“Murder at the End of the World” had a disappointing reveal of the killer, but that was the point

Spoilers for the ending of “Murder at the End of the World.”

For many viewers A murder at the end of the worldThe finale had a disappointing reveal at the end, but that was part of the point of the show. The twist isn’t traditional: it’s more meta than anything. In A murder at the end of the worldIn the series finale, Bill’s (Harris Dickinson) killer is finally revealed: Ray (Edoardo Ballerini), the remarkable AI assistant of Andy Ronson (Clive Owen), saw Bill as a threat to Andy and used the ever-innocent Zoomer (Kellan Tetlow). to commit multiple murders. Ray convinced Zoomer that playing doctor was a game and, among other things, convinced the boy to give him a lethal injection.

Artificial intelligence gone too far is a common theme in films. By Stanley Kubrick 2001: A space odyssey introduced the not so innocent HAL 9000. It’s hard to imagine a story that doesn’t put the AI ​​in a harsh light. While it is difficult to attribute the crimes to an artificial being, there is no denying that Ray was a puppet master, encouraged by the “incorrect programmingand confessions from therapy sessions. While the series’ superficial “twist” was more of a revelation than anything, an interesting parallel can be drawn between the two. A murder at the end of the worldThe story and its audience.

Murder at the End of the World left viewers wondering about the identity of the killer

The genius of Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij A murder at the end of the world It lies not in the revelation of his killer, the one pulling the strings and carrying out orders, but in its premise. A murder at the end of the world left viewers obsessed with the killer’s identity. Because the series is conceived as a detective series, the current story is much more exciting than the previous one, in which Darby (Emma Corrin) and Bill solve the serial murders of the Silver Doe Killer. In reality, the character-based emotional core of the story lies in the past, in the emerging relationship between Darby and Bill.

Ultimately, it is her passionate love for Bill that drives Darby to solve his murder, despite the looming threat of Andy’s retirement. Darby is not just the viewer’s surrogate, someone from whom the audience learns the world of the show, but someone in whose shoes the viewer actually follows. Like the Darby from the previous timeline, viewers of the current thread are forced to ponder the identity of the killer. Instead of being misled by the emotional elements of the story, the viewer becomes an impartial analyst obsessed with finding crumbs and solving the mystery. As viewers theorize, it is become Darby, the deluded and obsessed serial killer.

Internet theories quickly solved the murder mystery, as did AMATEOTW’s Silver Doe Killer

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In one way or another, A murder at the end of the world It’s kind of a love letter to the series’ Reddit community. Like Bill and Darby who met on the internet and trusted like-minded psychics to solve the Silver Doe Killer’s serial murders. Viewers of the show took to Reddit and other online forums week after week to interact A murder at the end of the world Theories. This is partly due to the choice of the breeder. The OA series that viewers thought were related to her AMATEOTWand the way it broke narrative boundaries. That said, the duo’s first series set the bar very high.

This high bar had the fans spinning in incredible fashion. A murder at the end of the world Theories. Unsurprisingly, the series’ actual ending never matches up with fans’ theories. The series was never actually intended to take a wild turn. Instead, the goal included exploring the impact of innovation in a technology-obsessed society and addressing society’s collective interest in true crime. However, the series led viewers to compare themselves to the main character, Darby, who realizes that the killer’s identity isn’t actually the most important thing in the world.

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Overall, many viewers were disappointed A murder at the end of the worldThe lack of a shocking twist in the third act. Finally, the identity of the killer is quite clear from the start, with most of the evidence dating from the first few episodes of the series. However, that’s also the point of the series. By putting the viewer in Darby’s shoes, A murder at the end of the world emphasizes Bill’s comment to Darby that she wasn’t there – that he would have to die for her to love him. Determined and focused, Darby forgot her more human characteristics as she sought justice.

Likewise, viewers of the series set aside the “real” and more human story of the series (Darby’s transformation and growth) to solve the murder mystery and focus on the killer in the current timeline. In some ways, this meta setup is the real twist at the end. A murder at the end of the world. While it may not be the stunning moment viewers were hoping for, it better reflects the themes of the story. Seen from this perspective, the series has a much more satisfying conclusion.