We’re still picking our jaws up off the floor after the crazy way that Netflix’s new series Obsession ended! Those who read the book Damage by Josephine Hart might be less surprised, but the four-part miniseries will surely be at the top of many subscribers’ watchlists soon as they get sucked into the dark and compelling story.
The series centers on William Farrow (Richard Armitage) and Anna Barton (Charlie Murphy). Anna is William’s son Jay’s new girlfriend and, later, fiancée. Anna and William begin an illicit affair, although William is married, and Jay is planning to marry Anna. It’s just as twisted as it sounds.
For those with questions regarding how Obsession ended or if you want to skip ahead and get spoiled on what happens, the following is for you!
In one of the show’s most shocking moments, William’s son (and Anna’s fiancé), Jay, falls over the side of the railing outside of Anna’s flat and plummets to his death in the middle of the stairwell. It’s a genuinely jaw-dropping moment, mainly because it happens immediately after Jay has learned his father and fiancée are sleeping together, walking in on them in the process of said act.
The scene happens so fast it’s hard to tell if Jay simply falls or if he started falling and let himself go, essentially committing suicide. It wouldn’t be out of the question, considering Anna’s brother met a similar fate in the past, and her mother, Elizabeth, implies that Jay might have killed himself when she talks to William at Jay’s funeral. It seems like the truth is left up to the audience to decide whether it was an accident or suicide.
No, Anna and William do not end up together. William is somewhat remorseless about what happened and claims that he and Anna can be together now that Jay is dead and their secret is out. But Anna hates how much pain they caused everyone and wishes they had never met. She tells William not to try finding her again and then moves out of her flat, which William buys.
One of the reasons Anna acts the way she does is due to unresolved trauma she’s dealt with her entire life. As a child, Anna’s brother, Aston, became infatuated with her to the point of sexually assaulting her and forcing himself into her life in every possible way. Given how young she was, Anna didn’t have the tools equipped to handle the situation. The one time she finally stood up to Aston, he killed himself, and Anna has blamed herself ever since.
To make matters worse, in the Obsession finale, her mother reveals that she knew what was going on the whole time but never intervened or tried to make Aston stop. Anna is devastated when she learns this. Elizabeth claims she thought her daughter was “happy,” but how on earth could you let something like that happen right under your nose without lifting a finger to stop it? As Anna points out, she was a child, and her mother failed to protect her.
In the final moments of Obsession, Anna appears to be in a slightly better place as she attends therapy. Seeing as she’s never gone to treatment, the whole thing is a little overwhelming for her, which the therapist immediately detects. He proposes they set some ground rules, piquing Anna’s interest. We know how much she loves her rules. The ending hints that maybe Anna hasn’t changed that much after all.
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