The Woman in Cabin 10’s ending and major twist is as unhinged as it is stupid

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The Woman in Cabin 10 ending spoilers follow.

Crafting a suspenseful thriller is a delicate balance. If you play it too safe, the story feels flat, but push it too far and it becomes nonsensical. Sadly, *The Woman in Cabin 10* manages to be both – it’s predictably twisty yet ultimately tedious, leaving readers as waterlogged as the setting itself.

The new Netflix thriller, based on Ruth Ware’s popular novel, centers on journalist Laura Blacklock (Keira Knightley). While working on a yacht, she witnesses someone being thrown overboard, but the crew insists no one is missing, and no one believes her. Determined to find the truth, Laura begins her own investigation, which quickly becomes more complicated and dangerous than she expected.

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The Woman in Cabin 10 ending explained

Laura is trying to avoid her ex-boyfriend, Ben, and accidentally finds herself in cabin 10. There, she meets a quiet blonde woman who remains mostly silent.

That night, Laura overheard a disturbance coming from the neighboring cabin, number 10. Stepping onto her balcony to investigate, she witnessed a woman fall into the water and noticed a bloody handprint on the glass separating their cabins.

When Laura tells everyone what she saw, the crew insist cabin 10 has always been vacant, and nobody appears to be missing. The blood and all other proof of the incident have also vanished.

Laura shared her concerns with Ben and, while looking at his old photos, realized the women she’d met in cabin 10 had been at a party hosted by the people who benefited from Richard Bullmer’s yacht earlier that year. She began to wonder if Bullmer, the yacht’s owner, was somehow involved in everything that was happening.

It was weird waking up the next day. Anne, who was the one who asked me to come on this trip with them, barely said a word. She said she wasn’t feeling well, which, honestly, I knew about – she’s really sick. But even knowing that, something just felt…off. She wasn’t the same bubbly person I’d talked to the night before, and it was unsettling.

People believe Laura is acting strangely because she saw a murder a few months ago and is still deeply affected by it. However, things get strange when she spots the word “stop” written on a foggy shower window, and then discovers blonde hair in the drain of cabin 10 – a cabin that should be empty, as this is the yacht’s very first trip.

The story starts strong and is immediately engaging, although a bit rough around the edges. However, things quickly become unrealistic after Laura nearly drowns. Hints of a larger problem build up until the truth is finally revealed.

The person thrown overboard wasn’t who everyone thought – it was actually Anne, the billionaire’s wife who was ill. We figured it out because Anne attacked Laura and locked her away, trying to keep the truth hidden.

Wait, what?

It’s no longer actually Anne; the original Anne has passed away. She’s been replaced by a look-alike named Carrie. Richard discovered Carrie and paid her to pretend to be his wife for a single day. He needed her signature to transfer ownership of Anne’s foundation to him, ensuring he’d inherit the funds when Anne eventually died.

Anne intended to donate her fortune to charity, but Richard, motivated by greed, interfered with her plans. This was disrupted when she unexpectedly discovered Richard and Carrie together in cabin 10. A confrontation ensued – the one Laura overheard – and Anne was tragically killed during the resulting struggle.

Carrie wasn’t interested in any of the drama; she simply wanted to earn enough money to give her daughter a better life and escape poverty. Laura is right to be worried – she believes Richard is only using Carrie and will likely harm her as soon as she signs the documents, especially since Laura saw him commit a murder before.

It’s obvious Carrie doesn’t resemble Anne, and surprisingly, many of Anne’s old friends haven’t even noticed. While wealthy people can be self-absorbed, it’s hard to believe they could be so clueless. Meanwhile, Carrie carelessly leaves Laura unattended, though at least that keeps her safe from Richard, who is now also trying to harm her.

With only two hours until the boat arrived – it felt like time flew by at sea – passengers began to get ready to leave. Everyone disembarked quickly, except for Ben, who was concerned about his former partner and stayed on board a little longer.

Laura sneaks into Richard’s office and quickly finds some evidence she thinks she’ll need later. While trying to radio for help, Richard’s questionable doctor appears with a suspicious syringe. The ship’s captain arrives shortly after, and a frantic chase begins.

Ben arrived just as the doctor was about to poison Laura, but ended up being poisoned himself. Luckily, he fell on the doctor as he died, creating a distraction that allowed Laura to escape by jumping into the water. Despite the freezing temperature, Laura managed to swim to shore. She then found a secluded cabin where she was able to build a fire and get warm.

The doctor tells Richard that Laura shouldn’t have been able to survive those freezing temperatures, and he’s correct. The movie acknowledges how unbelievable the situation is, but then things get even stranger: Laura unexpectedly recovers and manages to get to Richard’s gala with no signs of being tired or suffering from frostbite.

As all of this unfolded, Carrie continued to act as Anne and signed the necessary documents, astonishing the lawyers involved. Remarkably, others who had met the real Anne were also fooled by Carrie’s convincing disguise.

Laura finally connects with the head of security on the yacht and tells them the truth. She backs up her story with a copy of Anne’s original speech, which she found in the study. The speech proves Anne intended to donate her fortune to charity, not to her husband.

Things really exploded at the gala when Laura suddenly took the stage while Richard was giving his speech. She announced that Anne wanted her story to be told correctly, and Carrie, who was pretending to *be* Anne, supported her! Everyone started demanding that Anne get a chance to speak, even though Richard was totally against it. It was a crazy moment!

Laura began reading the speech, which greatly upset Richard. He reacted angrily, blurting out to Carrie that she wasn’t who she claimed to be – Anne. The outburst was heard by everyone, naturally leading to the question of where the actual Anne was.

Knowing he’d been caught, Richard threatened Carrie with a knife, demanding she retract her statement. As if that would solve anything. With Richard forcibly pulling Carrie away, everyone finally believed Laura’s story.

Okay, so things got crazy! This security guard just shows up with a rifle and starts shooting at Richard, but he kept missing. That gave me the chance to sneak up and knock the guard out just as he was trying to… well, let’s just say things were really bad for Carrie. Richard went down, splashed into the water, and I’m pretty sure that was the end of him. But hey, we stopped him, so it’s a win!

The movie ends with a surprisingly flat scene: Laura is back at her office job, confidently reading an article she wrote about the events on cabin 10.

I just found out some things about what happened after everything went down! It turns out Anne’s money is going to cancer research, which is a really nice thing. And get this – Richard’s partners in crime, like the doctor and the ship’s captain, are actually being charged with murder! There’s a little remembrance for Ben too, which was sweet to see.

A coworker arrives and makes a grand statement, calling it “a human story for inhuman times” and saying it’s exactly what everyone needs. Laura finds it completely meaningless, and about as absurd as Carrie casually suggesting she should come visit sometime.

It’s also strange that Carrie was shown on stage at the gala next to large pictures of the actual Anne, and none of her close friends seemed to notice the difference. This is especially odd because Carrie is now played by Gitte Witt and Anne by Lisa Loven Kongsli – two different actresses.

It’s understandable why the filmmakers kept the twist – it’s a key part of the original book. It’s also worth noting that surprises like this often have a bigger impact in books, where readers use their own imaginations to build the suspense.

Honestly, the idea of turning *The Woman in Cabin 10* into something else should have been scrapped from the beginning. It would have saved everyone the trouble of slogging through this disappointing result.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is available to watch now on Netflix.

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2025-10-10 14:23