Spoilers for all six episodes of Netflix’s The Perfect Couple. Abby Stokes Winbury (Dakota Fanning) killed Merritt Monaco. She drugged Merritt with a barbiturate and then deliberately drowned her to protect the Winbury family inheritance—and the future she expected for herself and her unborn child.
Who killed Merritt in The Perfect Couple?
Abby, Thomas Winbury’s pregnant wife, is the killer. Thomas did not murder Merritt: he had taken a euthanasia pill from Amelia’s mother’s medication supply for his recreational “prescription roulette,” then left it in his bedside drawer. Abby found it and used it in her plan.
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How did Abby kill Merritt?
- Amelia’s mother, who has terminal cancer, brought three euthanasia pills to the estate as a contingency. Thomas took one and left it in his bedside drawer.
- Abby crushed the pill into orange juice and gave it to Merritt during a conversation on the beach.
- Abby invited Merritt into the water and held her underwater while the drug impaired her. The drug helped incapacitate Merritt; Abby’s deliberate actions in the water made the death a murder.
- Amelia found Merritt’s body the following morning.
Why did Abby kill Merritt?
Merritt was pregnant with Tag Winbury’s child. The series explains that the Winbury sons were due to receive their trust when the youngest, Will, turned 18; another child would add a beneficiary and reset the wait. Abby wanted to protect the family’s financial future and secure a more prosperous life for herself and her child. Thomas’s debts add context, but the inheritance threat is the clearest motive.
What clues revealed Abby?
- The glass: During the police interview, Abby washes a glass herself, although she regularly calls for the housekeeper. Showrunner Jenna Lamia explains that Merritt later drank from this glass and that it carried traces of the barbiturate.
- The toxicology report: Merritt’s report shows high pentobarbital levels. Lamia points viewers to the report shown during Greer’s conversation with Chief of Police Dan Carter.
- The tallow: Tallow from Abby’s tummy butter is found in Merritt’s hair. In the finale, Abby rubs the butter into her hands while watching events on the beach. Lamia says tallow is not water-soluble, so it remains on the hair shaft.
Together, the glass, the drug evidence, and the tallow connect Abby’s earlier behavior to the method revealed in the finale. Netflix’s explanation of these clues draws on Lamia’s comments.
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What happens at the end of The Perfect Couple?
Abby is arrested after the police solve Merritt’s murder, and the wedding is called off. Amelia and Shooter kiss once the wedding ends, but the series does not establish that they have a settled future together: Netflix’s post-finale discussion describes Amelia as alone and moving toward self-discovery.
Greer tells Tag she will return to New York to write while he stays at Summerland. Director Susanne Bier reads this as Greer leaving him in light of his infidelity. Greer also reveals that she previously worked as an escort and that Tag was once her client. Netflix’s explainer says Nicole Kidman suggested this backstory and that the creators chose to stage the disclosure comedically; the scene gives Greer a chance to reclaim her own narrative and independence within the marriage.
The final dance returns to the party imagery of the opening. This time, the family’s secrets are no longer hidden from the audience.
Does the Netflix ending match the book?
Abby is responsible for Merritt’s death in both versions, but the nature of the death changes substantially. In Elin Hilderbrand’s novel, Abby puts a drug in a drink meant for her husband’s mistress. Merritt drinks it by accident and later drowns while searching for her ring. In the Netflix series, Abby deliberately drugs Merritt and intentionally drowns her.
Showrunner Jenna Lamia said the adaptation was designed to give viewers “the satisfaction of having had an intentional murder by someone who really intended to murder the victim.” Netflix’s official explainer likewise distinguishes the novel’s accidental death from the series’ intentional killing. If you read the book after watching, expect a different resolution, not a scene-for-scene version of the finale.
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