The Perfect Couple Ending Explained: Who Killed Merritt?

In Netflix’s ‘The Perfect Couple,’ a happy occasion turns into a tragedy when a murder takes place on the eve of a wedding. The setting is Summerland, the grand mansion owned by the wealthy Winbury family, to which the groom, Benji, belongs. He is about to marry Amelia, whom he loves deeply despite their short acquaintance, which dismays his mother, Greer, a famous mystery novelist. The Winbury family is fraught with secrets and lies surrounding money and relationships.

This is why it comes as a surprise when the victim is someone seemingly unrelated to them. Amelia’s best friend, Merritt, who arrived a day before the wedding, is the one killed on the same night. Her sudden death sends shockwaves through the Winbury family, forcing many secrets to be revealed. Despite these revelations, the murderer turns out to be someone entirely unexpected.

The Perfect Couple Ending Explained

When the series begins, we are introduced to Amelia, Benji, and the other guests arriving at Nantucket for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. From the outset, Amelia feels like an outsider, and the atmosphere in the house is notably awkward and chilly. Her sense of being an intruder is palpable. However, the arrival of her best friend Merritt helps to alleviate some of this discomfort, as does the presence of her own family. It’s established early on that Amelia’s mother is battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, making her particularly sensitive about losing her hair.

The Usual Suspects Become the Red Herrings

It is often said that there are three primary motives for murder: love, money, and revenge. Regardless of how complex or twisted the circumstances may be, these fundamental reasons often underpin such tragic actions. Merritt’s murder exemplifies this idea, with the initial suspicions centered on love and revenge, but ultimately, money emerges as the primary motive.

In the aftermath of Merritt’s affair with Tag and her subsequent pregnancy, both Tag and his wife, Greer Winbury, become prime suspects. The authorities initially suspect that Tag might have wanted to eliminate the pregnancy, as the affair had escalated beyond his expectations. For Greer, the motive appears to stem from her animosity towards her husband’s mistress. However, suspicion alone is insufficient to determine guilt.

Tag and Greer are eventually cleared of suspicion when their alibis are verified. Tag provides evidence from his watch and its collected data, proving he was in his room at the time of the murder. Although Greer did leave the room briefly that night, her innocence is established when the true nature of her connection to Broderick Graham is revealed.

Why did Abby Kill Merritt?

The Winburys are undoubtedly wealthy, though their fortune has diminished significantly over the years. Much of their previous wealth was lost due to the heirs’ extravagant lifestyles. To safeguard the remaining assets, a decision was made to place their wealth in trust funds. Typically, a Winbury would receive their share upon turning eighteen. However, a new condition was added: no sibling would access their trust until all had reached the age of eighteen.

This rule protected the estate but created issues for the more reckless members of the family, like Thomas. As the eldest, he had to wait the longest, growing increasingly desperate over the years. By the time of Benji’s wedding, Thomas finds himself in financial trouble so severe that even his father refuses to help. He has borrowed substantial sums from Isabel, who now demands repayment. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife, Abby, is eager to purchase a new apartment an acquisition they cannot afford without the trust fund money.

Thomas is counting on his youngest brother, Will, turning eighteen soon to finally access the funds. However, news that Merritt is pregnant complicates matters. The arrival of Merritt’s baby means that the trust fund will be locked until the child turns eighteen, delaying Thomas’s access for another eighteen years. While Thomas is slow to grasp the full implications, Abby quickly realizes what needs to be done. With Merritt’s pregnancy threatening to block their access to the funds, Abby decides to take drastic measures.

Late one night, when everyone is asleep, Abby takes some pills from Thomas’ collection, crushes them, and mixes them into a drink for Merritt. Once Merritt is sedated, Abby lures her to the ocean under the pretense of a late-night swim. There, she drowns Merritt, ensuring that the obstacle to their financial future is removed. Abby then returns to her room, believing her actions have gone unnoticed. Or so she thinks.

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How is Abby Caught?

When the discovery of barbiturates in Merritt’s system is made, suspicion falls on Thomas, known for his habit of pilfering pills from everyone. He had also taken one of the pills from Amelia’s mother, unaware that it was intended for her euthanasia. During the police investigation, Thomas admits that he nearly shot Merritt in an attempt to protect his father from trouble. Isabel intervened, and Thomas then spent the rest of the night with her at the Sand Dollar Hotel.

Although Thomas’ alibi checks out, it raises suspicion because he already had an alibi from Abby, who claimed he was with her all night. Initially, it seemed Abby might be lying to shield her husband, but it becomes apparent that she was trying to establish her own alibi since she didn’t anticipate Thomas confessing his affair with Isabel. Detective Henry recalls the Winbury family maid mentioning that Abby had directed her to wash a glass of juice with hot water, and Henry remembers Abby appearing unusually anxious while doing so.

To verify his doubts, Henry questions Abby again about Thomas’ whereabouts that night. Her affirmation, which Henry knows to be false, along with other incriminating evidence, confirms Abby as Merritt’s killer. She is subsequently arrested. In a surprising turn, Greer also connects the dots just before the police arrive and realizes that her previously overlooked pregnant daughter-in-law orchestrated the murder.

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Who killed Merritt in The Perfect Couple?

Well, this doesn’t make Isabel the killer, but it does eventually reveal that Abby Thomas’s wife is responsible for Merritt’s death. But let’s rewind a bit. Investigators Dan and Nikki uncover that Shooter loaned Greer $300,000 for her secret brother, Broderick, who is in debt to a gang due to a gambling addiction. Greer had kept her brother’s existence hidden to maintain her picture-perfect family image, fearing his presence would tarnish it. In a moment of honesty, Greer confesses to her family that she was once an escort, arranged by her brother, and met Tag when he paid for her services in a bar.

The plot thickens when Amelia’s mother, Karen, who is in Nantucket for the wedding, realizes that one of her euthanasia pills is missing. Having cancer, she brought three pills with her, anticipating a possible need if her condition worsened. The investigators have already found pentobarbital in Merritt’s system, suggesting the missing pill could be linked to her death.

Thomas had taken the pill for ‘prescription roulette,’ a game where he mixes and takes medication from various people in the house. Although Thomas’s alibi is strong he and Isabel were at a nearby motel, and there’s footage to prove it the investigators realize Abby had lied. Abby claimed she went to bed at 10:30 pm on the night of the murder, while Thomas arrived back at 1:30 am. However, since Thomas was with Isabel at the motel, Abby’s alibi falls apart, pointing the investigation towards her.

Do Greer and Tag Get Divorced?

While Merritt’s murder intensifies the strain on the Winbury family, it’s important to recognize that their relationships were already under significant stress, particularly for Greer and Tag. As they approached their 30th wedding anniversary, both were aware that their marriage had long since deteriorated. It had become a facade, and Greer, in particular, had lost all affection for her husband. For most of their marriage, she had found herself constantly managing Tag’s issues. Despite his wealth, much of his money was locked in a trust fund, and he didn’t have a job, leaving Greer to shoulder almost the entire financial burden, which she managed due to her successful novels.

To add to her troubles, Greer had to tolerate Tag’s ongoing infidelities. Unable to leave him, she took on the role of managing his mistresses, often by making them sign non-disclosure agreements to keep them out of the public eye. Eventually, Greer reached her breaking point. The final straw came when Tag sabotaged her book launch party, plunging her into another crisis as she cleaned up the fallout from his actions.

Amid the chaos of Merritt’s murder investigation, Broderick Graham’s arrival, and the family’s public relations nightmare, Greer felt she had reached her limit. She realized she could not continue to manage the family’s problems indefinitely. When the murder is resolved, the PR crisis eases, and the wedding is definitively canceled, Greer tells Tag it’s time to end their marriage. She is ready to start a new chapter in her life and no longer needs Tag, symbolically closing the chapter on her “Dash and Dolly” novels as well. With everything that has transpired, Tag also acknowledges that their marriage is over, accepting the end of their relationship.

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Why Does Greer Meet Amelia? Why Does She Give Amelia Her Manuscript?

After freeing herself from Tag and the complexities of their marriage, Greer embarks on a new journey. Six months later, she travels to London to meet Amelia, who is taken aback by the visit from the woman who nearly became her mother-in-law. Amelia finds it odd, as she assumes Greer is pleased about the end of her relationship with Benji. Greer admits that while she was initially happy, in hindsight, she may have been too harsh on Amelia due to jealousy over losing her son to his wife, something she had previously denied.

Greer reveals that she has written a novel centered on Amelia. Titled “Your Move,” the book is dedicated to “absent friends,” a nod to Merritt, and “hopefully new ones,” referring to Amelia. Greer wants Amelia to read the manuscript and give her approval before it is published. Amelia is surprised that Greer seeks her endorsement. Given that the story is about Amelia, it makes sense that Greer would want her to be comfortable with it before it goes public. Additionally, the title and dedication suggest that Greer has potentially written about Merritt’s murder with Amelia as the central figure, making Amelia’s approval even more crucial. This would also help Greer avoid potential legal issues in the future.

The meeting underscores that both Amelia and Greer have moved forward in their lives. Amelia is no longer with Benji, and it appears she is not with Shooter either. She is content working at the London Zoo, living life on her own terms rather than being controlled by others. Meanwhile, Greer has released herself from the burdens that had constrained her for so long. She no longer needs to manage her husband and sons’ issues and can finally focus on her own desires. She also realizes that she and Amelia share more similarities than she previously acknowledged, which might explain why she chose Amelia as the subject of her next novel.

By seeking Amelia out, Greer hopes to mend their relationship, but it’s not just about making amends. Considering Greer’s previous work, it’s evident that she often features the same characters across multiple novels. She did this with Tag, creating the character of Dash based on him. Now, having moved on from him, Greer is looking for a new muse, which she has found in Amelia. After writing one novel with a character inspired by Amelia, Greer wants to continue the story, but she needs Amelia’s approval, especially if she plans to write more. Thus, the invitation to meet is not merely a social call but carries significant meaning for Greer and her career as a novelist.