Breaking Down the Surprise Twist Ending in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple

As a seasoned viewer of countless mystery series and films, I must say that the finale of The Perfect Couple was nothing short of intriguing, if not a tad predictable. The storyline was a rollercoaster ride, filled with unexpected twists and turns, but the ending, in my humble opinion, brought everything full circle in a satisfying way.

As one of the greatest minds of our time once said: Heartbreak feels good in a place like this.

In this context, we’re discussing Nantucket, a wealthy and picturesque location featured in the latest Netflix series starring Nicole Kidman, titled “The Perfect Couple”. However, as several recent stories portraying the rich have shown us – think of “The White Lotus” and “Saltburn” – the polished facade of extreme wealth can easily crack under the pressure of a single tragedy.

Susanne Bier’s series transports us to the grand summer residence of the Winburys, a wealthy family led by chilly matriarch Greer (Kidman) and her hesitant spouse Tag (Liev Schreiber), on the eve of their son Benji’s (Billy Howle) wedding to Amelia (Eve Hewson). However, the elegant wedding festivities are interrupted when a body is discovered in the water just hours before the ceremony. This leaves everyone on the extensive guest list as potential suspects. The series exudes a similar atmosphere to “The White Lotus,” and it even features a common cast member in Meghann Fahy.

In only six episodes, “The Perfect Couple” swiftly plunges us into the extravagant immorality and questionable lengths taken by the wealthy, as we explore how they maintain their high-class lifestyles within their secured estate grounds. Let’s delve into its intricate plot developments.

What happened?

A good murder mystery needs, well, a murder. Or at least a very suspicious death that has enough suspicion around it to get fingers pointing.

Apologies to those who are still pondering Fahy’s remarkable bait-and-switch tactic in season 2 of “The White Lotus”. In the series “The Perfect Couple”, she doesn’t fare so well. She portrays Merritt Monaco, a minor Instagram influencer and Amelia’s Maid of Honor.

At the conclusion of the first episode, we uncover that the corpse floating near the shallows outside the Winbury’s windows is Merritt, dressed in her form-fitting dress from the previous night’s rehearsal dinner. Was her death an accidental drowning, or was she murdered under the cloak of night? Given the barbiturates found in her system, it appears to be the latter scenario.

It becomes apparent that Merritt harbored a significant secret – not just a clandestine relationship with Tag, but also the fact that she was carrying his child.

Breaking Down the Surprise Twist Ending in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple

Who are the suspects?

When an individual passes away in the orbit of the extremely wealthy, it’s reasonable to speculate that the cause might be connected to power, intimacy, or financial gain. Consequently, several individuals spring immediately to mind as potential suspects.

Initially, there’s Greer Kidman, who balances her thriving authorship career by keeping her husband’s past indiscretions private. She’s well aware that Tag has been unfaithful multiple times and hints at a pattern of her covering up his mistakes. Interestingly, Tag seems to be maintaining a convincing facade, as Merritt is no longer just a secret relationship he can conceal behind a non-disclosure agreement.

Benji and Amelia are about to get married, but their relationship is strained due to issues with Greer. Merritt might exacerbate the tension between them, as Greer suspects that Merrit is only interested in Amelia for her wealth.

Ishaan Khattar, identified as the best man, is under scrutiny by the police due to his suspicious dealings with Greer. Adding to this suspicion, he quickly attempts to flee the island, which only fuels their investigation further.

Apart from the Winbury siblings, there’s Tom (played by Jack Reynor), the eldest brother who can be quite obnoxious. He’s married to Abby (Dakota Fanning), who is expecting a child, but she’s having an affair with Isabel (Isabelle Adjani), his mother’s best friend and a woman with whom Tom’s father was also involved in the past. This seems to be common among the wealthy. Tom is deeply in debt and finds it difficult to meet Abby’s high-society expectations.

Lastly, the youngest sibling, who goes by Will (Sam Nivola), is blossoming in a romantic connection with the police chief’s daughter. After learning about his father’s infidelity with Merritt on the eve of their wedding, Will experiences a disheartening emotional collapse under the influence of alcohol.

So who did it?

At the conclusion of “The Perfect Couple,” a wealth of details are presented, many of which seem irrelevant. It’s revealed that Greer was a high-end escort whom Tag hired and eventually fell in love with. Moreover, she has a criminal brother who appears unexpectedly in the second-to-last episode, primarily to clarify some questionable financial decisions on her part (Greer occasionally assists her brother in covering his persistent gambling debts).

Additionally, Amelia gets involved with Shooter, a fact discovered by Benji. This leads to a confrontation between them, followed by a reconciliation and an official split. However, certain events start falling into place, making the killer’s identity gradually clearer.

The Winbury boys can’t tap into their oversized trust fund until the youngest sibling reaches 18. With Will about to turn this age soon, there’s a twist: Merritt is pregnant, which means the trust may remain untouched for another 18 years.

It’s common knowledge that Tom is heavily in debt, having sought a large loan from his father and borrowed over two million dollars from Isabel. Despite appearing suspicious to the police, Tom is merely a decoy. The actual culprit is none other than his wife, Abby.

Breaking Down the Surprise Twist Ending in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple

In the course of the show, subtle hints have suggested that Abby might have killed Merritt. For instance, Gosha (Irina Dubova), the Winbury’s maid, disapproves when others clean up after themselves, implying this is her duty following an incident involving Abby cleaning a glass hastily. Additionally, Abby makes a joke to Amelia about never getting arrested due to being a pregnant white woman, which could be interpreted as a lack of concern for the law. Throughout the series, she has been rather deceitful, causing tension between Amelia and Greer, and showing minimal regard for anything but acquiring an exclusive apartment in New York City.

It was discovered that the mysterious animal fat (tallow) on Merritt’s body originated from a questionable Korean skincare product that Abby had illegally brought into the U.S. Initially, Tom appeared to be a self-important fool, but as it became clear, Abby emerged as the one in control, prompting the police to take action.

The day before the wedding, Abby secretly adds barbiturates (stolen from Amelia’s ailing mother by Tom) to a glass of juice that she gives Merritt, who is with her on the beach. Later, when Abby suggests they swim, Merritt begins to walk towards the water but collapses immediately. Abby then holds Merritt’s head underwater until she dies.

It appears that Abby had knowledge of the trust fund predicament and was eager for Tom to manage it, but instead decided to take care of it herself. She felt that Merritt and her child shouldn’t gain what she considered her money. Unfortunately, this led to her arrest and being taken away in handcuffs, effectively proving her earlier statements about her secure financial situation to be untrue.

It’s not exactly a shocking ending. By the close of The Perfect Couple, the mystery at hand feels like it is beside the point. The murderer was always going to be one of the family members, but they are each so terrible in their own way that it feels plausible that anyone could have had a reason to be the killer. But if there’s one thing we can take away from The Perfect Couple, it’s that Nicole Kidman has never met a shoreline breeze she didn’t love rustling through her beautifully manicured blowout while she looks pensively out into the horizon. May we continue to get a vehicle for it every year for the rest of time.

2024-09-06 19:06

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