HBO's latest whodunit mystery went out with a dramatic panic fit, a gravity-defying helicopter stunt, and finally, a whimper.
Written by David Kelley (of Big Little Lies) and directed by Susannie Bier (known for Birdbox), The Undoing slowly developed into a compelling murder mystery but by the season finale, left a few head-scratching, plot-based questions unanswered.
Warning: Spoiler alert.
7. Who Exactly Is Grace Fraser's Father?
Is Franklin Reinhardt (played by Donald Sutherland) an underground mafia lord? Or a top secret CIA espionage asset locked in a safehouse? Apparently he's neither, but why does he reside in an unmarked yet spectacular apartment in the heart of Manhattan, moving with limousines and Russian-looking bodyguards at his beck and call? With enough clout to compel the NYPD to let him jump in a helicopter and join them in merry-chasing his son-in-law across state lines to the Canadian border, we could sum it up to "Oh, he's just a wealthy immigrant American man."
But at what point, after the kidnapping of your grandson do you go, "the best thing to do right now is hop in a helicopter." and actually acquire one in seconds, with flight-path permission? Is that a privilege every wealthy, white person in America is entitled to or its just because he's Franklin Reinhardt, conveniently poised to swoop down to the aid of his conflicted daughter, or pursue his mentally and financially bankrupt son-in-law.
Whatever the intentions of the series' creators with this character, he never sat right with the rest of the show except when sitting in art galleries, staring at paintings from dusk till dawn or sitting to play chess and reminisce with his daughter or sitting in the office of a school administrator and threatening to withdraw his apparently humongous financial donations from the school if they went ahead to expel his grandson for being the son of a murder suspect. It never really clicked with this character and by the end his feature raised more questions than answers. Who is he, to be so powerful? What does he do? We'll never know.
6. Hiding The Murder Weapon
Now, for people who are supposed to be among the elite and best educated of modern day New York, none of them knows how to discard an incriminating murder weapon?. The best idea Jonathan comes up with is wrapping the hammer, bloody and full of his and the victim's DNA, in a brown paper bag and stashing it in the OUTDOOR fireplace of his beach house. What an intelligent idea from an intelligent doctor. As if that wasn't bad enough, his son, Henry, finds the murder weapon, relocates it to his violin case and tucks it in the closet of his room. But before doing that, in order to get rid of the DNA evidence, Henry runs the hammer through a dishwasher. A DISHWASHER. Lmao.
6. Hiding The Murder Weapon
Now, for people who are supposed to be among the elite and best educated of modern day New York, none of them knows how to discard an incriminating murder weapon?. The best idea Jonathan comes up with is wrapping the hammer, bloody and full of his and the victim's DNA, in a brown paper bag and stashing it in the OUTDOOR fireplace of his beach house. What an intelligent idea from an intelligent doctor. As if that wasn't bad enough, his son, Henry, finds the murder weapon, relocates it to his violin case and tucks it in the closet of his room. But before doing that, in order to get rid of the DNA evidence, Henry runs the hammer through a dishwasher. A DISHWASHER. Lmao.
Well, the Frasers are wealthy so maybe they can buy the best dishwashers made of titanium or adamantium or something. But if his mother could randomly find the hammer by casually going through his closet, how much more actual police detectives? Would you try to get rid of an incriminating piece of evidence by hiding it in YOUR bedroom? Who claims to want to protect someone they love and goes about it in such a daft manner? By the way, from the very first episode, it is revealed that Henry is careless in the kitchen and never remembers to clean up after using stuff there. But he can run a murder weapon through a dishwasher... twice. Make it make sense.
5. Henry's Trauma
We're supposed to feel concern for Henry and the trauma he's gone through but does Henry himself even care about his well-being? After being convinced of his father's guilt, why does Henry still decide to go with him on a road trip at the very end? Who even goes on a road trip in the middle of a murder trial? This is a really head-scratching turn of events and one we'll never really understand. If Henry agreed because he loves his father, why did he look so shocked when Jonathan confessed to the murder while speeding on U.S. 202? He already knew and had tried to protect his father so why did the confession come as a surprise to him? Suddenly he realized they weren't supposed to be on a road trip. Doesn't add up.
4. Miguel
A child who did not see the murder of his mother take place is brought to the witness stand to be cross-examined about his father's character and at the murder trial of the primary suspect? It would be funny if it wasn't so absurd. Its even illegal in most cases. But if Miguel, who had barely said a word all season, was permitted to testify, why was it not about the circumstances of his discovering his mother's dead body? Why was it about the character of his father, who was not even the primary suspect? Nuh mek nuh sense.
3. The Media Frenzy
A young artist and mother of one is murdered in her art studio in the Bronx, New York. Mass media hysteria. Why? Either the murder rate in New York City has reduced to one per month or there's just something so special about this murder that draws enough media attention to rival OJ Simpson's trial. Murders happen everyday but for some reason the whole city stops to take interest in Jonathan's case. Normally information surrounding a murder investigation, such as the identity of suspects, their families etc., is jealously guarded by the detectives. Why is it so different here? The news and social media frenzy is so intense that Jonathan gets to appear on live TV for an interview to plead his innocence. Even his son, Henry, is threatened with expulsion from school by the administration. Would this happen in reality?
2. Grace Fraser's Testimony Against Her Husband
Oh brother. Who let this woman on the witness stand? Her husband's supposedly no-nonsense and battle-hardened lawyer? I don't know, but letting an unreliable and conflicted witness take the stand at her husband's murder trial doesn't seem like a very wise decision. Especially when the woman has enough damaging knowledge on her husband which the prosecuting lawyer could fish out directly or indirectly. Her good or bad intentions aside, no lawyer worth his or her salt (as Jonathan's lawyer is portrayed) would have let Grace go close to the witness box. They had nothing to gain by her testimony and everything to lose. If any decision at trial had the best chance of ruining the defense's chances it was this decision and that is literally what the defense went and did. Why?
1. What Was The Whole Point?
We were given a prime suspect at the beginning of the murder mystery. The rest of the show is a strenuous effort to make us believe the same man is not the killer. By the series finale, we are more or less back at square one; the prime suspect is indeed the culprit. So what was the point? Six hours of twists and turns, rhetorical gymnastics and false leads only to tell us the prime suspect was guilty all along. One almost feels defrauded upon the conclusion of the last scene.
5. Henry's Trauma
We're supposed to feel concern for Henry and the trauma he's gone through but does Henry himself even care about his well-being? After being convinced of his father's guilt, why does Henry still decide to go with him on a road trip at the very end? Who even goes on a road trip in the middle of a murder trial? This is a really head-scratching turn of events and one we'll never really understand. If Henry agreed because he loves his father, why did he look so shocked when Jonathan confessed to the murder while speeding on U.S. 202? He already knew and had tried to protect his father so why did the confession come as a surprise to him? Suddenly he realized they weren't supposed to be on a road trip. Doesn't add up.
4. Miguel
A child who did not see the murder of his mother take place is brought to the witness stand to be cross-examined about his father's character and at the murder trial of the primary suspect? It would be funny if it wasn't so absurd. Its even illegal in most cases. But if Miguel, who had barely said a word all season, was permitted to testify, why was it not about the circumstances of his discovering his mother's dead body? Why was it about the character of his father, who was not even the primary suspect? Nuh mek nuh sense.
3. The Media Frenzy
A young artist and mother of one is murdered in her art studio in the Bronx, New York. Mass media hysteria. Why? Either the murder rate in New York City has reduced to one per month or there's just something so special about this murder that draws enough media attention to rival OJ Simpson's trial. Murders happen everyday but for some reason the whole city stops to take interest in Jonathan's case. Normally information surrounding a murder investigation, such as the identity of suspects, their families etc., is jealously guarded by the detectives. Why is it so different here? The news and social media frenzy is so intense that Jonathan gets to appear on live TV for an interview to plead his innocence. Even his son, Henry, is threatened with expulsion from school by the administration. Would this happen in reality?
2. Grace Fraser's Testimony Against Her Husband
Oh brother. Who let this woman on the witness stand? Her husband's supposedly no-nonsense and battle-hardened lawyer? I don't know, but letting an unreliable and conflicted witness take the stand at her husband's murder trial doesn't seem like a very wise decision. Especially when the woman has enough damaging knowledge on her husband which the prosecuting lawyer could fish out directly or indirectly. Her good or bad intentions aside, no lawyer worth his or her salt (as Jonathan's lawyer is portrayed) would have let Grace go close to the witness box. They had nothing to gain by her testimony and everything to lose. If any decision at trial had the best chance of ruining the defense's chances it was this decision and that is literally what the defense went and did. Why?
1. What Was The Whole Point?
We were given a prime suspect at the beginning of the murder mystery. The rest of the show is a strenuous effort to make us believe the same man is not the killer. By the series finale, we are more or less back at square one; the prime suspect is indeed the culprit. So what was the point? Six hours of twists and turns, rhetorical gymnastics and false leads only to tell us the prime suspect was guilty all along. One almost feels defrauded upon the conclusion of the last scene.
What was the whole point? To reunite David Kelly and Nicole Kidman from Big Little Lies? or to deconstruct the art of storytelling itself? Either way, its a fraudulent way to take six hours from our lives and the fact that we're already in a pandemic, doing nothing and going nowhere, is no excuse. Except there's a season two secretly in the works, these outstanding questions and the deflating twist at the ending have proven to be the show's undoing.
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This is sooo good!!!
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