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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteSpoilers for the first season of The Girlfriend: Laura dies in the pool fight, and Daniel does not mean to kill her. Drugged and overwhelmed, he intervenes when he believes Laura is drowning Cherry, but keeps holding his mother underwater until it is too late. Actor Laurie Davidson described Daniel’s action as impulsive and his later response as including a troubling sense of relief.
Who dies in The Girlfriend finale?
Laura dies in the pool fight. Cherry survives, and Daniel ultimately chooses to intervene on her behalf—not by calmly weighing his options, but while drugged and in the middle of a violent struggle.
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Laura has drawn Daniel into a conversation and drugged him so he will listen to a secret recording of Cherry’s mother. When Cherry arrives, she finds Daniel impaired and tries to get him away. Laura, carrying a knife, nearly drowns Cherry in the pool. Daniel steps in and holds Laura underwater so Cherry can escape. In his drugged, overwhelmed state, he does not recognize that he is killing his mother until it is too late.
Did Daniel intend to kill Laura?
No. That distinction between intention and consequence is central to the scene: Daniel acts to protect Cherry from what he believes is Laura drowning her, but his intervention becomes fatal. The death is shown on screen; describing Daniel as impulsive, or interpreting what he feels afterward, reflects Davidson’s account of the character rather than proof that Daniel set out to kill Laura.
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Why does Laurie Davidson call Daniel’s reaction “kind of a relief”?
Davidson has described the killing as impulsive: Daniel sees Laura apparently drowning Cherry through a drug-fueled haze and reacts protectively. Davidson also describes a sobering realization of what Daniel has done. His account allows for a complicated response rather than a simple expression of grief or triumph.
Asked about Daniel’s feelings, Davidson said: “One of them is almost, it’s kind of f—– up, but it’s kind of a relief. I think that probably comes later, if I’m honest.” The remark is Davidson’s interpretation of Daniel’s response, not a claim that the scene presents a clear confession of relief at Laura’s death.
Rank #2
What does the final recording change?
The story jumps ahead one year. Cherry and Daniel are married, Cherry is pregnant, and she is with Howard. The time jump initially suggests that the couple have built a settled future after Laura’s death.
Then Daniel finds Laura’s phone and hears the recording. Cherry’s mother warns that Cherry may eventually want something Daniel will not give her and find a way to get rid of him. Davidson described this moment as the “veil” coming down for Daniel: the recording makes him question who Cherry is just as he is expecting a child with her.
Rank #3
- From leading French New Wave filmmaker Eric Rohmer (My Night at Maud’s, Love in the Afternoon, Claire’s Knee)
The recording reopens Daniel’s uncertainty; it does not establish that Cherry’s mother was right, prove Cherry’s guilt, or resolve what Daniel will do with what he has heard. The future the time jump appeared to settle is left emotionally unsettled.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the TV ending differ from the novel?
The television adaptation changes the fatal outcome of Michelle Frances’s novel The Girlfriend. In the series, Laura dies and Cherry survives; in the book, Cherry dies in a fight with Laura. The two versions therefore give Daniel different immediate circumstances and leave his relationship with Cherry in different positions.
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Rank #4
- Factory sealed DVD
| Version | Who dies? | Daniel’s position at the ending |
|---|---|---|
| Television series | Laura dies in the pool fight; Cherry survives. | One year later, Daniel is married to Cherry and expecting a child with her, then hears the recording that makes him question her. |
| Michelle Frances’s novel | Cherry dies in a fight with Laura. | The finale’s specific time jump and recording sequence described above are from the television ending, not the novel. |
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