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‘The Undoing’ Episode 5: Is Sylvia the other affair Jonathan had? Fans think she could be Franklin's daughter

'Don’t think she’s a murderer or anything but she definitely knows more and has more involvement'

WARNING: Spoiler Alert for ‘The Undoing’ 

Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) is not only the prime suspect in the cold-blooded murder of Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis) but he is an unfaithful man. Going by his latest confession in the fourth episode ‘See No Evil’, he cheated on Grace Fraser (Nicole Kidman) not once, but twice.

During her first face-to-face, the no-nonsense lawyer Haley Fitzgerald (Noma Dumezweni) quizzes him on his past and learns of two shocking episodes. Were there more women other than Elena in Jonathan's life? He confesses there was a “one-off years ago.” Interesting! More importantly, it's quite suspicious he doesn't mention the name of the woman. To be fair, Haley doesn't ask him but isn't it a bait that the showrunners decided to keep that information away? Not just that, Haley also finds out Jonathan has been alienated from his family for years.

While the second confession strengthens the theory on his psychopath tendencies, many viewers are wondering if Slyvia Steinetz (Lily Rabe) is the “other affair” he had. “Who else thinks the ‘one other’ affair was Sylvia?” one Reddit fan asked, to which, another replied, “I definitely think she’s way more involved that it’s shown so far... don’t think she’s a murderer or anything but she definitely knows more and has more involvement.”

A third said, “I’m almost 100% positive it’s Sylvia, the whole thing about him having had other affairs in the past, and then Hugh grant saying in the interview that jealously could have been a factor and suggesting he knew who it was. I don’t think that was an indictment of the husband. It could also be Henry or nearly anyone else and I wouldn’t be surprised.”

The source of all gossip and a successful lawyer, Sylvia is the one who delivers the shocking news of the murder to Grace. In one interview, Lily Rabe said, “I think she's the gatekeeper of a lot of secrets — she's the number that a lot of people have on speed dial — but she herself doesn't share, she's quite concealed. Her real relationships are few and far between and one of them is definitely with Grace. Something else I love about Sylvia is that it's not that she's a troublemaker, but she likes to push right up against the boundary, she goes right up to the edge.” Remember her dialogue from Episode 2: “Of course it was the husband... It's always the f*****g husband.”

Another fan speculated, “I mean... if it was someone unimportant, why not show us when he tells her name to the lawyer. It was hidden from the audience on purpose, because it’s someone we know and that someone is Sylvia. It has to be her. I had a theory she and Jonathan had an affair and this episode just sealed it for me.”

Confident that the theory is true, one fan posted, “Sylvia is the other woman. Sylvia is too interested in Grace to not have been the other woman. Maybe she killed Elena? Grace and Elena definitely were involved somehow and Grace has suppressed her memories. Grace had some flashbacks (unless it was her imagination running wild, since there were also scenes of Jonathan and Elena together) about Elena painting it. Poor Miguel. Crazy of Jonathan to barge into Fernando's house like that. Was Jonathan trying to accuse Fernando of killing Elena?”

A few Twitter users feel the same. “Sylvia is the murderer. She is Jonathan’s other affair and also obsessed with him. She killed Elena either out of pure jealousy or to frame Jonathan or maybe even frame Grace so she can have Jonathan for herself,” one user wrote and another posted, “The @PodClubhouse theory that Franklin is possibly Sylvia’s dad & Jonathan is the father of Sylvia’s daughter and maybe Sylvia got jealous of Elena and killed her.”

A third viewer posted, “Fangirl theory: Sylvia might actually be the 'other woman' and rightfully culpable of the murder. Why did she feel the need to hide her prior interaction with Jonathan from Grace? Something about her energy around Elena felt off way from e01.” And a fourth tweeted, “I’m thinking that Sylvia is the killer. Everyone else is too obvious. I briefly considered Henry but I don’t think he’s got it in him plus he would have admitted it by now. My money is on Sylvia.”

Do you think this theory could be true? ‘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.