‘The Undoing’ Episode 5: Does Jonathan know who the killer is? Here's what his controversial confession means
WARNING: Spoiler Alert for ‘The Undoing’
Does Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) know who killed Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis) in HBO's ‘The Undoing’? The fourth episode ‘See No Evil’ ended with an explosive interview where Jonathan confessed, “I do not pass myself as honorable, because I am not. I was unfaithful to a wife, who I love. I hurt her. I hurt my son. But those things are unforgivable.”
When he was asked, “You do admit that you are cheater, but are you a killer?” Jonathan exclaimed, “That I'm not guilty of.” During the interview, he was also asked why he fled from the crime scene and he defended himself saying, "Because I was in shock... I did not feel at all like an innocent man. I was guilty of infidelity and I felt pretty certain that I was the cause of her death which is not say that she died at my hands but I felt it was possible even that someone out of jealousy or in a fit of rage did it. I had made love to her, it could have possibly triggered the killer. Maybe he saw.”
If that wasn't enough, when the TV interviewer asked, “You knew this woman, you loved her. Do you have some idea, perhaps, who did?” Jonathan answered, “I do, yeah.” The one-hour drama ends in mystery and leaves one too many loose ends. Is Jonathan trying to frame Fernando Alves (Ismael Cruz Córdova) or is he just trying to drive the attention away from himself? Whether or not he is bluffing, fans are convinced it's Jonathan who committed the murder.
“It's Jonathan, he is a master manipulator. Haley figured that out. Jonathan is a psychopath, has no boundaries, and as his colleague was saying, thrives on the attention he receives. Hayley read him well, he casts a spell on people and he knows it and Hugh Grant is perfect for that role. Elena was probably a similar kind of character and they clashed. She had the impudence to carry on an affair for a long time and to tease Grace, pretending she is all innocence. She even told her to let her know if she did anything wrong,” one fan posted on Reddit.
Another said, “But... and Grace was paying rapt attention, she would notice this... Jonathan had several 'tells' that he was lying when he said he lost his love. He scratched his nose. He scratched his ear. He scrunched up his mouth. Something was going on there. He had conflicts. Was he lying? Or was he evaluating the impact of what he knew he was going to say? There was a long pause when he couldn't say something while his brain was cranking. What was he thinking before he spoke? I'm guessing, he was calculating and evaluating. And ultimately, he decided to save himself in the court of public opinion by confessing he loved his mistress. But he knew he would lose all chance of getting back with Grace with this admission. Or, he doesn't really have feelings for others. And so he was trying to drum up looking like he had deep feelings of love. But he missed the mark. Scrunching up your mouth and scratching your ear ain't it.”
A third posted, “If it is Jonathan, then he definitely abused Grace and she has buried memories to cope with it. There are a few possible hints of that. Little clues like her dad saying she forgives people when they get heated and hit their partner in a fit of rage and the threat of violence lingering in the patients she has been shown talking to.”
And a fourth one hinted, “I think Jonathan had this all figured out well in advance. It wasn't a crime of passion. The tears on television were crocodile. He's spent his entire life charming, conning and manipulating everyone in his life, and he's convinced he'll get away with this as well. The distance from his family speaks volumes. I also think he had something going with Sylvia at one point. At the end he'll be acquitted, and at some point when the trial is over, either Grace or Henry will find the bloody hammer, and they'll know he was guilty all along.”
Do you think Jonathan is the killer or does he simply know who did it? Directed by Susanne Bier and written by David E Kelley, the next episode may finally reveal some huge hints and clues for the final showdown. ‘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.