Just when we thought all of Suzanne’s troubles were over, the ending of Netflix’s Devil in Ohio suggested otherwise.
The eight-part thriller revolves around Mae Dodd, a teenager who escapes the devil-worshipping cult in which she was born and raised. After a stint in hospital, she winds up in the care of psychiatrist Dr Suzanne Mathis, who intends to find her a suitable foster home where she can heal from the trauma she’s endured. But Mae very quickly decides that she isn’t going anywhere.
In the finale, Mae’s mother Abigail sacrifices herself to save the cult and with that, the group disappears, leaving Mae free to choose the life she wants to live – which for her involves staying firmly by Suzanne’s side.
With the psychiatrist refusing to turn her back on the teenager, despite the rift it has created between her and her own family, Suzanne and Mae celebrate Thanksgiving alone. But before they tuck into their dinner, Suzanne receives a call from Detective Lopez, who has some concerning news.
“Mae set the whole thing up,” he says.
The white roses that she was presented with when she was crowned Harvest Queen were not the doing of the cult, as Suzanne’s daughter Jules believed when the flowers appeared to trigger the young girl, but Mae herself. She then drove herself back to Amontown, where her mother subsequently died.
It raises further questions about what Mae is capable of, and what her true intentions are.
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In an interview with Collider, Emily Deschanel (Suzanne) responded to that big reveal: “As a consumer of TV and film, I liked it because I didn’t predict it. I thought it was a surprise, and I love a surprise. It was juicy to play, as an actor. It was a really interesting twist and I liked that.
“I also thought it was fascinating for the character of Mae and what she’s doing. It adds another layer of where her drive and instincts are coming from and what she’s really doing, and then it gives me even more questions. Why did she do that? Would Suzanne forgive her? It’s very possible.”
She added: “She’s not seeing everything fully. There’s some shadow there that she’s not seeing. But I embraced the ending. I found it satisfying, but I don’t know if everyone will find it satisfying. It’s not as final, as neat and as clean as some people might want it to be.”
Devil in Ohio is streaming now on Netflix. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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