‘The Undoing’ Episode 6 Spoilers: Did Franklin kill Elena Alves? These theories sum up Grace's troubled childhood
A cloud of suspicion hangs on every character in ‘The Undoing’. In the first episode of David E Kelley's psychological whodunnit crime show, Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis) is mercilessly killed at the hands of a stranger and no one knows who did it. In the subsequent episodes, the cops investigate Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) — who had an affair with her, his wife Grace (Nicole Kidman), and Elena's husband Fernando (Ismael Cruz Córdova).
To support Grace through the chaos, her father Franklin Reinhardt (Donald Sutherland), a wealthy New Yorker, enters the scene. He’s fiercely protective of his daughter and grandson, Henry (Noah Jupe). But the actions in his past seem to point to a bigger hand in the conspiracy. Remember how Franklin confesses he had given $500,000 to Jonathan without telling Grace about it? It seems rather fishy that Franklin would give that big an amount without keeping a track of where the money went.
In Episode 4 ‘See No Evil’, Franklin visits Jonathan in the prison and makes it clear he thinks he is guilty. “Should you run, should you do anything to further harm my daughter, my grandson, I will track you down and I will kill you myself,” Franklin tells Jonathan. Moreover, when Henry's school board decides to have him homeschooled, Grandpa makes a brutal threat to the headmaster: “Make no mistake, I am a c--ksucker. And I don’t mean that in the sense of gay belittlement as it’s currently come to be interpreted. No, I’m an old-fashioned c--ksucker. The more traditional kind. The kind who f----s over anyone who hurts me or a loved one. You speak of ugliness, Mr Connaver, you have not yet met ugliness.”
That epic dialogue has stuck with fans and they believe it has something to do with Franklin being involved in the murder. Perhaps, Franklin knew about Jonathan's affairs and wanted to get Elena out of the picture. As the episode comes to a close, Franklin confesses he cheated on Grace's mother umpteen times. Explaining why he never liked Jonathan, Franklin confesses to Grace, “He reminded me of me... You've always had a way of chasing ghosts, Grace. Believing in things you shouldn’t. I'm afraid you're going to find a way to believe in him again.”
After that scene, a bizarre theory seems to have surfaced on Reddit. One fan said, “Franklin killed his wife and Grace witnessed it as a child (intro). Franklin convinced Grace it didn’t happen. We don’t know why — but it might be that Franklin’s wife found out and was going to take Grace away. Years later, Elena shows up and claims to be a child of Franklin’s many affairs. Franklin won’t have it, but Elena sets her eyes on using Jonathan and Grace to get back at Franklin. When Franklin finds out, he sabotages Jonathan’s job at the hospital (which he happens to give money to) and offers Jonathan $500,000 to convince Elena to disappear from their lives.”
“Things start to go wrong when Elena has no intention to disappear (this why Elena is so upset at the party). So instead, Franklin (who was at the same fundraiser and must have known where Elena painted) plots to kill Elena and frame it on Jonathan, whom he knows is betraying Grace. Jonathan ultimately flees from the scene because he’ll be a prime suspect given his affair and allegations at the hospital. Another telltale: before Franklin starts playing the song that reminds Grace of her mother, Franklin says: ‘You’ve always had an unlimited capacity to see the humanity in a person. To have an affair – that’s human. To strike at someone in an act of passion or anger – that’s human. But to bludgeon someone to death, and keep on bludgeoning them long after they are dead – that is a monster, Grace. That is a monster.’ He was talking about himself – Somebody who will ‘f--k anyone who hurts me or a loved one... You have not yet met ugliness.’”
Many fans feel the things Franklin does are just to protect his family and he couldn't have murdered Elena. However, several theories point out to how Sylvia is actually Franklin's daughter. Another fan posted, “It seems like Franklin is trying really hard to get Grace to back down/not believe Jonathan. Could it be because he’s responsible for the murder, never thought Jonathan would come close to winning (as he was framed) and is now worried? Would explain the tears in his eyes at the jail, confessing to his infidelity.”
“BUT the tears in his eyes could also be him worried about Grace. I still believe somewhat in the split personality, ‘something is wrong here’ theory for Grace, and if Franklin didn’t kill Elena but knows maybe Grace did (based on some other theories I’ve read here about Grace being potentially responsible for her mom’s death, unconfirmed) and wants Jonathan to go down for it... I also think the other woman Jonathan was with is Sylvia. Something’s wrong there and I’m sure we’ll find out who it is, but my money is on her and there is more to this.”
Do you think this theory could be true? Did Franklin have a hand in Elena's murder along with Grace's friend Sylvia? 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 sixth episode ‘The Bloody Truth’ on November 29, 2020.