Breaking Down the Shocking Ending of The Girlfriend

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In “The Girlfriend,” set for release on Prime Video September 10, the story unfolds around Daniel (Laurie Davidson), a medical student, who finds himself entangled between his two most cherished loves: his partner Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke) and his mom Laura Sanderson, played by Robin Wright.

Though Daniel doesn’t have a romantic bond with his mother, they share a deep connection that makes them feel inseparable. Particularly attentive towards Daniel, since he lost his sister Rose at a young age and became an only child, Laura becomes suspicious when Daniel introduces Cherry as his girlfriend. Despite everyone doubting her, Laura sets out to investigate the mysterious past of Cherry, driven by her concern for Daniel.

Based on Michelle Frances’ novel “The Girlfriend,” this six-part series chronicles Laura’s mission to reveal Cherry as a mischief-maker, unveiling the unfortunate consequences on her relationship with her son. Here, we delve into why Laura initially doubted Cherry and the surprising climax of the show. (Paraphrased)

Meet the parents

Daniel brings his parents, Laura and Howard Sanderson, to meet his latest girlfriend, Cherry – a real estate agent with striking red hair – during dinner at their London residence. The two first crossed paths when Daniel was searching for an apartment and visited one of Cherry’s properties on the market.

Howard quickly connects with Cherry as they share a profession in real estate; he even introduces one of his contacts to aid Cherry in finding employment. On the other hand, Laura, a gallery owner, maintains a courteous demeanor towards Cherry but harbors suspicions. And rightfully so, for during her initial meeting with Daniel’s parents, Cherry pilfered a bracelet from Laura’s room and tossed Moses, the cat, out the bathroom window. This incident left Laura doubting both the items’ whereabouts and the safety of Moses.

As Cherry joins the family at their second home in Málaga, Spain, she feels an overwhelming sense of apprehension about fitting into their affluent lifestyle. In what could become a relationship’s worst nightmare, Cherry fabricates her swimming skills and finds herself floundering in the ocean, prompting Laura to jump in and save her. To make matters worse, Laura notices that Cherry’s swimsuit still bears its original price tag, despite Cherry’s claims of having owned it for some time.

When Cherry moves in with her new family at their house in Málaga, she’s nervous about fitting in with their rich lifestyle. In a bad turn of events, Cherry lies about being able to swim well, and ends up needing help from Laura when they’re swimming. Things get even more awkward because the tag is still on Cherry’s bathing suit, despite her saying she’d had it for a while.

In the initial episode, Laura notices an unsettling incident – Cherry physically assaults a man shortly following their first family dinner in London. Later, during their trip to Spain, Laura finds a viral video showing the same man at his wedding, where the cake is tainted with blood. This incident sheds light on why, at the beginning, Cherry removed a lamb’s heart and posed as a caterer at a wedding. When Laura shares this video with Cherry and questions if the groom could be her ex-boyfriend, Cherry remains silent. In response, Laura threatens to reveal the truth to her son.

Family drama

In her day-to-day life, Laura manages three galleries, yet beyond that, she often takes on the role of a detective. This is a fact Cherry claimed to have attended St. Florian’s school, but when Laura contacts the headmaster, a close friend of hers, it turns out that Cherry never actually enrolled there. In her investigation, Laura found and spoke with Cherry’s ex-boyfriend before Daniel. He confided in her his concerns for his safety following their breakup. Once he began dating the woman who would eventually become his fiancée, he obtained a restraining order against Cherry. Laura shared this information with Daniel, but he rebuked her for meddling in his relationship. Even her husband suspects that Laura harbors resentment towards Cherry, believing she aims to replace her.

To some extent, you’re correct. For instance, she consistently celebrated Daniel’s birthday each year by attending a musical and eating dumplings with him, but this time Cherry outdid her by arranging a rock-climbing trip to a destination that Daniel had long desired.

In addition to Daniel, Laura has strained relationships with other family members. She’s had a tumultuous relationship with her art school classmate Lilith (Anna Chancellor). Furthermore, Howard believes that Laura never loved him as deeply as he loved her. In the series, it is revealed that Howard has been covertly funding Laura’s gallery exhibitions and arranging sales for its artwork without her knowledge. This financial support has been crucial to the galleries, as they would have likely closed after their first year without his help. This revelation shocks Laura, and she is deeply disturbed. Additionally, Howard believes that Laura is overly critical of Cherry.

The fall

Life as the family knows it takes an unexpected turn when Daniel tumbles during the rock-climbing excursion. Medical professionals at the hospital question whether he’ll survive the night.

Cherry has been continuously calling Laura, but Laura keeps ignoring the calls. It’s only when she finds a solution that might help distance them both that she decides to take action.

She informs Cherry that Daniel has passed away and mentions that only family members attended the funeral. Following this, she takes Daniel to their secondary residence in Spain for recovery, anticipating that during his prolonged physical therapy sessions, Cherry might eventually move on.

However, it seems that merely separating them isn’t fully resolving the issue. Despite the separation, Laura continues to harbor resentment towards Cherry, resorting to hacking into her Instagram and posting a critical comment about “wealthy arrogants,” which ultimately leads to Cherry losing her real estate job. While Cherry has acted poorly, it appears that Laura has also engaged in similar unacceptable behavior.

In a twist, Laura’s scheme is thwarted when Cherry encounters one of Howard’s business associates at a hotel owned by Howard. This individual reveals to her that Daniel is indeed alive and having dinner with Laura, who had previously led Cherry to believe he was deceased. Seizing the moment, Cherry surprises the pair and informs Daniel that she had been informed of his death and a funeral had taken place.

Daniel reconciles with Cherry, but their reunion puts a strain on his relationship with his mother. During one of Laura’s art gallery openings, Cherry confronted Laura in her office, leading to an argument. In the heat of the moment, Cherry shattered a glass against her own head and accused Laura of throwing it at her, causing quite a stir among the event attendees.

A dark ending

Towards the end, about five months since Cherry joined the Sandersons, Daniel finds himself tired of his mother’s interference, leading to his father deciding to leave the household. Daniel is now betrothed to Cherry, and they are eagerly preparing for their engagement celebration.

Despite Laura’s persistence to reveal the true nature of Cherry to her son, she finds an opportunity when she stumbles upon a letter meant for Cherry that was mistakenly delivered to her. Contained within is a bill from a nursing home. Eager to uncover the truth, Laura decides to visit the nursing home and learns that John Laine (Simon Meacock) resides there as a patient. Pretending to be an old acquaintance who hasn’t seen him in years, she enters his room. Inquiring about his condition from a nurse, she discovers that he suffered a severe fall at a construction site, resulting in two spinal fractures and a skull fracture after falling 20 feet.

1) Laura storms towards the butcher shop owned by Tracy Laine (Karen Henthorn), who’s Cherry’s mother, inquiring if Cherry shoved her dad. Instead of denying it, Tracy admits that Cherry didn’t mean to harm him severely. She advises Laura to stay away from Cherry. However, unbeknownst to Tracy, Laura is secretly recording their exchange on her iPhone, capturing Tracy’s caution about Cherry having a strong vengeful streak.

As Tracey shares details of her conversation with Laura at the butcher shop, an unexpected turn of events unfolds. Unbeknownst to Tracey, Cherry decides to visit one of Laura’s galleries. In a sneaky move, she conceals the security cameras with a black blanket and proceeds to deface several paintings. On them, she scribbles the phrase “LIAR LIAR.” This includes works by Lilith, Laura’s lover. With Laura accusing Cherry of the vandalism, the police are alerted and they apprehend Cherry during an engagement party, leading to her arrest.

Daniel arrives at Laura’s residence, asserting that he has always strived to bring joy to her life and expects her support as he marries his soulmate. Recognizing that their bond would never be the same, she proposes a farewell drink, which he accepts. She retreats to the kitchen, concocting a cocktail laced with sleeping pills that leave him unconscious for several hours. Later, she tries to play a message from Tracey cautioning Laura about Cherry, hoping he might hear it, but his drugged state prevents him from focusing on it.

In a surprising turn of events, after being released from police custody, Cherry makes an unexpected appearance at the house. Upon seeing her, Laura pursues her relentlessly up and down the stairs, brandishing a knife. As they arrive at the Sandersons’ indoor swimming pool, Daniel regains consciousness, leading to a chaotic struggle involving all three of them in the water. In the midst of this altercation, Daniel accidentally pushes his mother underwater, resulting in her drowning. The situation is ironic given that earlier in the series, she had effectively “killed” him by deceiving Cherry into believing he was dead, and now he finds himself as the one responsible for her real death.

The conclusion finds Daniel grinning in the kitchen with Cherry, expecting, and his father enjoying laughter in the backyard. Moses, Laura’s cat, has come home and is playfully nudging something hidden beneath an end table. Daniel retrieves the item and discovers it to be his mother’s phone. He finds a charger for it, and upon activation, he peruses the last images she captured and uncovers a video of Laura’s argument with Tracey. As he rewinds the audio recording of Tracey advising Laura to stay vigilant, Daniel gazes out the window in alarm at Tracey warning Laura, “she will demand something you won’t be ready to offer, then she’ll devise a way to eliminate you.” The expression on his face shows he is fearful of what lies ahead.

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2025-09-10 17:06