Who Dies in ‘The Girlfriend’ on Prime Video? That Shocking Ending, Explained

** Contains spoilers on The Girlfriend series and book**

If you're anything like us and have already binged all six episodes of The Girlfriend on Amazon Prime Video, you're probably still in shock about that wild ending.

Starring Robin Wright, Olivia Cooke and Laurie Davidson, the series follows wealthy entrepreneur Laura (Robin), whose perfect world is turned upside down when her son Daniel (Laurie) brings home his new girlfriend Cherry (Olivia).

Laura is adamant that Cherry is a calculated social climber and isn't who she says she is, while Cherry isn't too keen on the super close relationship between her new boyfriend and his mom, creating an instant tug-of-war relationship between the two women.

The series is based on Michelle Frances' debut novel of the same title, and while the new series mostly follows the book using the same dual-perspective narration, the two differ massively in their conclusions.

“I think pretty much everything was streamlined in the adaptation from the book. You know when you do that, you've got three to four pages describing each character and the dynamic between that character. It's a very different animal being able to read who and why and how a character becomes who they are, and having to truncate that and do it through nuance looks, but the dual perspective format, yes, of course, that was in the book,”Wright told Cosmopolitan UK exclusively.

“Because there's so much competition out there, you've got to hook the audience. You have to have cliffhangers at the end of every episode. So that was a very deliberate intention when the writers were in the room."

Read on for the full ending explained as well as recap.

The series begins with Laura Sanderson, a wealthy and successful gallery owner who is married to one of the richest real estate moguls, Howard Sanderson. Laura and Howard have a son named Daniel—he's a doctor and training to be a trauma specialist. Daniel and Laura have a super close relationship—one that often borders on uncomfortable. So, when Daniel brings home his new girlfriend and love of his life, Cherry, Laura becomes suspicious.

Laura suspects that Cherry is hiding something and instantly becomes weary of her. She spots a bracelet in Cherry's bag that looks very similar to one of hers that's missing, accidentally pours gravy on Cherry's dress, and suspects Cherry of putting her house cat out the window.

The story then rewinds to the past—this time through Cherry’s eyes. She's a struggling real estate agent trying to make it big, so when she meets Daniel it's the perfect opportunity to level up. When Daniel invites her to dinner at his parent's house, she jumps at the opportunity, purchasing an expensive dress with the hope of returning it—that is until, Laura ends up spilling gravy on it at dinner.

With Cherry and Laura off to an awkward start, things only get even weirder when Daniel invites his girlfriend on their family trip to Spain. Just as tensions seem to ease after Laura saves Cherry from drowning and they call a truce, things take another turn. Laura discovers a viral video of Cherry sabotaging her ex’s wedding with animal organs in the cake and realises she's more dangerous than she thought.

Back in London, Laura tries to drive a wedge between Cherry and Daniel, but Cherry turns the tables. When Daniel’s birthday rolls around, Laura plans her usual surprise—dinner and a theatre night. But Cherry swoops in with something bigger: a rock climbing trip Daniel’s always dreamed of. He cancels on his mum and heads off with Cherry, only to suffer a near-fatal accident. At the hospital, Cherry calls Laura and Howard, who tell her to leave until they know more.

Laura then comes up with a vicious plan to keep Cherry out of his life for good and fakes Daniel's death, telling her they've already had the funeral and that she has to vacate his home ASAP. Meanwhile, Laura tells Daniel that Cherry has moved on and takes him to Spain to recover.

Cherry’s life begins to unravels, thanks to Laura. She loses her job and has to move back home.

Things do turn around; however, when she runs in to Daniel and Laura while at a job meeting with a contact Howard previously gave her. The truth finally comes out and Daniel cuts ties with his mother, pushing Laura to dig up more dirt on Cherry. Despite the tension, Daniel proposes, and the wedding is planned.

Cherry retaliates by destroying Laura’s art gallery and ends up getting arrested during her and Daniel's engagement party. With Cherry away, Laura uses this as an opportunity to share the information she has on Cherry with Daniel.

However, he wants no part of it and tells his mum that he came over to say goodbye to her. Desperate, Laura drugs Daniel, but Cherry arrives just in time, ready for a final showdown.

The back-and-forth between Laura and Cherry comes to an end during the final episode. After being released from the police station, Cherry makes her way to Laura's home.

She manages to get inside the property, but Laura restricts her from getting further in the house. Cherry jumps out of a window and hurts her ankle, butmanages to limp into the house to meet Laura by the pool with a knife.

The women stand off, and as Cherry hears Daniel stumbling down the stairs she reaches for the knife in Laura's hand and slashes her own leg with it. Laura then lunges for her and they fall into the pool.

Cherry suddenly turns violent and tries to drown Laura, but Laura fights back and gains the upper hand, until Daniel regains full consciousness and rushes in to save Cherry. Believing his mother is the threat, he pulls her off and restrains her while Cherry breaks free. Though Cherry quickly realizes Daniel’s grip is dangerously tight, she hesitates to speak up. By the time she does, it’s too late—Laura is already dead.

This is a shift from the book, in which Cooke revealed: “Cherry died in the book, didn't she?”

It looks that way. After the pool scene, the series fast forwards to a year later, with Cherry now pregnant and in a garden with Daniel and Howard.

Daniel then goes into the house, when he sees Laura's cat fixated on a corner of the room. He pulls back the furniture there to find a phone, which belonged to his mother. The battery is dead. While in the kitchen, he puts the phone on charge and then looks through some of his mother's photos. His attention soon turns to her last saved video, which is a recording of when she went to visit Cherry's mother Tracey.

Laura tried to play this recording to Daniel on the night of her death, but he wouldn't listen. During her fight with Cherry, Laura's phone was knocked out of her hand and fell behind the cabinet.

Daniel plays the recording, in which Tracey paints a disturbing picture of her daughter, calling her relentless when it comes to getting what she wants. She recounts a pattern of Cherry manipulating and destroying the men in her past, hinting that Daniel may be next. Her warning ends on a chilling note: once Cherry loses interest in someone, she always finds a way to make them disappear.

The series ends there, with Daniel reflecting deeply on his marriage, as he watches Cherry interacting with his father in the garden.

At the beginning of the series, Cherry tells Daniel that her dad is dead, but we later see her visiting her disabled father in a care home.

When Laura discovers that Cherry's dad is still alive, after finding one of Cherry's letters for the institution, she goes to visit him.

She learns that he fell from a multi-storey building and narrowly avoided death. He becomes violently agitated at the mention of Cherry, hinting at her involvement.

Laura confronts Cherry’s mum, but it’s Cherry who finally admits she pushed him, insisting he “deserved it.” Although her reasons remain vague, the confession confirms how dangerous she can be. Laura connects this to her fears for Daniel’s safety.

The Girlfriend is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.