If you ‘ve been craving a new psychological thriller since the finale of HBO ‘s Big Little Lies, the network ‘s latest project, The Undoing, is ultimately here to fill that nothingness. Written by BLL screenwriter David E. Kelley, the newly series is based on Jean Hanff Korelitz ‘s novel, You Should Have Known .
The floor follows Grace Sachs ( played by Nicole Kidman ), a highly successful therapist and soon-to-be writer, who finds herself wrapped up in a murder mystery when a mother at her son ‘s school is viciously killed. In the middle of it all is Grace ‘s adoring conserve, who consequently goes missing at the beginning of the investigation. While Grace amazingly uncovers night secrets from her husband ‘s past, she quickly realizes her picture-perfect class is n’t sol picture-perfect .
Keep read for all the reserve spoilers, including the biggest one of them all : is Grace ‘s conserve indeed the killer ?
Reading: The Undoing: If HBO’s Miniseries Replicates the Book It’s Inspired By, It’s Going to Be a Doozy
The Murder
Grace could n’t be prouder that her son Henry attends a secret academy in Manhattan, NY — let entirely that fact it ‘s her alma flat — then when the school is seeking volunteers for its annual auction, Grace jumps on the opportunity. besides in attendance is Malaga Alves, whose son goes to the lapp educate. Throughout the design process, Malaga makes a point to list all the similarities between her son and Grace ‘s, one being their long eyelashes. Kind of curious, right ?
On the night of the auction, Grace is told Malaga would like to have a son with her, but she never confronts Grace. Soon thereafter, Grace finds out Malaga has been violently murdered and her husband is a distrust. His foreign disappearance is n’t aiding his campaign either, nor that Grace has n’t been in liaison with him for about 24 hours .
Grace begins to collect a series of crimson flags, proving her elite NYC life is n’t ampere alluring as she once thought. Among the clues are stashed condoms, birth see which she ‘s never used, and missing are Jonathan ‘s clothes and her mother ‘s heirlooms. furthermore, a erstwhile colleague of his informs Grace that Jonathan no longer works in his job at a hospital and hints at the reasoning being intimate allegations .
Grace’s Fresh Start
In an undertake at a clean slate and out of her family ‘s safety, Grace and Henry escape to their summer house in Connecticut. There, Grace reconnects with Vita, a childhood friend, who her husband forced her banish out once they got married. ( red masthead ! ) Grace is trying her best to start over, including with a new love interest, but the loom cloud of Jonathan ‘s restitution keeps her in the shadows of dark.
Read more: The 36 Best (Old) Books We Read in 2021
She ‘s convinced that because of her sociopath of a conserve, no one will ever want her counseling advice again. To top it off, her new self-help koran, You Should Have Known, touts the principle that women should know from the moment they say “ I do ” whether they are making the veracious choice for a conserve. In the end, no measure of money or therapy will be able to fix a marriage. Irony at its fullest .
Stuck in a mind game of talk through one’s hat realities, Grace sets out on one stopping point enterprise in hopes of exposing the true man Jonathan very is. She visits his family, whom she ‘s never had a relationship with, ascribable to Jonathan ‘s impression of his barbarous breeding. unaware that Jonathan had not one, but two brothers, Grace learns every report he spun about his kin was a lie. The most shock being the real reason why he does n’t get along with his syndicate : jonathan may have been responsible for his younger brother ‘s death .
The Letter
All signs are pointing toward Jonathan being the cause of death, but it is n’t until Grace receives a letter from Jonathan with his confession that the mystery is in full solved. In the letter, we learn that Jonathan had been having an affair with Malaga for quite sometime nowadays. They met while her child was undergo cancer discussion at his hospital. Within a agile time span, Malaga became pregnant with his child.
Read more: BookPage | Discover your next great book!
To keep his two families separate, Jonathan never told Grace about the matter or the pamper. He spent years worrying that Malaga would finally come clean and confide in Grace about everything. In a boldface campaign to save his marriage and aristocrat life style, he killed Malaga .
The Aftermath
The history comes full-circle when Jonathan ‘s parents, however emotionally fragile years after the death of their young son, take in Jonathan ‘s baby daughter that he had with Malaga. Grace turns his letter, which contained a trace about his location, over to the authorities. In the concluding scene, she talks with the detective on the font and agrees to donate all the furniture from her old apartment, happy to get rid of her old life .