Every Inside No. 9 Twist Ranked
29. Last Gasp - Frankie Is Still Alive
Plot: After a pop star (David Bedella) dies while visiting a sick child, it turns out his last breath is inside a balloon he was inflating. The other people in the house realize how much this might be worth and argue over who gets ownership of the pop star's last breath.
This is one of the show's weaker episodes; the twist is perfectly OK, but nothing great.
Late in the episode, it turns out Frankie isn't dead after all... but the various characters agree they should still kill him, justifying it by saying that Frankie will probably suffer long-term health problems after what has happened (but likely thinking more about the balloon). After losing a coin toss, Frankie's personal assistant Si (Adam Deacon) smothers Frankie with a pillow.
It's not the most logical thing ever, since none of these characters (horrible as they are) ever seemed like murderers, but it does do the episode quite a bit of good. Last Gasp is often repetitive and doesn't really go anywhere much of the time, so this reveal, which upped the stakes, gave the episode what it needed.
Besides, even if it's not entirely logical, the killing of Frankie is undeniably thought-provoking and is a nice way to hammer home the episode's themes of human greed.