The Harlan Coben adaptation is fast becoming a New Year tradition for Netflix<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following in the footsteps of 2020\u2019s The Stranger<\/a> and 2021\u2019s Stay Close<\/a>, Fool Me Once<\/a> is the latest thriller from the crime writing extraordinaire to get the binge watch treatment just in time for the cold January nights.<\/p>\n And like its predecessors, it\u2019s written by BAFTA winner Danny Brocklehurst, stars Richard Armitage<\/a> and contains more plot twists than an M Night Shyamalan box set.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been left completely befuddled by the events in the eighth and final episode \u2013 and who could blame you? \u2013 here\u2019s the lowdown. And as you\u2019d expect, there are spoilers<\/strong> galore.<\/p>\n Most of Armitage\u2019s screen time consists of the same flashback of his nepo baby character Joe Burkett getting shot dead. So, who was responsible for putting those three bullets in his chest?<\/p>\n There were certainly plenty of credible suspects. Was it one of the two motorcyclists who\u2019d earlier tried to rob wife Maya (Michelle Keegan)? Perhaps the informant threatening to burn his family\u2019s pharmaceutical empire to the ground?<\/p>\n As it turns out, the culprit was the woman who\u2019d spent the entire series investigating his death (and his apparent rise from the dead, too).<\/p>\n Yes, as disclosed in the seventh episode\u2019s cliffhanger, the gun-wielding killer was none other than Maya<\/strong>. But why?<\/p>\n Well, the disgraced military pilot had discovered the bullet which took the life of sister Claire (Natalie Anderson) had come from the same gun only she and her husband had access to.<\/p>\n And after confronting him in the park, she learned Joe would quite happily kill his own wife in cold blood, as well.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for him, she\u2019d replaced his weapon with a fake and kept the real thing for herself. Unfortunately for her, one of those pesky motorcyclists witnessed everything \u2013 and eventually reveals all to detective Kierce (Adeel Akhtar).<\/p> Joe discovered co-worker Claire had been leaking secrets to whistleblower Corey<\/strong> (Laurie Kynaston), so then he wouldn\u2019t release the audio which further incriminated Maya in the military tragedy which saw a truck full of civilians blown to smithereens.<\/p>\n These secrets, which included fudging the numbers of successful patient trials and brushing various fatal side effects under the carpet, would bring about the downfall of the Burkett company. And so, Joe silenced Claire for good by staging what initially looked like a robbery that got out of hand.<\/p>\n However, Claire wasn\u2019t Joe\u2019s only victim. In fact, he was essentially a serial killer. He\u2019d also dispatched with Dark, the yacht captain who\u2019d been receiving monthly bribes from the Burketts ever since Joe\u2019s brother Andrew lost his life at sea.<\/p>\n The latter didn\u2019t commit suicide or accidentally fall from the boat as the family purported, though. He was deliberately pushed into the water.<\/p>\n As explained in the 1996 flashback, the siblings had caused football teammate Theo to drink himself to death during a hazing ritual. But with a guilt-ridden Andrew about to confess all, Joe decided he\u2019d rather lose his brother than his freedom.<\/p>\n In the first episode, Maya is left shocked when she sees Joe playing with their daughter Lily (Thea Taylor-Morgan) on nanny cam footage taken days after his funeral.<\/p>\n We now know, of course, she was fully aware he couldn\u2019t possibly have faked his own death. But just as you\u2019re thinking \u2018long-lost identical twin brother\u2019, a far more baffling explanation emerges.<\/p>\n The video was a deepfake produced using Joe\u2019s wedding video and the similar-looking boyfriend of the nanny (Natalia Kostrzewa) who pepper sprayed Maya<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For reasons which stretch the boundaries of credulity, the pair were hired by Joe\u2019s suspicious mother Judith (Joanna Lumley) to make Maya question herself, lose her mind and eventually confess to being the murderer. In the end, the deranged plan kind of worked. However, it didn\u2019t quite have the desired resolution.<\/p>\n After revealing all to confidante Shane (Emmett Scanlan), Maya heads to the Burketts\u2019 manor to confront Judith and her late husband\u2019s siblings Caroline (Hattie Morahan) and Neil (James Northcote), armed with a gun\u2026 which she soon unloads and places on a side table in convenient reach for the dastardly clan.<\/p>\n Anyway, after a heated t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate in which both parties admit to all their wrongdoings \u2013 Maya killing Joe in revenge and the Burketts causing mass pharmaceutical corruption on a global scale \u2013 Judith suggests making a deal: keep schtum about everything and blame Joe for all the damaging info already leaked.<\/p>\n But before Maya has a chance to even consider it, she\u2019s repeatedly shot by the weaselly Neil.<\/p>\n As Judith and Caroline look on in horror, a dying Maya glances towards the same digital photo that helped disguise her nanny cam. Seemingly prepared for things to get deadly, she\u2019d sneakily placed the hidden camera to capture all the drama<\/strong>. And in cahoots with Kierce and Corey, she\u2019d live streamed it all to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n We quickly learn the surviving Burketts have all been imprisoned for their various major crimes before the action flashes forward 18 years for a hospital-based reunion.<\/p>\n Having realised the Burketts\u2019 medication was responsible for his near-fatal deterioration and hallucinations of his murdered wife, Kierce is now in full health and with an adult son.<\/p>\n As requested by Maya in the event of her death, Claire\u2019s husband Marcus (Eddie Garvey) took custody of Lily, who\u2019s just given birth herself. And the baby\u2019s name? Yes, you guessed it, Maya.<\/p>\n All eight episodes of Fool Me Once are now available to stream on Netflix.<\/strong>\u00a0Sign 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 Check out more of our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Want to visit Death in Paradise locations in Guadeloupe at a discount?\u00a0<\/strong>Radio Times is offering savings of up to 7% for registered users booking their next holiday with travel website Expedia.\u00a0<\/strong>Claim your exclusive Radio Times Expedia holiday discount now<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n The twisty, turny thriller delivered on a big ending \u2013 but just who killed Joe? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":42843,"template":"","categories":[6,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-scaled.jpg",2560,1703,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-1024x681.jpg",800,532,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-1536x1022.jpg",1536,1022,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-ending-explained-who-killed-joe-2048x1363.jpg",2048,1363,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The twisty, turny thriller delivered on a big ending \u2013 but just who killed Joe?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/42842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Who killed Joe?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/Fool-Me-Once-Richard-Armitage-7f1846b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Fool-Me-Once-Richard-Armitage\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Why did Joe kill Claire?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Did Joe come back from the dead?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/fool-me-once-richard-armitage-camera-e901580.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"fool-me-once-richard-armitage-camera\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>The big showdown<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What happened next?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"