Netflix’s miniseries “Obsession,” as the name suggests, is all about an affair that becomes so passionate so quickly that things around the couple start derailing as they speak. They become so involved with each other that they forget the norms of society and why they should not be with each other at any cost. An affair so dangerous that it would ruin the very fabric of their family. Will the affair get out of hand, or will it be smooth sailing for the couple involved in it?
Spoilers Ahead
How Did The Affair Begin?
Dr. William Farrow is a well-known pediatric surgeon who has made quite a name for himself in the city of London for separating a set of conjoined twins. He lives a hectic life but is surrounded by his lovely wife, Ingrid, and children, Jay and Sally. As a family, all four of them are tightly knit, and by the looks of it, nothing imaginable could come close to remotely ruining their family and the dynamics. William makes sure to keep all his family happy, no matter how busy he gets. Ingrid’s father, though, is a politically connected man who introduces William to a lot of contacts in the government, hoping it would help the man gain a reputation. As they spend the holiday away from the city, Jay comes home to let everyone know of his new girlfriend, Anna Baron, who works at the foreign office. Jay is very excited about this relationship, which makes him want to talk about it with his family. Jay is close to his mother and father, and that’s why he does not shy away from sharing his personal life as well. All in all, this family has everything going right for them so far.
Back in the city, Ingrid and William attend a party attended by plenty of politicians when William locks eyes with a beautiful woman standing across the room. She looks back at him, and there is an instant attraction that forms between them. The woman comes to William to pursue the instant connection that they feel and introduces herself as Anna Barton. It is then that he realizes she is Jay’s girlfriend, and she is clearly off limits. But the connection they both feel is so strong that he feels his heart racing and wants to hold her close to him. Anna feels the same about him, even though she is aware he is her boyfriend’s father, who looks young and is still handsome. Even though it feels wrong, they cannot stop thinking about each other. Anna takes his father’s contact information from his phone to call William and let him know they are about to visit their home for lunch.
Anna and William try to stay away from each other; more like William makes sure to keep a distance from her, but Anna is very eager to converse with him and make something out of whatever connection they feel. William, though he is trying to avoid being carried away by his thoughts, cannot seem to stop thinking about her. One day, he receives a message from her asking him to meet her at a specific apartment. He rushes to her at the given time, and as he reaches her, they both realize they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other, thus beginning an affair. The duo was trying hard not to succumb to it, but their hearts had other plans.
‘Obsession’ Ending Explained – How Did Jay Ever Find Out About The Affair?
As their affair goes on, they make sure not to let their other lives get affected by it. Anna is still Jay’s girlfriend, and William is still married to Ingrid. Anna and William end up having a safe space for themselves, and they go out of their way to spend as much time with each other as possible without letting anyone know about it. In between, Ingrid has second thoughts about whether Anna is really the right girlfriend for Jay after all. William is physically uncomfortable hearing her name from his wife’s mouth, but he reacts in such a manner that does not leave any room for doubt in Ingrid. William and Anna have a set of rules that need to be followed if their lives outside the apartment are not disturbed.
Ingrid notices William acting strangely for a couple of weeks, but he stresses the fact that he is busy with his work at the hospital. William leaves no stone unturned to keep his wife from getting any inkling about the affair, and the same goes for Anna, who cleverly covers her tracks. But William starts getting emotionally involved with her and starts asking plenty of personal questions in his quest to get to know Anna. Anna reveals that growing up, her brother was infatuated with her, but because she rejected his advances, he ended up killing himself. Anna never got over the trauma of her brother taking his own life because of her rejection. She has been disturbed ever since, and she has only shared this information with William. William starts emotionally competing with his son to get Anna’s attention. This is wrong, but William cannot stop himself from wanting to know more about her emotionally. She is an emotionally damaged person, and she knows that too. The difference here is that she is a sorted person who is not looking for any emotional validation from William or Jay. But both men turn out to be too emotionally attached to her, and she is finding it hard to handle both at the same time.
Jay and Anna plan a trip to Paris, and William follows them to the city out of jealousy and the attachment he feels towards her. The trip turns out to be a disaster because she is distracted by William, and the couple has to cut the trip short. Not before Jay asks Anna to marry him, and she accepts his proposal. Jay insists on meeting her best friend, Peggy, on the night of the engagement, which Anna reluctantly agrees to. The whole idea of Jay wanting to meet Peggy stems from the fact that she has not let him meet any of her friends and family, especially her mother. Anna promises to introduce him to her mother at the engagement party. As Anna’s mother shows up at the party, she starts talking about Jay’s strong resemblance to Aston, Anna’s deceased brother. This puts her in a foul mood. Anna’s relationship with her mother is complicated, and she can’t seem to find a midpoint where she and her mother can agree on something. William somehow understands Anna’s pain only because she shared it; meanwhile, Jay has no clue about the actual reality of what Anna went through as a child.
As their wedding date approaches, Jay’s friend throws a bachelor party for him, which is attended by his family as well. After conversing with him about his doubts about the marriage, his father ends up using a phrase that he has only heard Anna use. This sets off something in Jay’s mind, and he follows his father to Anna’s apartment. William and Anna are caught in the act by Jay, and he is devastated to see how his father and Anna managed to destroy the family. There is no turning back for Jay from here, for he knows he never wants to see his father or Anna again.
As Jay starts to back out of the apartment, he falls from a height and succumbs to the injuries of the fall. Since his death, the family had fallen apart, as Jay revealed to his mother about the affair minutes before he discovered his father and Anna together. Ingrid asks William to leave her, and her family alone and possibly move as far away as he can. Her disgust towards him is justified because what he and Anna committed was a cardinal sin that could have been avoided if they had not acted upon their feelings. William walks away from the family because he knows there is no way he will be accepted by his family for being responsible for Jay’s death. He feels guilty for it. Moving away is the right thing to do.
What Happened To Anna?
Anna learns from her mother that she knew Aston was infatuated with Anna, and that her mother still did not do anything to stop him from harassing Anna. Anna blames her mother for a traumatic childhood and walks away from her as well, just like William did. William and Anna meet again one last time, knowing they cannot be together ever again because they feel responsible for Jay’s death. Their love and attraction to one another will not sustain them forever, and they decide to finally part ways. Anna sells her apartment in the city, and William ends up buying the place. Maybe William wants to live with the memories he shared with her. The apartment is reminiscent of the brief life they lived being themselves.
Anna finally starts seeing a counselor for the trauma she has faced over the years. Starting from her brother’s suicide to her fiancé’s death, she wants clarity of thought on what she is doing wrong and how she ends up getting dragged into relationships that are not right for her. She is aware she is attracted to older men who could dominate her. But she has to find a breakthrough on why she ends up self-sabotaging herself. While conversing, she mentions if there are rules she will have to follow to understand what she should speak about or not. The last scene of “Obsession” has the counselor inform her to set up ground rules if that is how she finds it comfortable. The word rules ignites a spark in her, and she gives the counselor a look that might imply that she intends to fall again into trouble. The look probably means that she has found another older gentleman to have a rendezvous with. This will mean her therapy session will probably have no impact on her if Anna ends up having an affair again with the person who is supposed to help her sort her mind. Maybe Anna is on a loop to do the same thing repeatedly, which would mean she is a masochist who enjoys being in pain after all.
“Obsession” is a Netflix Original miniseries, streaming with subtitles.
