- With Alex's crimes in the spotlight, fans can see the iconic family's legacy crumble in Murdaugh: Death in the Family.
- Does Buster fully believe that his father is innocent?
- The finale gives us a dramatic picture of what took place the night of the murders.
Though we already know how the story plays out in real life, the finale of Murdaugh: Death in the Family is still very much worth the watch. The episode, entitled "The Man in the Glass," is an emotional conclusion to the dramatization of the Murdaugh family murders. The whole finale revolves around the trial for the murders of Maggie (Patricia Arquette) and Paul (Johnny Berchtold) Murdaugh, but also goes beyond by digging into bits that the courtroom cameras couldn't catch.
How did the murders take place? Is Buster actually convinced of his father's innocence? Does Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke) feel no remorse? Here's everything that went down in the series finale of Murdaugh: Death in the Family.
Alex Murdaugh becomes the primary suspect.
After a quick flashback that demonstrates just how messed up Alex Murdaugh's moral compass is, we cut to Alex's crimes coming to light. It becomes known to the public that Alex tried to stage his own murder so that his remaining son Buster (Will Harrison) might be able to claim millions of dollars in a life insurance payout. This, of course, did not work and has only makes things worse. Because of this coming to light, in addition to Alex's major financial fraud, he draws more attention and becomes a leading suspect in his wife and son's murders as well.
Alex is apprehended by authorities, but Buster is still adamant that his father is innocent. But then the police and lawyers show him the last video Paul took with his phone at the kennels before his ultimate demise. In the background, it was clear you could hear Alex's voice. Buster then decides to confront his father about the whole situation, who claims that he lied because he was paranoid and under the influence of pills. He knew it would make him look guilty if he told the truth, so he lied to evade suspicion.
Even without the murder weapons, the evidence stacks against Alex.
Alex still feels confident that he'll get away with literal murder. He enlists the help of his lawyer colleagues to defend him during the trial. The prosecution lacks sufficient evidence, given that the murder weapons are nowhere to be found. However, State Attorney Creighton Waters (Tim Beckmann) points out possible motivations for Alex to commit the murders: 1) He was facing an enormous amount of pressure due to the dozens of financial embezzlement cases against him, and 2) his upcoming federal trial which would expose scams his family hadn't known of.
The Beach family lawyer Mark Tinsley (Tommy Dewey) also makes another possible motivation clear: after the deaths of Maggie and Paul, his clients dropped the civil suit for the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach (Madeline Popovich). Later, Maggie's sister Marian (J. Smith-Cameron) takes the stand and talks about how Alex repeatedly pleaded that Maggie and Paul return to the family home, using his father Randolph's (Gerald McRaney) declining health. This suggests that he practically lured them to their death. The emotion in her statement clearly creates an impact on the jury that shakes Alex's defense. However, it is a wonder why Marian makes no mention of Maggie's intentions to divorce Alex prior to her passing.
The thing that really pushes things against Alex's favor is his own GPS data. It shows that not too long after the murders took place, he sped off in the direction of his mother’s house. However, he slowed down his vehicle at the same point on the route where Maggie's and Paul's phones were found.
Alex is found guilty.
We all knew where this verdict was going, but Alex didn't stand down without an attempt to fight it. He convinces his lawyers to let him take the stand, given his past success in talking his way out of sticky situations. He pulled out all the tricks: waterworks, pointing out his addiction, and gaslighting. But this time, there was no way things were going to go in his way. The prosecution points out that Alex has lied to everyone, including his colleagues, his clients, and his wife. Therefore, his word wasn't good for anything. Upon deliberation, the jury finds Alex Murdaugh guilty. He is then given two consecutive life sentences for his crimes.
Should Mandy Matney and Mark Tinsley feel guilty?
The Beach family lawyer Mark Tinsley and journalist Mandy Matney (Brittany Snow) sit down and have a conversation after the final verdict. While they're glad that Alex's victims are able to get the justice they deserve, Mark can't help but feel a sense of guilt. He thinks that perhaps the mounting pressure that he and Mandy were putting on Alex might have pushed him to murder Maggie and Paul. But Mandy tries to assure him that no one could have forced Alex to commit the heinous crimes that he did. It was all on him. Still, Mark isn't 100% reassured.
Buster loses faith in his father.
Buster visits his dad in prison, and tells him that he no longer wants to pursue law. This solidifies the end of the Murdaugh family legacy. Buster then also questions his dad, asking him why he hadn't called him back to the house the night of the murders. If the reason really was his grandfather's declining health, then he should have been told about it, too. Alex then makes excuses, saying he didn't want to pull Buster away from his studies, his fiancé, etc. Buster leaves, unconvinced by his father and forced to confront the very real possibility that the man he'd looked up to his whole life murdered his own kin.
What really happened the night of the murders?
Audiences are kept guessing until the very end, when we actually see the events of June 7, 2021 unfold. As Paul's video had proven, the three of them were all together that night. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, until Alex goes off by himself and changes into a coverall. He then whips out a gun and shoots Paul. He later whips out another gun to shoot down his wife. Alex buries the weapons in the woods, never to be found. On the drive, he disposes of the phones, takes a shower, then goes to his mother's house and hangs around for a while before returning home and reporting the murders.
In present time, back at the Murdaugh family home, all of the Murdaughs' once-prized possessions are up for sale. Buster ends up selling his grandpa’s cherished framed written copy of Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.’s poem entitled, “The Man in the Glass.”
Living out his sentences, Alex still maintains his innocence. He's kept up this whole charade, and has even stuck pictures of Paul and Maggie on the walls of his prison cell. But, at the end of the day, when he looks at himself in the mirror he sees an image of himself wearing the clothes smeared with his son and wife's blood.
