Paramount’s TV series Fatal Attraction, based on the eponymous 1987 erotic thriller, premiered its finale for Season 1 on its two-night finale weekend. The finale unties several strings of mystery that the show had knotted over the weeks, and the revelation is one that leaves us shocked. In the penultimate episode, Dan’s trial application after coming out of jail was denied by a judge, and in the flashback, we saw Beth had met with Alex. This episode shows the one who actually killed Alex and the lasting impression that she left on someone we’d never guessed. Here’s what happens in the Season 1 finale of Paramount’s Fatal Attraction.
Spoilers Ahead
How Much Did Arthur Sacrifice For The People Around Him?
Throughout the runtime of Paramount’s TV series Fatal Attraction, we’ve had our own sets of doubts and questions about who could’ve been behind Alex Forrest’s murder, while some of us questioned whether it was even murder or not. Now, the finale answers some of the most burning questions that all of us have had, but it leaves us with even more as the series ends abruptly on a cliffhanger. The first time we came to know about Arthur (Brian Goodman), he seemed like the strong and silent man who stays at the back and lets his best friend or partner Beth take the front seat in the discussion or allows his adopted daughter Ellen to educate him about Carl Jung. This episode throws light on the man and the multiple ways he suffered 15 years ago, trying to take care of his dying wife and wanting to comfort his best friend whose life was falling apart.
During the daytime, Arthur did everything for his wife Julia, from rubbing her feet to getting her food and meds to running errands for her as her death drew closer. Suffering from the final stage of ovarian cancer, Julia didn’t have much left in her life, save Arthur and his undying devotion and determination to not let Julia know just how much pain he went through when she said things like she’d not be able to read her favorite author’s final book. He met with a friend and got the keys to the marina and a boat because Julia listed wanting to watch the sun from a boat deck as one of her wishes before she kicked the bucket. At night, he listened to Beth cry about how she’d met Alex, who made her realize that she could do whatever she wanted, if she wanted, and she’d not stop at just lying about being pregnant or burning down a house. Beth was all alone in this as Dan went out on a wild goose chase trying to get rid of Alex, and Beth’s cries pushed Arthur to take action.
Who Killed Alex?
Having spent his life in construction, it was rather easy for Arthur to pose as a handyman and seek entry into Alex’s building after keeping tabs on her for a while. Arthur would quietly sneak into her apartment and look around, but he didn’t do any more. That was until Beth howled on the phone that the psychotic and delusional woman had kidnapped Ellen, and even though the kid had been returned home safely, this showed that Alex was in no way willing to stop harassing the Gallaghers because she believed she could get away with everything. This was until Dan barged into her apartment and almost choked her to death before letting her know that he was going to the feds to get her demented self far away from the family. Alex was frantically calling her father, Steve, letting him know that Dan had left her with the ultimatum and that he’d urgently advised her to come to live with him. That was the last conversation Alex had with anyone before Arthur snuck in and began choking her.
Yes, that’s the big reveal of the show. Not Beth, not one of her jilted lovers, and certainly not Dan; it was the man who had absolutely nothing to do with Alex; it was Arthur who killed her. The only reason he had for his action was that Alex had made life difficult for his best friend, and she’d tried to burn him and Beth alive in that housefire she’d started. That was enough to chokehold this delusional woman, but it wasn’t done. As he slumped down on the couch, Alex opened her eyes and began inching towards the phone, and Arthur noticed a second too early and struck her on the head with a kettlebell, instantly killing her. He spent the rest of the night dumping her body in the marina and came back to get his wife and her physician two coffees, keeping the secret to himself.
What Did Arthur Do After Dan Went To Jail?
It’s not like Arthur sat quietly through the whole time Dan was in jail, however. After Julia died and he had no one else to protect anymore, Arthur went to an attorney and confided within the attorney-client privilege that it was he who’d killed Alex. Arthur wanted to be taken in and have his friend’s husband, Dan, released. However, Arthur was sent home with the note that nobody would believe a common man like Arthur because prosecutors like Ruiz and Conchita gloated over the fact that they’d taken down a “whale” like DA Dan Gallagher. So, even 15 years later, Arthur could only watch from afar as Dan, now a broken man, had a timid smile and a wrinkly face as life continued to kick him, even after doing time. Arthur is the example of the ultimate selfless man, who can give up his own self for the betterment of his loved ones, and it’s only us who get to know about Arthur’s secret, at least for Fatal Attraction Season 1.
What Happened To Ellen?
Ellen had grown up to be a beautiful young woman who was deeply focused on her studies, tried her best to reconnect with her father, and was well-adjusted in every walk of life. That is until her friend Stella got in Ellen’s face and called her dad a murderer. Ellen had watched from afar as Stella restarted her relationship with Ellen’s professor, Richard Macksey, and decided to avenge the insult on Dan. Using the information Stella had confided in Ellen about the former’s juvenile record; she got Stella’s educational grant revoked and ruined her future. She kept a straight face, feigning innocence, as Stella confronted her.
At the family get-together, Ellen requested that Dan keep seeking justice and not give up, and she gave him a hug that left him in tears. Now, we get to see what happened all those years ago when Alex took Ellen away. She’d told her that the kid’s parents had always lied to her and pretended that things were okay when in reality, everything was falling apart. The child Ellen took this to heart and grew up to be someone we’d never dreamed of. We find Ellen cheerfully editing a voice clip that implicates Macksey in making inappropriate suggestions towards Ellen as Macksey walks into his own house to find her sitting there. Terrified, he questions what she’s doing here as Ellen approaches him and, with wide eyes, asks if he’s mad at her. The terrifying similarity leaves a chill down the viewers’ spines.
The ending of Fatal Attraction Episode 8 suggests that Ellen is the next Alex Forrest, and this final act confirms that she’s too far gone. The talk that Alex had with the child years ago made her believe that everyone was lying to her, and she took a stand in her own way to confront the liars. However, this stand convoluted her mind in such a twisted way that now Ellen mirrors most of the symptoms that Alex presented, from manipulation to obsession. She did learn to cover her tracks better than the one who pushed her in this direction because nobody, including her own mother, could suspect that Ellen had such a terrifying personality within. So, even though Alex had died, she left the seeds of her delusion in little Ellen’s brain, which grew into a tree that made the adult Ellen someone just as disturbed and twisted as the woman who’d kidnapped her 15 years ago.
