‘The Undoing’ Episode 5: Why Henry Fraser did NOT kill Elena Alves? This theory will make you scratch your head
Spoilers for ‘The Undoing’
Suspense, secrets and betrayal lie at the heart of HBO's new miniseries ‘The Undoing’. Right at the beginning, a tragedy strikes when Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis) is mercilessly bludgeoned to death and no one has a clue who did it. The suspicion hangs on many heads — from Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) to Grace Fraser (Nicole Kidman) and even their young son, Henry Fraser (Noah Jupe).
Ever since the first episode premiered, many fans found Henry's behavior questionable and wondered if he had a hand in the gory crime. A few theories pointed out how the hammer could be hidden in Henry's violin case or perhaps, his backpack. Now the question is: Did Henry hide it or was it his father, Jonathan? While here are five reasons why his father's affair might have provoked him to commit the murder or protect his father, one Reddit fan believes the 13-year-old cannot be the murderer.
“The circumstances would've had to fall into place perfectly for Henry to be the killer,” the fan begins. “His parents left for the auction. He now has until they come back to complete the crime. Only, there's no definite time they'll be back. He only has a vague idea of when that will be. The doormen would see Henry coming and going, and they would find it odd that a 13-year old was going out by himself for a few hours at night while his parents were gone. They were definitely interviewed by the police and would definitely tell them. Maybe there's a back entrance Henry could've crept out of, though.”
The fan continues, “Henry doesn't know that Elena will be in her studio. In fact, if he were 'casing' her at all, he'd know she would be at the auction. She left early, unplanned. Does Henry sneak out at every chance he gets on the off-chance that Elena will be alone in her studio so he could kill her? There is barely any time to kill her. Jonathan is with her most of the time. He doesn't have a weapon. So he plans enough and knows enough to sneak out and go to her studio but he doesn't have any way to kill her? Was he sneaking out just to talk to her? (If so, wouldn't it make more sense for him to pretend he was at violin lessons and instead go to her studio when she's more likely to be there? Or pretend to be sick to stay home from school and go to her studio while his parents were at work?)”
“He has to get back home in time, without any evidence on his clothes or anything. No blood splatters, nothing. He has to stash the weapon somewhere. Why even keep it? And if he did have the weapon, why did he react so strongly to the news item about it? He went searching for something right after that. It's possible he was only searching for his dad's photo (because that's where we see his search end) but it seemed like that was just a pause in his search. I think he's seen the weapon at his grandpa's house. Someone kept the weapon out of emotion, either forgetting they had it in their hand or just keeping it as a souvenir. (If they forgot they had it, they might've gotten rid of it on their way home from the murder scene.)” the Reddit post reads.
The fan also points out the fact that Henry doesn't seem like a sociopath. “Last, we've seen Henry cry and be emotional. He doesn't seem like a psychopath. He seems like a kid who loves his dad. The only way I could find it plausible that Henry is the killer is if, as someone here suggested, Jonathan stopped at home on his way to Elena's to drop off his phone. Then Henry could've followed him. And possibly confronted Elena and murdered her in an unplanned fit of passion.”
“But it would be weird for Jonathan to drop off his phone just to visit Elena. If he were worried about GPS, it would make more sense for him to take the car to the hospital then hide his phone in the bushes near there. Then he could go back, pick it up, and return home as though he'd been at the hospital the whole time. Remember, if Jonathan wasn't planning to kill Elena then the only people he needs to deceive are Grace and Henry. Grace is unlikely to check his GPS, and him coming home only alerts Henry that he's not at the auction or the hospital.”
Conclusion: Henry isn't the killer! However, after the last episode, it is difficult to pin down this theory. Do you think Henry could be the killer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
‘The Undoing’ premiered on HBO on October 25, 2020, and more episodes in the six-episodic series will air every Sunday from 9 pm ET to 10 pm ET. Catch the fifth episode ‘Trial By Fury’ on November 22, 2020.