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‘The Undoing’ Episode 3: Is Jonathan a psychopath? How Hugh Grant's character could be a cold-blooded murderer

‘These kinds of psychopaths can't work in hospitals,’ Jonathan's colleague comments. Shocked, Grace remarks, ‘Psychopath? He's not a psychopath.’

Spoilers for ‘The Undoing’ Episode 3

A deadly murder and a convoluted case — few thrillers are as chaotic and confusing as HBO's ‘The Undoing’. Who killed Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis)? The mystery doesn't seem to dissolve any time soon and suspicion is on all the members of the Fraser family: Grace (Nicole Kidman), Jonathan (Hugh Grant), and even their son, Henry (Noah Jupe).

The third episode ‘Do No Harm’ picks up where the last one ended as Jonathan is taken into custody. Once behind the bars, Grace wonders if she can trust her husband after all the lies. ​Back at the prison, Jonathan has a tough time adjusting to the atmosphere and inmates. Meanwhile, Grace meets the Defense Attorney who comments that she may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Betrayal (PTB), where, he suggests, a person — after being f---ed over, believes the f---er could do anything, including murder. He suggests, “I'm thinking your husband is a bit of a d--- but not a killer.”

Later, when Grace meets Jonathan in the prison, she lashes out at him while sobbing, “You didn't just do this to me, you did this to your son. You have a daughter. You have a f---ing daughter. Unmoved and cold, he lacks emotions and asks Grace to help him. “You know my heart. You certainly know that I would never take a human life. My heart wouldn't allow it. I didn't do it.”

Unable to decide what she should believe and what she shouldn't, Grace decides to meet one of her husband's colleagues. “What do you know about the victim, Elena Alves?” she asks. He tells her, “They weren't discreet. They weren't even trying to be. He desperately wanted her.” When Grace repeats Jonathan's theory of how she was a crazed lover who became obsessed with him and his life. But the doc denies it. “Jonathan cultivated it. If someone becoming obsessed with him, he fed off it. He thrived on being the center of emotion in a very narcissistic and unhealthy way.”

He then says, “These kinds of psychopaths can't work in hospitals.” Shocked, Grace remarks, “Psychopath? He's not a psychopath.” That's where the show makes you ponder: Is Jonathan really a psychopath?

It seems the doctor may indeed be right. Sociopathy is traditionally a personality disorder, characterized by “persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits.” Remember how Jonathan hated to be at the fundraiser event among all the socialites? 

After the gruesome tragedy, he has shown little or no emotion, especially when it comes to regret or sorrow. In fact, he pretends to be quite practical and frosty about it. When his son, Henry, asks him at the prison, “Why did you run?” Jonathan replies, “Well, I ran because I was scared and selfish. At that moment I only thought about myself.” 

And if these dialogues do not hint at his impaired empathy and remorse, a particular scene in the prison will make you shiver in the bones. Back at the prison, Jonathan gets caught up in a brawl and tells a fellow inmate to take his off him. As the authorities come to pull them off, Jonathan takes the other one's fingers into his mouth and bites him so hard that his teeth cut through his flesh. With another hand, he pushes his face away and clenches his teeth. He then spits out the blood from his mouth.

That scene clearly shows Jonathan doesn't really have emotions and can go to any limits to protect himself. In the first episode, Grace divulges the dead dog secret to his son and whether it's true or not there's something fishy from Jonathan's past that no one knows about. Some fans have already predicted it. “I love Hugh Grant so much please don’t be a murderous psychopath,” one fan said while another posted, “I still can’t believe I guessed the entire plot of this 30 minutes deep. Maybe be a little less heavy-handed with the psychopath references (the dead dog he was blamed for), the timed departures, etc., so there’s some actual intrigue. I had high hopes. I’m mad.” So, will Jonathan turn out to a sociopathic murderer? Only time will tell. 

‘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 third episode ‘Do No Harm’ on November 8, 2020.