The Undoing: Who is the killer in the final episode?

Did The Undoing reveal the killer in the final episode?

HBO‘s The Undoing has been piling on the circumstantial evidence leading to its sixth and final episode. Based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, the show follows the murder of Elena Alves and the whirlwind mystery that holds the well-to-do Fraser family at its very center.

Jonathan Fraser is the lead suspect and is on trial for the murder, but did Jonathan really kill Elena? But before we delve into the possible suspects, let’s review what we’ve learned from the limited series thus far.

Who killed Elena in The Undoing?

The Story

Life was good for Grace Fraser, who was married to an oncologist and had a successful career of her own as a Psychotherapist in New York City. Grace meets Elena on an auction committee through the private school that her son attends, Reardon. After a few awkward encounters, Elena quickly becomes the gossip of the affluent mom group.

The morning after the auction, they all learn that Elena had been beaten to death in her studio. The police question all of the Reardon parents about the auction, but Grace eventually becomes their focus.

It would soon come to light that Jonathan had treated Miguel Alves, Elena’s son, at the hospital. Furthermore, Jonathan had lost his job for having an inappropriate relationship with Elena. Jonathan had been having an affair with Elena and even fathered her baby. Elena’s apparent strange behavior was due to her affair with Grace’s husband.

To make matter’s worse, Jonathan suspiciously disappears after the murder. When Elena’s husband checks out with a legitimate alibi, Jonathan becomes the prime suspect.

The Suspects

Jonathan

There is a mountain of evidence that points at Jonathan as the killer. He was having an affair with the victim, and he claimed that Elena was a woman obsessed trying to ruin his home life. Not only was Jonathan the last person to see her alive, since he went to see her after the auction, but he also slept with Elena that night.

Grace

Grace claims not to know that her husband was having an affair, but that’s not to say she didn’t act after she became aware. There are some suspicious moments that involve Grace. For one, she was found walking the streets near Elena’s place of murder for no apparent reason.

Also, for a psychologist, Grace struggles under pressure during police questioning. Let’s not forget that she has flashbacks of Elena’s murder as if she was there and could have been the one to hide the murder weapon at her father’s country home.

Henry

Henry may be a child, but his desire for a happy family is pretty strong. He went as far as cleaning the murder weapon and hiding it, believing he was protecting his father. If he would do anything to protect his family and parents, what would stop him from killing to make sure nothing ruins what they have?

Fernando
The husband is almost always the person with the most motive and prime suspect. But Fernando has an alibi and is eliminated as a suspect once all the evidence on Jonathan surfaced. However, Jonathan’s lawyer claimed that the alibi wasn’t airtight, and there was still room for the husband to be the culprit.

The Verdict

Much to the dismay of just about everyone who watched the series, the killer is Jonathan Fraser. None of the suspicious people had anything to do with Elena’s murder, and all of the “clues” were red herrings. There was no catch. Jonathan was the killer, and he was juggling the entire time trying to throw off the blame.

Despite the disappointing ending, The Undoing was a riveting work of mystery, and viewers hope for another season. However, the likelihood of another season is slim, considering that it is a limited series, and the novel the show is based on ends in the same form. We can only cross our fingers that the creators will be inspired to create another season.

What did you think about the finale reveal? Comment below with your thoughts.

All episodes of The Undoing are available to stream on HBO Max.