The Perfect Couple Ending Explained: Who Died, Who Killed Merritt?

Netflix’s The Perfect Couple posed a lot of questions about a mysterious murder — but did every question get answered?

Warning: This story contains spoilers about the plot of The Perfect Couple.

The Perfect Couple, which debuted on Thursday, September 5, followed a wedding weekend that gets uprooted when a body was found on the beach. The series premiere revealed that the bride’s (Eve Hewson) maid of honor, Merritt (Meghann Fahy), was the person who was killed, but it wasn’t until the finale that fans found out who was actually responsible.

Based on Elin Hilderbrand‘s novel of the same name, The Perfect Couple took some creative liberties, but the reveal that Abby (Dakota Fanning) was to blame actually stayed the same. Thomas’ (Jack Reynor) wife found out that his father, Tag (Liev Schreiber), got Merritt pregnant, which put the Winbury trust at risk. Abby took the matter into her own hands by spiking Merritt’s drink before drowning her.

The Perfect Couple also offered a resolution to most of the story lines introduced throughout the six-episode limited series. In a flash forward, viewers saw Amelia (Hewson) reconnecting with Greer (Nicole Kidman) after deciding not to go through with marrying Benni (Billy Howle).

Keep scrolling to see where every The Perfect Couple character ended up by the end of the series:

Greer Winbury

Throughout the series, Greer tried to keep up the facade of a perfect marriage to sell more of her books. Greer even kept the public from knowing that she was the one actually funding the Winbury lifestyle since her husband, Tag, had no money to his name despite having a family trust.

Greer was also getting calls from someone named Broderick, which made the police think she hired a hit man to kill Merritt for having an affair with Tag. It wasn’t until she was accused of murder that Greer admitted that Broderick was her secret brother who was blackmailing her for money to pay off a gambling debt.

The matriarch of the Winbury family ultimately confessed that her love story with Tag wasn’t what it seemed. They actually met when Broderick was helping her find clients as an escort. Tag paid for Greer’s services several times before they got married — and buried the truth about her past.

At the end of the series, Greer finally left Tag after turning a blind eye to his many indiscretions in the past. Greer used her life as inspiration for what was likely another bestseller, and six months later she found Amelia in London. Amelia got a copy of Greer’s book — which appeared to be based on their shared experiences — and that opened a door for them to remain in touch in the future.

Tag Winbury

It was obvious from the very beginning that Tag was hiding just about everything. The Perfect Couple confirmed that some of Tag’s unspoken mistakes included affairs with people within their family’s inner circle — including a former nanny. His relationship with Merritt, however, is when things went too far. Tag refused to leave Greer for Merritt, which left her at the spot where Abby subsequently drowned her.

Tag denied having any involvement with Merritt until he had no choice but to confess. He also aired out his family’s private matters at a book event, which made his public image deteriorate. By the end of the show, Tag was at peace with losing Greer and planned to remain at their home on the island.

Amelia Sacks

Marrying into the Winbury family wasn’t Amelia’s only concern on her wedding weekend. Amelia already had doubts about Benji being the one, and the delay allowed her to finally accept that. First though, Amelia found out about Merritt’s affair with Tag, which caused a fight between the best friends.

Amelia felt guilty for her last conversation with Merritt, and tried to solve her murder as a way to cope. She ultimately found out that one of her mother’s pills went missing, and it was discovered in Merritt’s system. By connecting the dots, authorities realized that Abby got it through Thomas, and Amelia was there to see Merritt’s murderer get arrested.

In her personal life, Amelia spent the whole season conflicted by her feelings for Benji’s best man, Shooter (Ishaan Khattar). Amelia and Shooter had a past that no one knew about, which led to the bride briefly giving into those feelings. Benji saw the couple kissing, and by the end of their time in Nantucket, the wedding was off.

Amelia and Benji ended on good terms while The Perfect Couple hinted at a possible reconciliation for her and Shooter in the future. Six months later, she was seen working at a zoo in London, which is where Amelia and Greer crossed paths again.

Benji Winbury

The middle child of the Winbury family spent most of the season blind to what was going on around him. While Benji knew about Tag’s affair with Merritt, he didn’t know about Amelia’s doubts regarding their future. Benji wasn’t thrilled when he found Amelia and Shooter together, but he came to terms with the fact that his relationship wasn’t working.

The series finale showed Benji parting ways with Amelia before returning to his chaotic family.

Merritt Monaco

The story behind Merritt’s murder was told mostly through flashbacks. While Merritt gave off a certain vibe, she wasn’t as much of a party girl as she would have others believe. That is why Merritt’s affair with Tag was so out of character for her. She thought there was a future for them, but when she realized there wasn’t, Merritt still wanted to keep the baby. That decision put a target on her back.

The night of her death, Tag made it clear to Merritt that he wanted her to abort their unborn child. She confided in Amelia, who was less than pleased about the situation. Merritt went on to have a conversation with Thomas’ mistress Isabel (Isabelle Adjani) about her predicament, but it was her talk with Abby that ultimately took a turn.

Abby laced a drink she gave to Merritt with a barbiturate before drowning her.

Abby Winbury

While she appeared to be unaware of what was going on around her, the pregnant Abby knew Thomas was having an affair with Isabel. She also knew Merritt was pregnant with Tag’s baby, which meant Thomas would have to wait another 18 years before getting access to the money in his family’s trust fund.

Abby took a pill she found in Thomas’ stash to drug Merritt. She then killed Merritt before asking the family’s housekeeper to get rid of the evidence. Abby was arrested for the murder after police connected the dots.

Thomas Winbury

In addition to not being faithful to his wife, Thomas was also in debt. He owed his girlfriend millions and was counting on Tag’s trust. When Merritt’s pregnancy threatened that, Thomas tried to shoot her, but ended up not doing so. Isabel stopped him and they left for a hotel, which is when Abby took the opportunity to finish the job by killing Merritt.

Thomas seemed unaware that when he stole a pill from Amelia’s mom that he was giving his wife the means to commit a crime. The series ended with Isabel confronting Thomas at his family’s house for accusing her of murder.

Will Winbury

As the youngest in the family, Will wasn’t privy to most of the secrets his parents tried to bury. He found out because of the murder investigation that Tag caused his nanny to leave his life. Will also knew that Merritt was pregnant with Tag’s baby before her death and offered to help.

Merritt entertained Will’s support, but he had nothing to do with her death. He ended the series on a positive note as he spent time with the chief of police Dan Carter’s (Michael Beach) daughter, Chloe (Mia Isaac).

Shooter Dival

The only reason Shooter appeared guilty was because of a wire transfer he made to Greer. Shooter even tried to leave the island to not have to answer any questions, but he couldn’t hide from the truth. It turned out that Shooter had no idea what he was giving Greer money for at the time. Greer explained to the authorities that she needed to pay off a debut for her brother.

Shooter still seemed out of the loop by the time the series ended. He was no longer a person of interest, which meant he could leave to go home. Before he did, Shooter had a conversation with Amelia about their complicated relationship. Amelia made it clear that she needed to work on herself first — but the open ending set up a potential reconciliation in the future between the twosome.