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  • Evening Standard

    The Undoing finale divides fans as Elena’s killer is revealed at last

    by Katie Rosseinsky Dec 01, 2020 4 minutes

    A compelling murder mystery with a starry cast list and the fanciest New York apartment sets since Gossip Girl: The Undoing felt like perfect lockdown viewing when it landed on our screens this autumn.

    Indeed, the buzz surrounding this glossy domestic thriller, which stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, translated into a massive hit for Sky Atlantic, with the launch episode drawing in more viewers than the first instalment of Game of Thrones. It’s now on track to become the channel’s biggest ever series launch, beating the likes of Watchmen and even Big Little Lies.

    Anticipation for the finale, then, was high. After five episodes of revelations, plot twists and Twitter threads positing increasingly outlandish theories about the true identity of the killer, viewers would finally find out who murdered Elena Alves. Was it Grace (Kidman), acting in a jealous rage after learning that her husband Jonathan (Grant) had been having an affair with her? Could it be her father Franklin, giving the so-far underused Donald Sutherland more to do in the final act? Or even Grace’s friend Sylvia, who’d been suspiciously interested in the unfolding murder trial. Surely, though, it couldn’t possibly be Jonathan, who’d been in the frame as the prime suspect since the end of episode one?

    And yet, in defiance of everything we’ve come to expect from prestige telly, The Undoing was in fact a Hugh-dunnit (a Hugh did it?) Instead of a final act twist, writer David E. Kelley showed us that Jonathan - despite all his pleas of innocence - was in fact guilty, murdering Elena (Matilda de Angelis) in a fit of rage after meeting with her in her studio following a school fundraiser. Chillingly, he seemed to feel no remorse, proving therapist Grace’s final act diagnosis of his pathological narcissism.

    <p>Hugh did it: Jonathan was the killer after all</p>Sky Atlantic / HBO

    It was certainly a bold move from Kelley - and one that completely divided viewers. Had we been totally short-changed? Or did this definitively final finale provide us a much-needed respite from open-ended conclusions that shamelessly leave room for a second season pick-up? We’ve gathered some of the best reactions to help you make your mind up...

    After more twists and turns than Kidman’s gravity-defying corkscrew wig, some fans couldn’t believe they’d been denied a final act curveball…

    There were some deserved apologies directed at Sylvia (Lily Rabe), who’d just been a great friend to Grace all along. Nothing dodgy.

    But perhaps the biggest plot twist was… that there was no plot twist at all?

    At least we can all agree on one thing: that Noma Dumezweni deserves all the awards for her powerhouse performance as Haley Fitzgerald, the lawyer who was never afraid to tell it like it is…

    Yes, she may have been totally amoral but you’d want her defending you in court, wouldn’t you?

    Get these women a legal spin-off now…

    Grant’s chilling performance got plenty of praise, too: looks like the Hughnaissance is still in full swing.

    And finally, a toast to the best coats - and best wig - on television.

    The Undoing is available to stream on Now TV.

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