Who killed Simon in One Of Us Is Lying? It's the question we're all asking about the popular Netflix drama. Here's a detailed explanation of the ending.
The adaptation of Karen M. McManus' YA mystery novel of the same name actually came out in 2021, but only now is it getting recognition on the streaming service. In it, five Bayview High students are in detention - Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper and Simon - when Simon goes into anaphylactic shock and dies.
As each of his classmates had the opportunity and individual motives to murder him, a case around discovering who is guilty and what actually happened unfolds. So, how does it end? *Spoilers*, obviously.
Who killed Simon in One Of Us Is Lying?
The scenario started out as a sick prank between Simon and ex-friend Jake, who wanted to prank their classmates by triggering Simon's severe peanut allergy before saving him with an epi pen. Despite Simon lacing his own water with peanut-oil, the student's death was ruled out as suicide, after the nurse's office revealed a record of Simon bringing more epi pens into school to ensure someone would be able to save him.
Eventually, we discover that Jake got paranoid about whether Simon was recording their conversations on his Xbox, and decided to remove the epi pen from the nurse's office. He saw it as an opportunity to frame Addy, his girlfriend who had been cheating on him, for murder, while also taking over Simon’s gossip app, About That, after his death.
How was Jake discovered, and what happened to him?
When Addy recognised Simon's Xbox handle in Jake's chat history, she started to piece together his connections to the case: he also had access to Bronwyn's rucksack to plant the extra phone, and was able to set the alarm in Addy's bag, too, leading them to being in detention.
When Jake caught the others trying to steal Simon'x Xbox from his belongings, he pulled a gun on them, before chasing Addy into the woods with the Xbox under her arm. Cooper and Janae followed, eventually hitting Jake over the head, before a gun shot rang out in the chaos, killing him.
The three remaining students disposed of his body, before revealing what he had done to Simon and making it look like he had fled before the news broke. After Jake’s death, the show featured a two week time jump, which showed everyone believing he was on the run - and the four students from detention no longer in touch.
How were the other One Of Us Is Lying characters involved?
When Simon's best friend Janae assumed one of the Bayview Four were guilty of his murder, she released their secrets on his gossip app. It was only when she was locked out (by Jake) that she realised they weren't guilty, and joined the investigation. Maeve, meanwhile, hacked into Simon's laptop to look for clues over why he ghosted her, and instead discovered Jake's About That hacking, eventually handing over what she'd found to the police.
Mrs. Avery, meanwhile, also had a secret. She was being blackmailed by Simon over her helping Vanessa through an abortion, which is why the five students ended up in detention together for the prank in the first place.
One Of Us Is Lying is now streaming on Netflix.
