HBO The Undoing

[Anonymous]

I am clearly the exception and liked it. The whole point was that we saw it from Grace’s perspective and she was willfully blinding herself to what he really was until the murder. It was all about the undoing of her seemingly perfect life. Too many shows go for twisted endings and they make no sense. This one toyed with you but delivered a realistic end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ending felt a little forced. I think there should have been some subtle indications throughout the series to have the reveal make sense.

There were. There were clear indicators in every episode that Jonathan was a manipulative, narcissistic psychopath, but the show also forced significance on everyone around him and that felt stupid in the end.

I thought this was the best ending. He was the evil guy and it was right there. We were given the clues but like his wife, chose to ignore them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really lame. Fill the series with red herrings to make it look like a complex story when it’s anything but. Oh well, it had us speculating for a few weeks.

That’s the whole point with narcissists, though. The crazy-making/gas-lighting behavior. Grace’s character thought she was too savvy to fall for that (it’s much clearer in the book), but she really overlooked a whole lot of clues that everyone (her father, her best friend) could see. And I think until he was willing to throw their kid under the bus, she was willing to continue to overlook it.

I disliked Hugh Grant in the role, because it seemed way too dopey “I’m just a guy, standing in front of a jury, asking them to not convict me” ala Notting Hill and Four Weddings — and he’s about 25 years to old for that to be charming, but I can see now how that fits in with his character — although, I’m still not convinced he was the best choice.

He's such an unlikable, slimy guy that he didn't even have to act. I assumed he did it just because they cast him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ending felt a little forced. I think there should have been some subtle indications throughout the series to have the reveal make sense.

There were. There were clear indicators in every episode that Jonathan was a manipulative, narcissistic psychopath, but the show also forced significance on everyone around him and that felt stupid in the end.

I thought this was the best ending. He was the evil guy and it was right there. We were given the clues but like his wife, chose to ignore them.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was anyone else worried he was going to either drive right off the bridge, or pull the kid over the rail with him?

Yes, both. I thought he was going to take Henry down with him right until he paused when Grace was running towards them.

because what he really wanted as a malignant narcissist was to see Grace running TO HIM. That's what was going on from his pov. He didn't jump. He wanted to make everyone else jump. You knew he was a slime bucket throughout just from the way he treated his son.

[Anonymous]

I’m SO glad many speculating on here were wrong:

It was the bff - she was Jonathan’s other affair

It was Donald Sutherland - he’s had affairs himself and would do anything to protect Grace

It was a good show. Held your interest and the acting was pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am clearly the exception and liked it. The whole point was that we saw it from Grace’s perspective and she was willfully blinding herself to what he really was until the murder. It was all about the undoing of her seemingly perfect life. Too many shows go for twisted endings and they make no sense. This one toyed with you but delivered a realistic end.

I liked it too. And I actually thought Hugh Grant did a decent job of looking pretty darn evil - especially in court after Grace set him up for conviction.

The whole idea was that Grace could see everyone’s blind spots but her own - like in the counseling scenes with the third marriage lady and the abusive husband squeezing his husband’s arm.

[Anonymous]

Just the knowledge that it was based on a popular book made it obvious to me it would be the husband the whole time and the red herrings were week-to-week distractions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of dummy hides the murder weapon in a fire pit when there is an ocean right there to use for disposal?

I was thinking the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am clearly the exception and liked it. The whole point was that we saw it from Grace’s perspective and she was willfully blinding herself to what he really was until the murder. It was all about the undoing of her seemingly perfect life. Too many shows go for twisted endings and they make no sense. This one toyed with you but delivered a realistic end.

I liked it too. And I actually thought Hugh Grant did a decent job of looking pretty darn evil - especially in court after Grace set him up for conviction.

The whole idea was that Grace could see everyone’s blind spots but her own - like in the counseling scenes with the third marriage lady and the abusive husband squeezing his husband’s arm.

Agree. And I think Hugh did a good enough job at convincing watchers that it wasn’t him. The turning point was clearly when he tried to pin it on the son. That just proved what an awful person and parent he truly was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of dummy hides the murder weapon in a fire pit when there is an ocean right there to use for disposal?

I was thinking the same thing.

That was another unbelievable element. Between the ocean and all of that land that Jonathan passed on his walkabout before resurfacing, he chose to poorly hide the murder weapon on property that he was linked to? In a crumbling fire pit that people sit around and stare at for hours at a time?

[Anonymous]

I liked it and thought it was definitely the right ending.

I had one big question though -- Jonathan told his wife he was going to a conference in Cleveland before he saw Elena and killed her. What was he really going to do when he was away for a few days? The murder clearly wasn't premeditated. Was he planning on a little getaway with Elena? That was sort of unclear and I found it strange the prosecutor didn't press him on it as evidence of premeditation (he was planning to kill her and flee, and that would give him a few days' head start).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was anyone else worried he was going to either drive right off the bridge, or pull the kid over the rail with him?

Yes. Even after he pulled over I was a worried he was going to toss Henry over the bridge. He was furious with his wife (and we saw how he handled anger toward a female in his life) and Grace had said that the only person she loved more was Henry. What better way to hurt her? HUGE sigh of relief when Grace got to Henry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked it and thought it was definitely the right ending.

I had one big question though -- Jonathan told his wife he was going to a conference in Cleveland before he saw Elena and killed her. What was he really going to do when he was away for a few days? The murder clearly wasn't premeditated. Was he planning on a little getaway with Elena? That was sort of unclear and I found it strange the prosecutor didn't press him on it as evidence of premeditation (he was planning to kill her and flee, and that would give him a few days' head start).

The getaway makes sense since he admitted that he and Elena had been to the beach house together.

[Anonymous]

I really liked it and liked the ending. Yes, I knew Grace was going to throw him under the bus -she tells her father that she’ll handle it - but didn’t know how or what she told Sylvia to tell the prosecutor.

My lingering question is this: was it all fake? Did Jonathan ever love Grace? Is he capable of love? He sees his son as his legacy but what about his marriage?