 35 years, and Liddy received 25 years before being released prior to serving their full terms in prison.
Even during the trial, President Nixon and his spokespersons pretended ignorance. McCord’s testimony before the Watergate Committee of the United States Senate in 1973 resulted in an astounding revelation: He blamed John Dean. As a result, White House attempts were made to convince Dean to follow Howard and Liddy’s example and take an oath of office; instead, he became a state’s witness and testified before Congress, leading directly to Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974.
White House Plumbers Episode 5 Ending Explained
Season 5 of “White House Plumbers” reaches its conclusion this weekend. Howard initially chose silence out of a sense of loyalty to Liddy and their fellow defendants; however, over time, it became apparent that fear played an equally influential role. Howard feared potential government reprisals should he speak up. McCord’s testimony has raised suspicions regarding Dorothy serving as an intermediary to deliver hush money between White House officials and burglars, suggesting she delivered it herself. Howard refused despite Lisa visiting him in prison and pleading with him to testify and deny any criminality related to the plane crash incident.
Following John Dean’s disclosure about Nixon’s recordings in the Oval Office, Howard suffers a stroke. Liddy rushes him to the hospital, where he ultimately recovers. Kevan is there upon awakening, offering him one final choice to consider.
Howard isn’t driven to testify by one single factor alone. Throughout the series, Howard grows increasingly suspicious that the Nixon administration could be behind his wife’s death, and its consequences would weigh heavily upon him. Before discovering details of the break-in incident, Howard desired to write a book and foresaw an open race among all involved to publish their respective versions of events. However, Liddy’s refusal scuppered those plans; by the time Howard appears before a Senate Committee Hearing Room, the chairperson has already switched their attention away from Howard and towards the charismatic John Dean.
Howard lacks the charisma and sense of humour of Dean or Liddy; the public was more drawn to figures like them post-Watergate. In 1979, a CBS miniseries on Dean’s memoir called “Blind Ambition: The White House Years” featured Martin Sheen playing him. Although Howard’s testimony did not make much of an impactful statement during the trial, his lawyer managed to secure his transfer to a low-security facility.
After spending two and a half years in prison, Howard is eventually released and opts for a more peaceful existence, marrying Laura, a schoolteacher. They start a family together. In 1974, he published “Undercover: Memoirs of an American Secret Agent.” However, following Howard’s passing, his children, St. John and David, claimed he confessed his involvement with JFK’s assassination on his deathbed. However, other family members, such as Kevan, who are Howard’s sisters, refuted this claim.
