What happens if one day you wake up and realize that you’d been living a lie? Well, that is the story of Marissa Irvine, a business founder, mother, and wife in Peacock’s new mystery thriller All Her Fault. Juggling three roles wasn’t easy, but Marissa tried her best to make things work. Her husband, Peter, believed he had been completely supportive, but he failed to see that more often than not, he expected Marissa to manage home and work alone, even on days when she was visibly overwhelmed. But she didn’t protest, assuming that to make their marriage work, she had to make certain adjustments. But when Milo was abducted and her husband’s initial reaction was to blame her, she slowly started to address the cracks in their marriage. Even then, she believed that his reaction might have stemmed from the emotional turmoil they both faced after Milo’s disappearance. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that nothing is ever simply black or white.
Spoiler Alert
Was Peter responsible for Brian’s accident?
Peter’s siblings, Brian and Lia, relied on him for financial support. Even Detective Alcaras, who was overseeing Milo’s case, found it strange that Peter was responsible for two adults who could earn a living on their own. But Peter enjoyed the fact that his siblings depended on him to make every decision in their lives. Although it pained Brian to walk with a crutch, he did so just because Peter expected him to. But Brian lost respect for his brother when he discovered that Peter had lied to him about him not being eligible for a surgery that could potentially improve the quality of his life. He realized that Peter wanted him to suffer because only then would he forever rely on his brother. When Brian confronted him, he got defensive and gaslighted Brian. He tried to establish that his siblings were incapable of looking after themselves. Soon, the conversation took an aggressive turn, and Peter said something that left Brian and Lia shocked.
When Peter was ten, Brian met with an accident, and it radically changed the lives of the three siblings. Throughout their lives, Peter repeatedly reminded them that Lia was somehow responsible for Brian’s disability, but during the argument when Peter mentioned that Brian’s life was ruined after he’d hit the corner of a coffee table, Brian was caught off guard. All these years Peter had always consistently told them that he was in the kitchen when Brian met with the accident. So, technically there was no way for him to know the details about the incident, because he wasn’t even present at the scene. When Brian pressured him to explain his statement, Peter confessed that he’d lied about being in the kitchen. When he saw Brian and Lia play together, he wanted to join them. He thought it would be fun to stick his leg out and for Brian to trip and fall, but he didn’t expect things to take such a serious turn. Lia was too young to even comprehend what was going on, and she assumed she was at fault. Brian too had barely any recollection of the accident, so it was easy for Peter to manipulate the truth. He explained that he was afraid of admitting his mistake, and since Lia had already taken the blame, he thought of playing along. He made himself believe that he was doing a favor for Lia and Brian by essentially sponsoring them, but in reality he’d destroyed their lives. Lia had grown up to become an addict because the guilt of watching her brother struggle on a regular basis took a toll on her. Brian was so afraid of offending Peter all his life that he didn’t dare to live on his own terms. It was not the fact that Peter was responsible for his condition that bothered him, but he couldn’t believe how Peter could live with himself after lying throughout his life. Brian later told Peter that he’d forgiven him and he was ready to move into a disability-friendly living facility and find a job. He didn’t go through with the surgery and chose to stick to his wheelchair. He didn’t think the risk was worth taking, and he wasn’t ashamed of being bound to a wheelchair since it made the world more accessible to him. Lia didn’t hold a grudge against her brother, although she had reason enough to be mad at him. But after Colin’s death, when Peter once again tried to force his opinion on Lia, she realized that he didn’t even care about making the effort to change himself. He didn’t hesitate to dismiss her relationship with Colin, just because he didn’t think they were the right match.
Who Was Carrie Finch?
Milo was abducted by a twenty-two-year-old woman named Carrie Finch, who we later discover was actually named Josephine Murphy. Carrie had befriended Marissa’s nanny, Ana, to gather more information about Milo and the Irvine family. But why was she obsessed with them? Six years ago, Josephine had met with an accident. She lost her newborn as a result, and she never really recovered from the tragedy. She had always imagined building a happy, safe space with her partner, Kyle, where they would raise their son together. But unfortunately, Kyle was arrested for possession of an illegal substance, and a day after giving birth, her son too was taken away from her. Josephine shared a good relationship with her father, Rob, a bookie who often had to get his hands dirty to get his clients to pay up. One such gambler was Colin, and Carrie was accompanying Rob when he went to a lake house to force him to cough up some cash. Carrie met Milo there. Immediately after talking to him, she felt they had a connection. Just like her, Milo too had a color for every day of the week, and he could also taste words. Carrie was intrigued, and she decided to find out more about Milo’s family. She found Marissa’s social media and figured out that Milo was born on the same day as her late son, Noah. She thought it was a strange coincidence, and she was convinced that Milo was actually her son and it can be theorized that there must have been either at the crash site or at the hospital. She reconnected with Kyle and asked for his help. He didn’t believe her at first, but when he saw Milo at the marathon, he knew that Josephine was right. The little boy looked just like Kyle’s father, and it was enough reason for him to support Josephine. To execute her plan, Josephine developed a new personality—Carrie Finch, a young nanny with a reputation for handling kids with ease. She managed to win over Jenny, and she eventually befriended Ana.
Carrie texted Marissa from Jenny’s phone and fixed a playdate with Jenny’s son, Jacob, when she wasn’t looking, and she picked up Milo from school before she disappeared with him. She changed her appearance after the cops started circulating her picture. She dyed Milo’s hair as well, from blonde to brown. Milo knew Carrie, so he wasn’t scared, and he was told it was just a vacation where they could eat what they wanted and play all day. While Milo was excited at first, the joy soon started to fade away, and all he wanted was to be with his mother again.
Carrie had arranged passports for her and Kyle, and she’d asked her father to help her get one made for Milo also so that they could leave the country together. But things took a turn after the detectives got a glimpse from a surveillance camera of the unknown person Anna had seen Carrie interact with at the marathon. Kyle’s photograph was all over the news, and Rob thought he would bring them trouble. So he shot Kyle before he headed to the motel where Carrie and Milo had already shifted. Carrie had no idea that her father was in contact with Peter and had asked for a ransom. She’d stepped out to buy a birthday cake for Milo when Rob asked Peter to bring the money to his room. He’d threatened to tell the media about the allegations his daughter had been making about them, although he didn’t really believe that Milo was Carrie’s son. When Carrie returned, she found her father on the floor lying in a pool of his own blood. He had recorded his conversation with Peter, and it was enough evidence to prove that Peter had killed Rob because he was afraid that he would be repeatedly threatened and exploited, so he thought it was best to nip the problem in the bud.
Why did Carrie visit the Irvines?
Carrie could’ve gone to the cops, but she was afraid that she wouldn’t be heard. She thought it was important that she meet Marissa personally and tell her the truth about her husband. Milo had already returned home, and Marissa was afraid that Carrie would come after her son again. She assumed Carrie was just a creepy, dangerous woman obsessed with her child. So, when Carrie showed up at her house with a gun, she was petrified. Colin tried to snatch the gun from Carrie, but in the process he got shot and died on the spot. She was apologetic for how things had turned out, and she begged Lia to call an ambulance for Colin. She also asked Brian to stay with Milo to comfort him. Carrie tried telling Marissa the truth. She admitted that she was Josephine Murphy, and her life had turned upside down after she met with an accident six years ago. She tried to explain that Peter had swapped their babies after the car crash. Marissa and Peter lost their son in the accident. When Peter discovered a newborn in the other car and saw that the mother was unconscious, he took the baby and claimed it as his own. Carrie begged Marissa to listen to her father’s recording to understand how dangerous Peter was. But before she could hit the play button, Peter shot her.
After Marissa ordered him to explain himself, Peter admitted that he’d swapped the babies, and he reasoned that he didn’t think Carrie had the means to provide her child a happy life. He tried to establish that he did it all for Marissa, but of course, by then his wife had already realized that he was capable of committing atrocious crimes and casually blaming others for them. He wasn’t ready to accept that the brief second that his eyes were not on the road had caused them to meet with a terrible accident. To cover it up, he destroyed someone else’s life. Marissa was afraid of Peter; she couldn’t tell the truth to the cops when they showed up because she knew they would take Milo away. But at the same time, she couldn’t imagine being trapped with a man like Peter. She’d noticed him get aggressive with Milo when he refused to take help from his father; clearly, Peter now relied on his son to make him feel needed. He’d once mentioned that the one thing he loved about Milo was when he had nightmares and he would come to him for comfort. Peter thrived on being needed, and he could go to any extent to savor that feeling.
Why did Lia lie?
Marissa consulted Jenny, and she suggested she do whatever was necessary to protect her child. Since she knew Peter would make her life hell if she divorced him, she thought murdering him was the only solution. He was allergic to soy, so she intentionally ate a meal with soy in it at Colin’s wake and kissed Peter. He immediately started to choke, and the EpiPen he was carrying didn’t help his case. Peter realized that it was expired, and he asked Marissa to grab the emergency kit from the car. As it turned out, the kit wasn’t in the car because Marissa had removed it. By the time Peter realized that Marissa had planned his murder, it was already too late, and at the end of All Her Fault, Peter passed away. The detectives were curious, and an interrogation followed. When Lia was asked if she’d seen Marissa read the labels before having her food at the wake, she lied that Marissa wasn’t careful. She’d seen her check the labels, but she also knew the kind of man her brother was, and she sympathized with Marissa. It was almost an open secret in the family that no one spoke of.
Was Marissa Arrested?
Detective Alcaras had figured out the truth by the very end of All Her Fault. He couldn’t understand why Carrie had grown obsessed about Milo, and he didn’t believe that she was an aggressive, crazy woman. Had it been that way, she could’ve hurt Milo, but instead he’d always mentioned that he had the best time with Carrie. She also allowed Lia to call for an ambulance and had Brian stay with Milo. If she were as dangerous as Peter and Marissa had claimed, she would’ve done something extreme. Peter’s death too came as a surprise for him, and he desperately wanted to figure out the whole truth.
Alcaras found a lead when he spoke to a psychiatrist who’d mentioned that some individuals confuse colors, shapes, and tastes because of a condition known as synesthesia. Alcaras remembered how creative Milo was with his colors, and it made him wonder if Josephine too had a similar condition, since in most cases it was genetically inherited. Upon investigating Josephine’s life as a young adult, Alcaras came to the conclusion that Josephine was Milo’s mother. He already knew about the car crash, and considering Milo had the same neurodivergent condition as her, it only made sense that they were related. He wondered if Marissa and Peter had planned the swap together, but from the hospital staff he learned that Marissa was unconscious when she was admitted, which meant that Peter alone was responsible. Things started to gradually make sense to Alcaras. He deduced that the night Josephine was killed, she’d tried to tell Marissa the truth. When Marissa learned about her husband, she couldn’t imagine letting him near Milo, and that was why she’d planned the murder. But instead of arresting her, Alcaras simply spoke to her. As a father, he knew the lengths a parent would go for their child, and he’d been in a similar tough spot. He was an honest detective, but when he was expected to abuse his position for the sake of a rich man who could get his son into a reputed special school, Alcaras chose his son’s well-being over his principles. He risked his job, his career, his reputation, and his freedom for his son, so he personally related to Marissa’s situation.
Instead of arresting her, Detective Alcaras simply confronted her. He wanted to know if the truth was what he’d managed to deduce, and he realized that he was indeed right. A man like Peter would have damaged the lives of those around him, but then comes the question of morality and the law. Should an individual take the law into their own hands? Well, that is up for the audience to decide.
All Her Fault’s ending suggests that Marissa was happy and free now that the cops had decided to shut the case. She’d been sharing her bed with a monster all these years, and she finally came to realize that the threat to her son was living within the four walls of her house. She didn’t feel guilty because she did it for Milo, and she and Jenny in the final scene were seen enjoying a drink while their children played together. They both had escaped from toxic marriages, though of course, not exactly in the same way. The ending suggests that after the emotional turmoil they’d been through, Jenny and Marissa will surely find comfort in their newfound friendship.
