“The Perfect Couple” killer shares why they did it and interprets that final scene
"I just feel like it signifies the end of that era."
Warning: This article contains spoilers from all of The Perfect Couple.
Nothing can ruin a wedding quite like the murder of the Maid of Honor. Just ask Amelia (Eve Hewson), who finds herself in the middle of a whodunnit without her best friend inThe Perfect Couple.
Across its six episodes, the Netflix series — based on Elin Hilderbrand's book by the same name — slowly eliminated potential killers from the list before the finale finally laid it all out: Abby (Dakota Fanning) killed Merritt (Meghann Fahy) after finding out that she was pregnant with Tag's (Liev Schreiber) baby and therefore was going to come between Abby's (and her child's) inheritance.
But was it about more than that? EW spoke with Dakota Fanning to find out.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you interpret the final scene with Greer (Nicole Kidman) and Amelia (Eve Hewson) at the zoo?
DAKOTA FANNING: When I watch it, I just feel like it signifies the end of that era and everybody's starting over and everybody's kind of on their own. Because the relationship between Greer and Amelia was judgmental and contentious for most of the series, I think it's a peace offering between those two. And it's Greer acknowledging that Amelia kind of had it figured out all along in terms of seeing behind the curtain and not really liking what she sees.
Did you go into this project knowing you were the killer?
I did. So I worked with [director] Suzanne Bier before, and we had become super close and I would do anything for her, and she called me one day before this started and was explaining, "I want you to play this character. She's pregnant. She's the killer." I was like, "I'm totally in." So that was before I had read any script. I didn't even know what it was called to even look up the book at that time. Then the cast started coming together. I'd always wanted to work with Nicole; Eve and I are super close friends; Jack [Reynor] and I have almost worked together before but it hasn't happened. It felt like it just came together in this fantasy way that you never get a group like this together. It was really special.
Related: The Perfect Couple show vs. book: See all the changes made in the new Netflix series
In the book, the death is an accident. I liked that you all changed that — it felt more like your Abby.
Totally. It would've had to be a different Abby to be an accident. She meant it, which is so much crazier. It's so much more fun to play.
What did you feel were Abby's motivations?
I see it as even more than just the money. I see it as saving the facade, being the person that saved this f---ed up family and kept it all together. And of course, there's going to be a win for her in it, whether it's for herself or whether it's for her child. Because also by the way, if she doesn't get her money, she probably has to leave Thomas and find someone else. You know what I mean? I think that the decision making is from feeling not seen, not valued, cast to the side. And also feeling like, "I'm married to this f---ing dumbass and I am mad at myself that I'm in this situation, and now have to fix it." In our heightened world, that means the drugging and drowning of human beings.
Related: Nicole Kidman is a woman with money (and secrets) in first Perfect Couple trailer
We got bits and pieces of Abby's backstory, but did you discuss much of that?
There were a few kernels. I think she says at one point to Donna in the kitchen, her family had a summer house on Lake Travis, "but nothing like this." And when Greer comes out with her big secret of how she actually met Tag and she's like, "Well, Tom and I met in a bar." And I think Tom and Abby did meet in a bar last year of college or whatever and probably had a great time for that first year. And so those were little things, but I think what was most important was to think about what she's up against now, the circle that she's living in now, the pressure of that keeping up with the Joneses. We had a joke Jack and I were in our own story a lot of the time, the two of us just having so much fun with each other and we're the worst couple. We need a spinoff: The Worst Couple.
The Perfect Couple is available now on Netflix.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.