The Perfect Couple Ending Explained

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The 2024 Netflix murder mystery “The Perfect Couple” is based on Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling novel of the same name, however, the live action adaptation makes quite a few changes to the original story. The plot centers on Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), a famous author married to the wealthy Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber), who owns a stunning beachside mansion. They couple is busy hosting a lavish beach wedding in Nantucket for their son Benji (Billy Howle) and his bride Amelia (Eve Hewson). But the celebration is cut short when Amelia’s maid of honor, Merritt (Meghann Fahy), is found dead on the beach the morning of the wedding, sparking a murder investigation.

In The Perfect Couple, the ending ties together the mystery surrounding the murder at the wedding, revealing some unexpected twists. At first, you might think the victim, Merritt, died due to a random mishap, but the truth is far more complicated. When the cops learn that Meritt was pregnant with Tag Winbury’s child, Tag (Liev Schreiber) and wife Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), the perfect couple in everybody’s eyes, become the primary suspects, since both have strong motives to get rid of Merritt.

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However, it’s revealed in the end that Abby Winbury (played by Dakota Fanning) is the one who murdered Merritt. Merritt was pregnant with her father-in-law Tag’s child, and if she went through with the pregnancy, it would delay the Winbury sons from inheriting their trust fund and also reduce their share. According to the legal terms, Tag’s children gain access to the trust fund only after the youngest son turns 18. Tag’s youngest, Will Winbury, is already seventeen, and his eighteenth birthday is just a few weeks away. Abby’s husband, Thomas Winbury, is a good-for-nothing brat, and she’s desperate to buy a new house, expecting to get the money from the trust fund. But if Merritt kept her baby, it would mean waiting another 18 years for the Winbury inheritance.

So, Abby crushes some drugs into a glass of orange juice, gives it to Merritt, and then suggests they take a swim—where she ultimately drowns Merritt. Ironically, the police zero in on Abby due to her husband Thomas, who is questioned over his bizarre habit of stealing prescription drugs, especially since drugs were found in Merritt’s body. In his eagerness to clear his name, Thomas quickly blames his mistress, Isabel Nallet, for murdering Merritt, claiming she must have done it so his access to the Winbury trust fund wouldn’t be delayed. The cops weren’t aware of the trust fund clause until then, which quickly makes Thomas’ wife Abby a suspect as well. Besides, Isabel reveals she had an alibi for that night, and footage from a car shows she was heading to a hotel with Thomas. Thus, Abby becomes the primary suspect and is ultimately arrested for murdering Merritt.

In the end, it’s all about money.

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