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The Perfect Couple is a six-episode Netflix miniseries directed by Susanne Bier (Brothers, The Night Manager) and developed by Jenna Lamia (Good Girls). The series features an ensemble cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Meghann Fahy, Donna Lynne Champlin, Jack Reynor, Michael Beach, Ishaan Khatter, Isabelle Adjani, and Dakota Fanning. The Perfect Couple began streaming on Netflix on September 5, 2024. ‘The Perfect Couple’ Review: Nicole Kidman and Ishaan Khatter’s Netflix Series Is As Imperfect as Its Flawed Characters.
The Perfect Couple is based on Elin Hilderbrand's novel of the same name. While the basic murder mystery and character outlines remain intact, the series makes significant changes from the book. New characters are introduced, such as Will (Sam Nivola), the youngest son of Greer (Nicole Kidman) and Tag (Liev Schreiber). Some characters are gender-swapped, like Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin), who was originally Nicholas Diamantopoulos in the novel. Names and character traits are also altered—Celeste from the book becomes Amelia Sacks in the series, and Ishaan Khatter's character, Shooter Dival, was an English aristocrat named Shooter Uxley in the novel.
The basic plot premise remains the same: on the morning of Benji's (Billy Howle) and Amelia's (Eve Hewson) wedding, the bride's best friend, Merritt (Meghann Fahy), is found dead, floating in the lake near the Winsbury family's private residence. The suspects include various family members and friends staying at the estate that also includes Isabel Nallet (Isabelle Adjani), who is having a discreet affair with the groom's debt-ridden, erratic older brother, Thomas (Jack Reynor), and Shooter Dival, the groom's best man, who has feelings for the bride.
As the investigation unfolds, the skeletons in the Winsbury family closet come tumbling out, such as the victim's pregnancy and her affair with the groom's father, Tag (Liev Schreiber). It’s also revealed that Greer (Nicole Kidman), the groom's mother, has a hidden connection to a criminal family from Turkey.
So, who is the killer? The Perfect Couple remains faithful to the novel in terms of who the victim and the killer are. However, the killer's motives and the method of the murder vastly differ in the show. If you want to know more, read ahead—but beware of MAJOR SPOILERS.
Who is The Killer of Merritt Monaco in 'The Perfect Couple'?
It turns out that Thomas's pregnant wife, Abby (Dakota Fanning), is the one who killed Merritt Monaco, and the motive is an extramarital affair. But Merritt was involved with Tag, Thomas’s father, while Thomas was having an affair with Isabel.
So why did Abby kill Merritt? Here’s where the novel and the show diverge significantly.
Watch the Trailer of 'The Perfect Couple':
What Happens in 'The Perfect Couple' Novel?
In Hilderbrand's novel, Merritt is an accidental victim of Abby’s recklessness. Abby uses Greer’s sleeping pills to lace a drink intended for Isabel (named Featherleigh in the novel) after discovering her affair with Thomas. Unknowingly, Merritt drinks the concoction. While out on Tag's kayak, she tries to retrieve a ring (a bracelet in the show) that Tag gave her, but due to the effects of the sleeping pills, she becomes too drowsy to swim and tragically drowns. ‘The Perfect Couple’: All You Need To Know About Charm La’Donna, Who Choreographed Opening Title Dance Sequence to Meghan Trainor’s ‘Criminal’ Song!
What Happens in 'The Perfect Couple' Show?
In the show, Merritt’s death is a deliberate murder committed by Abby. Abby used 'euthanasia' pills (pentobarbital) that belonged to Amelia's cancer-stricken mother. Thomas had stolen the pills as part of his obsession with 'prescription roulette,' where he swaps random pills from various people. Abby crushes the pills into Merritt’s orange juice as she sits by the lakeside. When Merritt starts feeling drowsy, Abby forces her head underwater and drowns her.
So, why did Abby kill Merritt? While she doesn't explicitly state the reason for murdering a woman she has no previous animosity with, it is not hard to deduce the motive. The Perfect Couple establishes earlier that the Winsbury family trust fund could only be accessed by the three sons once the youngest, Will, turned 18—which was due to happen in a few months. Thomas, deeply in debt, had borrowed large sums from his mistress, Isabel. Abby believed Thomas’s affair with Isabel was motivated by this debt. At the pre-wedding party, it wasn’t just Tag, Greer, Amelia, Thomas and Will who were aware of Merritt's pregnancy—Abby also figured it out. Abby realised that if Tag fathered another child, the trust fund would reset, delaying the family’s access to the wealth until the new child turned 18.
More than Thomas, Abby was desperate for the money to escape the Winsbury mansion and move into their new flat, where she believed her husband would be free from Isabel’s influence and Greer’s manipulations. When Thomas couldn’t bring himself to kill Merritt, Abby took it upon herself, the act triggered by witnessing Isabel take her husband away for yet another sexual tryst. Detective Nikki Henry also recalls seeing Abby furiously scrubbing a glass, which she later realises was an attempt to remove any residue of the pills used in the murder.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2024 05:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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