{"id":23927,"date":"2022-10-17T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1723148"},"modified":"2022-10-17T14:36:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T12:36:15","slug":"the-watcher-ending-explained-who-was-behind-the-threatening-letters","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-watcher-ending-explained-who-was-behind-the-threatening-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Watcher ending explained: Who was behind the threatening letters?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Jon O’Brien\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 17 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Ryan Murphy\u2019s latest Netflix original The Watcher<\/a> has fascinated the millions of people who have tuned in with its real(-ish) story of a couple terrorised by threatening letters after moving into their dream home.<\/p>\n

So, where did all the twists and turns \u2013 some based on reality, some entirely fabricated \u2013 eventually lead?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at what went down in the seventh and final episode of the gripping cross between American Horror Story<\/a> and Location, Location, Location<\/a> \u2013 and you can read more about the true story behind The Watcher here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Watcher ending explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Was it the PI all along?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Noma Dumezweni as Theodora in The Watcher. Eric Liebowitz\/Netflix<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The mystery appears to have been solved once and for all when cancer-stricken Theodora (Noma Dumezweni) confesses from her deathbed she was the perpetrator. The private investigator tells an astounded Dean (Bobby Cannavale) she\u2019d previously owned the house but had been forced to give it up to pay for her oncology treatment. On discovering her \u201cparasite\u201d ex-husband had squirrelled away millions of dollars, she planned to buy it back by scaring Dean and his wife Nora (Naomi Watts) into selling.<\/p>\n

This not only involved sending creepy typewritten letters but also inventing elaborate backstories for fictional characters (including serial killer prime suspect John Graff) and hiring performance artists (including the pig-tailed woman captured on video climbing into Dean\u2019s bed) to heighten the paranoia.<\/p>\n

Theodora also claims the deeply troubled Andrew Pierce (Seth Gabel), the man who talked of blood-drinking cults, was indeed a former occupier but that she\u2019d planted such ideas into his head. \u201cThis was never about you Dean, it was about the house,\u201d she concludes. However, when Dean visits neighbour Mo (Margo Martindale) in the wake of her husband Mitch\u2019s (Richard Kind) death, he discovers Theodora never lived next door.<\/p>\n

Later at her funeral, the PI\u2019s grieving daughter tells Nora and Dean her mum decided to \u2018come clean\u2019 as an act of kindness. Theodora didn\u2019t want the Brannocks to be consumed by the whodunnit once she was no longer there to help solve it and so pretended to be The Watcher to put them out of their misery.<\/p>\n

Was it Karen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jennifer Coolidge as Karen Calhoun, Naomi Watts as Nora Brannock, and Bobby Cannavale as Dean Brannock in The Watcher. Eric Liebowitz\/Netflix<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The finger of suspicion then pointed firmly towards habitual scene-stealer Jennifer Coolidge\u2019s aptly-named Karen. The realtor had been constantly badgering Nora to sell from the moment of the first letter and was also romantically involved with Chamberland (Christopher McDonald), the corrupt detective who seemed entirely uninterested in helping the Brannocks catch the offender.<\/p>\n

The evidence stacked up further when Karen bought the house herself (and hilariously refused the neighbours\u2019 home-baked gifts because of her keto diet). Yet her stay proves to be short-lived. Within 48 hours, she\u2019s running away from the house in screams of terror after her beloved dog is killed \u2013 just as the Brannocks\u2019 pet ferret was \u2013 and we later learn she quickly resold the house at a loss. Could she be the victim of a copycat watcher or was she always entirely innocent?<\/p>\n

What happened to the neighbours?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Mia Farrow and Terry Kinney as Pearl and Jasper in The Watcher. Eric Liebowitz\/Netflix<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Westfield Preservation Society, aka odd spinster Pearl (Mia Farrow) her emotionally-disturbed sibling Jasper (Terry Kinney) and Will\/John, the man who may or may not have slaughtered his entire family 20 years earlier (Joe Mantello), get two new members to bitch about next-door\u2019s kitchen tops with.<\/p>\n

Mo, who\u2019s been one of many thorns in the Brannocks\u2019 sides, gleefully accepts an invitation to the nosey club \u2013 likewise, Roger (Michael Nouri), the retired teacher whose \u2018Ode to a House\u2019 poems formed part of the hate mail puzzle. But could there be tensions within the expanded group already? Roger recognises Will immediately and despite the latter\u2019s insistence that\u2019s because of his public library job, this is clearly not the case. Could the familiarity stem from the fact that Will really is John Graff?<\/p>\n

Who are the house\u2019s new occupants?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Henry Hunter Hall as Dakota in The Watcher. Eric Liebowitz\/Netflix<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

We learn little about the family that have bought the house from Karen at a bargain price (and presumably without knowing its chequered past). Judging by the number of people shown peering at their property, though, it seems likely they too will be subjected to at least some form of stalking. Not only are the usual suspects (Mo, Pearl, Jasper) watching but so are Andrew and, most shockingly of all, Dean and Nora.<\/p>\n

What happened to the Brannocks?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Brannock family in The Watcher. Eric Liebowitz\/Netflix<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Brannocks initially appear to be recovering well from their ordeal after returning to the city. As Dean reveals in his therapy session, his and Nora\u2019s marriage is back on track, while rebellious daughter Ellie (Isabel Gravitt) now has ambitions to go to an Ivy League college. However, as the session goes on, it\u2019s clear the house still haunts him.<\/p>\n

We later see Dean admiring the property \u2013 whose mailbox is storing a brand-new typewritten letter \u2013 and telling the new man of the house his name is John. Does the building have some kind of possessive qualities as in The Amityville Horror<\/a>? The fact that Nora then rolls up just seconds after Dean has driven away proves it\u2019s still under both of the Brannocks\u2019 skin.<\/p>\n

So, who is the Watcher?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Bobby Cannavale as Dean in The Watcher Eric Liebowitz\/Netflix<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Much to some viewers\u2019 frustration, The Watcher doesn\u2019t wrap everything up in a neat bow. Although it takes countless liberties with the New York magazine article it\u2019s based on, it does stay truthful to its resolution, or lack thereof.<\/p>\n

As a cue card reveals, the identity (or identities) of the letter-writer remains unsolved in the real world. And so, Murphy also leaves audiences to guess whether it was one of the oddball neighbours, an unknown or the Brannocks themselves \u2013 or possibly even a combination \u2013 who masterminded the reign of terror.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Watcher is available to stream now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from \u00a36.99 a month<\/a>. Netflix is also available on\u00a0Sky Glass<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Virgin Media Stream<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the\u00a0best series on Netflix<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0best movies on Netflix<\/a>, or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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