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'Ripley' Ending Explained: Inside Tom Ripley's final stroke to get away with Dickie Greenleaf's murder

Tom Ripley's masterplan comes together for his great escape in 'Ripley' finale episode, streaming on Netflix

Contains heavy spoilers for 'Ripley'

ROME, ITALY: The iconic fictional character of Tom Ripley, created by Patricia Highsmith in her 1955 crime novel 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' comes to life in Netflix's latest release.

Titled 'Ripley', the pyschological thriller series introduces verstile actor Andrew Scott in the titular roles, alongside Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf and Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood.

Ripley, a conman, driven by the luxurious lifestyle, kills Dickie Greenleaf in Episode 3 and it puts him into a seemingly endless loop of murders, frauds and evading the authorities.

How does Tom Ripley misguide cops about Dickie Greenleaf in 'Ripley'?

In the finale episode of 'Ripley', Tom Ripley resumes his own identity and clarifies to cops that he is alive. Meanwhile, he makes them believe that Dickie is on the run and has perhaps taken his own life.

In order to make his theory iron clad, he (disguised as Dickie) checks out from the hotel in Palermo and suggests to the receptionist that he is on his way to Tunis, North Africa.

He also makes himself look depressed, which the receptionist takes note of, and states the same to the cops.

When Dickie's father brings his own detective for investigation, he tells him that Dickie wasn't in his best phase. He mentions that Dickie acknowledged his lack of talent and was aware of his father's disapproval.

He states that Dickie loved him and yet he couldn't come clean about his sexuality. Failing to give love to Marge Sherwood and to receive love from him (Tom), he suggets that Dickie might have decided to end his miseries.

To support his claims further, he writes a letter to his landlady in Rome where he intructs her to get rid of his belongings in whatever way she prefers as he doesn't intend to come back ever.

With all these events at play, everyone believes that Dickie died by suicide.

What happens to Tom Ripley' in 'Ripley's climax scene?

With his thoughful plan, Tom Ripley gets away with his crimes. However, he is aware that trouble could come knocking at his door sooner or later, and therefore, he takes up a new identity to disappear forever.

However, Dickie's case that was earlier closed, undergoes a significant progress when Inspector Pietro Ravini makes a shocking discovery.

He receives a copy of Marge's first published book, which she dedicates to her dead boyfriend, Dickie. As he opens the book, he finds Dickie's image printed on it.

However, shock kicks in as he realises that he isn't the one whom he investigated assuming as Dickie.

The series ends on a cliffhanger as Tom Ripley evades justice while the new revelation shocks the inspector.

'Ripley' is now available to stream on Netflix.