The mystery thriller series Apples Never Fall revolves around the revelation of a convoluted family secret. The mini-series is based on Liane Moriarty’s novel Apples Never Fall, talking about the disappearance of the mother in the family. The secrets of every family member will, however, get unveiled to the others, and they will get to know each other better during their search for their mother. We are pushed to a point in the series where we are made to believe that the father is the murderer, but it turns out that he had been innocent all along. The story also takes a strange turn when it is revealed that a woman turned up at the Delaney house a few months ago to stay with them for a few days. Could the woman have been the one behind Joy’s disappearance? Was Joy dead? If not, where was she? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened After Joy Went Missing?
Joy disappeared a few days after she and Stan retired, after selling their tennis academy. Right after a few days of the event, a strange woman turned up at the Delaneys’, saying that she was being chased down by her boyfriend. On seeing the helpless girl, Joy was overcome with motherly instincts and let the stranger into her house, not knowing that she was welcoming a storm into her household! Savannah started staying at their house, which wasn’t taken well by Stan as well as by their children.
Just within a few days of Savannah moving out of their house, Joy went missing! When the detectives came to meet the family to gather more details on Joy, they saw that she had left her phone behind. Everyone thought that Stan had been hiding something about her disappearance. A scar on his face was more evidence for him to be a possible suspect! While Troy believed that their father was capable of doing something to their mom, the others were hesitant to believe it. Logan was almost sure that Savannah was behind his mom’s disappearance, and he told the detectives about her sudden arrival at their house a few months ago.
Why Were All The Signs Pointing To Savannah?
Four days after Joy had gone missing, Logan told the police how Savannah was suddenly everywhere in his parents’ lives a few days ago. He also told the police that she was a liar and never let anyone take her pictures. She would tell them that her boyfriend was always stalking her online, hence refusing to have any pictures clicked. She also had no ID on her, proving that something about her was really off. Meanwhile, the detectives found Joy’s bike, which she had been riding before her disappearance. The members of the family narrated to the detectives how Joy had asked Savannah to get her things from the motel that she was previously staying in. She was hesitant at first, but when Logan and Troy decided to accompany her, she agreed. When they went up to her room and knocked, a man with a gun came out.
Later, it was found out that Savannah was not a resident of that motel in Aberdeen. It was also found out that Joy had gone to Aberdeen two days before her disappearance. When Logan, Troy, Brooks, and Amy go to Aberdeen, they find out that Joy has gone to a law firm to seek help from a divorce lawyer. The family was shattered to know that their mom had been planning to split up with their father.
Why Was Stan A Major Suspect In The Case?
Stan was a major suspect in the case, as he was seen getting a car wash done right after a few days after Joy had gone missing. The police had also found Joy’s bloodied jacket in the neighbor’s garden when their dog dug it up. After the jacket was sent for a DNA check, it was found that the blood on it was that of Joy. After a search was conducted at the house, the police were unable to find anything against Stan. However, they got suspicious after they got to know that Stan had had his car washed. While at the Hope Circle, held for her mom, the detectives asked Amy about her mother hitting her head a few months ago. She, however, told them that her father was not a violent man who would hurt her mother. She had just been too drunk at a family gathering and had accidentally tripped and hit her head.
At the Hope Circle, the neighbors, however, pointed at Stan for hiding something about Joy, making others more suspicious of him. Later, when a body was found washed up, the cops called them and asked them to identify the objects on the body. However, it was a relief when they found out that those items did not belong to Joy, giving them hope that she was at least alive.
Why Did Brooks Try To Hide Her Connection With Savannah?
Brooks had been trying to cover up the fact that she had been sexually involved with Savannah. When Amy blurted that out in a fit of anger in front of the detectives, she was taken in for an interrogation. She told them that they had been together a few times, as she had been insecure about her partner, Gina, cheating on her with others. However, later, she told Savannah off, right before she was about to get engaged to Gina.
Was Joy Cheating On Stan?
While Logan, Amy, and Brooks gathered at their parental home, they found out a few letters that someone named Dennis had written to Joy. They realized that Dennis was someone from the club who was totally into Joy. From the letters it was evident that they had rekindled their relationship in the recent past. However, when they asked their father about it, he told them that Dennis had recently passed away and that he knew about her affair with him. He further said that he was definitely angry at her but waited for her to realize her mistake and get back to him.
What Did Tigo Ericson Tell The Police?
When the detectives approached Tigo Ericson and showed him Savannah’s photos, he told them that she had shown up as Amelia at his house to stay with him for a few days. She had also stolen his car, but had turned up six months ago and given him 10,000 dollars in cash to let her stay again. He further directed the detectives, saying that Amelia had left behind a few things at the garage, and when they went through those belongings, they realized that there was a newspaper cutout of Joy and her entire family there. It was revealed that she had known the family before meeting them and had been targeting them for some reason.
Why Did Troy Give Savannah Money?
When Troy stumbled upon a video of a talk show, he realized that Savannah had taken the story from the show and presented it to his family as her own! Troy offered her 10,000 dollars to move out of his house. But Savannah started blackmailing him, saying that she knew all about his affair with his boss’ wife and would reveal it if he did not pay her 40,000 dollars in cash. After Troy gave her the money, she finally decided to move out of their house!
What Conflict Did Troy Have With Stan?
Troy was once beaten by his dad for assaulting one of his students, Harry, while practicing with him. Later, when Harry’s father called Stan and fired him, he thought that it was all because of Troy! He kept blaming Troy for ruining his career for the past 19 years. Unable to take the rift between her son and husband, Joy had owned up to the fact that she had been the one responsible for Harry leaving. She was the one to have called up Harry’s father and advised him to get a better coach for his son. Joy confessed that she was furious at Stan for hitting Troy 19 years ago and had hence gotten him fired. After getting to know the truth, her children and Stan started ignoring her, blaming her for the turmoil that she put the family through! Joy had tried talking it through with Stan, saying that she was tired of Stan’s coldness towards her. She wanted him to understand her pain and that she was mad at him for leaving her so many times like an escapist in the past. She explained that years of pain and confusion had led her to take that step.
What Happened After Logan Found A Secret Footage Of Stan?
It had been quite clear by now that Stan had a strong motive to harm Joy. However, Logan had been quite supportive of Stan until a point when he found CCTV footage of Stan dragging a plastic bag (looking like a body) onto a boat that he had borrowed from the marina where Logan worked (without his knowledge). Logan sent the video to the detectives, and when Stan was called in for an interview, he told them that the bag was full of trophies. He told them that Joy hated those trophies, and hence he had gone to throw them in the ocean. He further said that after having an altercation with Joy (she had scratched him on his face) on the day when she went missing, he went out to cool himself, and upon coming back, he saw that Joy was gone!
Stan also told the detectives that he had hidden the fact that Joy had left the house because he was ashamed of his misbehavior with his wife. However, Stan was arrested on the basis of the fact that he had been recording a podcast on April 9. He had mistakenly left his recorder on and had captured the sounds of a fight between him and his wife.
Was Joy Really Dead?
A few days ago, when Savannah had been hurt in a bike accident, her legs had been bleeding. She wrapped her jacket around her leg and got back home after it, leaving the jacket outside. Meanwhile, the neighbor’s dog came in and took the jacket and buried it, which the police later uncovered. It was also revealed that Stan had not hit Joy but just broken things at home and left the house in a fit of rage (which had been recorded).
When Stan left her, Joy was devastated, and she went to a bar and met Savannah. Savannah confessed that she was a con artist and that she had suddenly left the house, as Troy had been paying her to move out of her home. Joy had decided to go to Savannah because she wanted her family to miss her. She spent a good time with Savannah even after knowing that she was a con artist and did not judge her for it. They had spent some time together, gardening and engaging in some conversation with Savannah’s neighbor, William. When Joy told William that she was from South Florida, West Palm Beach, he said the area was hit by a hurricane. This news got Joy extremely worried about her family, and she told Savannah that she wanted to go home. Meanwhile, Joy had gotten to know that Savannah was Harry’s sister, who had received a legal notice against stalking her own brother and his family. She had also seen a gun in her bag, making Joy realize that Savannah could be a potential threat to her.
What Did Harry Reveal About Savannah?
After Logan, Troy, Amy, and Brooks discovered from an old picture that Savannah was actually Harry’s sister, they got alarmed! They went to meet Harry, and he said that Savannah was actually Lindsey and that he hadn’t seen her in the past 3 years. He told them that his mother was unstable, and Lindsey had to deal with it after he had left the house with his father. Harry also said that Savannah would ask for money from him, threatening to harm his wife and kids. When he saw her with a gun three years ago, he finally gave her a $500 grand check and got a restraining order against her.
What Was Savannah’s Motive?
While pretending to drive Joy home, Savannah told her that she was like the mom that she never had. She further said that it was Joy who had instigated her brother and dad to leave the house, leaving her with an unstable mother who had ruined her life. She blamed Joy for having ruined her family, and just as they were having an altercation, their car met with an accident. When Savannah realized that the car crash could cause her trouble, she ran away, leaving Joy behind in the car.
Did Joy Eventually Return?
Eventually, Joy managed to return to her family after surviving the car crash. The family was seen reuniting despite their differences. Joy confessed her mistake of wanting to check her worth at home. The differences between Stan and Joy also seemed to be resolved, and they went back to being a happy family, just like before.
Final Words
No matter how convoluted the story of Apples Never Fall may seem, it is after all a story about family bonds. The internal chaos within the family members had caused them a crisis, which they finally managed to solve together. The happiness that we gain from the reunion of the family after their mother Joy returns is inexplicable. There are a lot of events that surround the main event of Joy’s disappearance, adding to the thrill of the story! Will there be a second season in the series? It is unlikely, but even if it is made, it will portray how Savannah (Lindsey) returns to take revenge on the family.
