Fool Me Once Ending Explained: Who Killed Claire? Was Joe Really Dead? Why Did Maya Kill Her Husband?
Fool Me Once is one of the new Netflix series that, in just eight episodes, has managed to intrigue the public. The story, based on the novel by Harlan Coben, has many unexpected turns and we explain them here. This captivating thriller stars an all-star cast, including Michelle Keegan, Richard Armitage, Adeel Akhtar, Emmett J. Scanlan and Joanna Lumley. The plot revolves around a family that is shaken by the tragedy of two murders. Maya Stern watches with horror the images from the security camera of her house, where her husband Joe appears to have been murdered. Meanwhile, Abby and Daniel, Maya’s nephew and niece, embark on a search for the truth behind their mother’s murder, discovering possible connections between both cases. The series envelops us in an immersive plot that unfolds with more than one monumental twist right at the end. And this is where we must issue a warning because we are going to enter spoiler territory!
From January 1, 2023, Fool Me Once will be available on Netflix. This is a new TV series based on the novel of the same name by Harlen Coben. The story revolves around Maya Stern, who is grieving after the death of her husband, who was killed in a park by two thieves. The turning point comes when Maya believes her husband is alive and begins investigating to discover the truth. In this way, the various secrets of one of the most influential families of the fictional town Winherst, the Burkett family, come out. But let’s now see together what happened to Maya’s husband.
Fool Me Once Ending Explained: Summary Recap
The plot of the miniseries Fool Me Once on Netflix begins with former army captain Maya Stern who, after the funeral of her husband Joe, who died as a murderer, tries to get her life back in hand. The woman installs a camera to monitor her little daughter and she is shocked when she sees a man she knows well: her husband. Sergeant Sami Kierce leads the investigation into Joe’s murder and finds himself facing his skeletons in the closet. Meanwhile, Maya’s grandchildren are trying to discover the truth about their mother’s death, which occurred a few months earlier.
At this point, the question arises: are the two deaths connected? Not only that, is Maya’s mind playing tricks on her? Her husband Joe died after being shot during an attack. Sami Kierce, however, believes that things didn’t go exactly that way. At the same time, he thinks that Maya is having hallucinations caused by the severe loss of both her husband and her sister Claire. But is it really like that? Is Maya’s husband alive or is he dead? Meanwhile, while the woman also has to deal with the intrusive presence of her mother-in-law Judith, Kierce discovers that the gun with which Joe was killed is the same one with which Claire was murdered.
Fool Me Once Ending Explained: Was Joe Really Dead?
From the beginning, the series raises the question of whether Joel died or faked his death. Maya, the protagonist, discovers shocking images in her daughter’s hidden cameras, where she supposedly sees her deceased husband. Throughout the plot, the line between reality and imagination blurs. The outcome reveals that Joel is dead, confirmed by the guilt of Maya, who shot him, as the police suspected. However, the images were not the fruit of her imagination but manipulated by Judith, Joe’s mother, seeking a confession to the crime.
Maya Killed Joe, Why?
Why did Maya kill her husband in the TV series Fool Me Once? The woman had discovered the whole truth, but she knew she had no chance of winning in court against her rich family, risking losing custody of her daughter Lily. Coming to the limit, Maya confronted Joe and later killed him. Now she decides to tell the police a false version. The situation, however, worsens when she discovers the footage recorded by the baby monitor.
Why Did Maya Kill Her Husband?
Why on earth did Maya decide to take such extreme measures against her husband? Well, it turns out that Maya’s resentment has deep roots dating back to the murder of her sister in a past robbery. Armed with the suspicion that Joe was involved in the tragedy, Maya decides to investigate. And she confirms it by performing ballistics tests on the gun kept in her home! The confrontation between the couple reaches its climax in an encounter in the park, where Joe, in a moment of madness, tries to shoot him.
But surprise! Maya, crafty as always, swaps the gun, leaving Joe empty-handed. Faced with the attempted murder of her husband, Maya acts in self-defense, shooting him in the chest. But here comes the clever thing about her: she handles the situation so cleverly that she manages to evade suspicion about the crime she just committed! However, clever DS Sami Kierce is not fooled. Following the trail of the motorcyclists present in the park on a fateful night, she discovers the truth: Maya was the author of the shot that ended the life of her husband, unraveling the mystery and leaving us all speechless.
Why Did Joe kill Claire, Andrew and Tommy?
But why did Joe Burkett kill Claire in Fool Me Once? When she was working as a military man, Maya accidentally caused a serious accident, which killed several civilians in the Middle East. The woman never recovered from what happened and, in the meantime, an informant, Corey, had access to the military database and found the evidence, without audio, which then destroyed Maya’s career. Corey went looking for more footage but was stopped by Claire, who made a deal with him. Claire stole confidential documents from Lambur Pharma, a pharmaceutical company of Burkett Global Enterprises. Corey was certain that the company was hiding the truth about their drugs, which had caused several deaths. Claire worked at Lambur Pharma and, therefore, she could have access to this information. Not only that, Claire had also discovered a secret concerning Joe himself.
In the past, the latter killed his classmate Theo Mora, out of jealousy. The person who witnessed the murder, Christopher Swain, told Claire that Joe was a very competitive and impulsive boy. After Mora’s death, Andrew, Joe’s brother, felt guilty and wanted to talk. Therefore, Joe also killed his brother by throwing him off a yacht. After that, he murdered Maya’s sister. Her mother, Judith, always knew the truth about Claire’s death, but she chose not to talk about her because she believed her son had done the right thing for the family. Afterward, Joe killed Tommy Dark, the owner of the yacht where he killed his brother. Since he knew about the murder and was paid by his mother every month, Joe decided to kill him to avoid a future threat. He committed the crime using Maya’s car.
Who Killed Claire?
Who killed Maya’s sister? It turns out that Claire died at the hands of some thieves who tried to steal from her house. The gun used was a Glock 17, which matched the one Maya kept in her secret locker. With the help of her army friend, Shane Tessier, the woman discovers that this is the gun used. Maya becomes convinced that her husband Joe stole the gun from her locker to kill Claire.
Why Had Joe Killed Claire?
It turns out that Joe made the shocking decision to end Claire’s life because she had unearthed explosive information about the Burkett family businesses in the pharmaceutical industry. Claire, before her tragic death, had tracked down Corey the Whistle, the anonymous whistleblower responsible for leaking compromising images of Maya. These images led to the loss of Maya’s military job, which created chaos in her life. In an attempt to help her sister, Claire negotiated with Corey to stop the release of the audio footage, which would have been even more damaging to Maya by showing her going against direct orders. However, this came at a price: Claire embarked on a clandestine investigation into Joe’s family, the Burketts. Working with Joe at his family’s pharmaceutical company, Claire uncovered dark secrets that Corey considered corrupt. Joe, realizing that she had dug deep enough to uncover unpleasant truths, made the drastic decision to silence her. He killed Claire in her own home, eliminating any evidence he may have gathered and burying the dark secrets that threatened to come to light.
Is Joe Alive or Dead?
In reality, Joe is dead, killed by Maya. In the episodes of the TV series on Netflix, the footage depicting Joe hugging his daughter Lily was uploaded by Izabella and Luke, who are Judith’s trusted employees. The latter becomes suspicious when she hears Maya’s version of Joe’s death. This is why she has the fake video uploaded to the baby monitor, to try to frame her daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, Kierce discovers the truth about Joe’s murder and goes to Maya’s house to arrest her. But here he agrees with her instead.
How Fool Me Once Ends: Final Explanation
Eventually, with Corey’s help, Maya has the baby monitor placed in Judith’s study room hacked. Here the latter, unaware of this, confesses to her crimes and those of Joe. This, however, may not be enough to destroy the Burketts. So Maya finally confronts Neil, Judith’s other son, and drives him to the point of acting out violently. The boy grabs the gun and shoots the protagonist. In the finale of Fool Me Once, Maya dies. The woman planned her death, knowing that only in this way would she show everyone who the Burketts were.
By now she was aware that she would spend her life in prison and that she would no longer be with Lily anyway. Furthermore, it must be said that Maya was still haunted by her past. But what happens to her daughter Lily now? The final scene is set 18 years after Maya’s death. Kierce, who has stopped taking the Burkett company’s drugs, visits Lily in hospital. The latter was adopted by Eddie, who takes care of her in the best possible way. In the hospital, Lily gives birth to her daughter, whom she names after her mother. Fool Me Once ends with Lily honoring her mother, knowing that she sacrificed herself to put an end to the evil Burkett empire.
