“The Unusual Suspects” has way too many details for a 4-episode series. The impression of chaos is used to make a simple plot look complex. But this formula doesn’t work unless there is an equally thought-provoking plot to balance the weight of the details. The first two episodes of “The Unusual Suspects” take so long to reach the primary plot that we find that many such details provided in these two episodes might as well have been left out. However, the 3rd and 4th episodes do manage to wind up things pretty decently, establishing the occurrences in the first two. Here’s what transpires in “The Unusual Suspects.”
Spoilers Ahead
Episode 1: Recap
Sara Beasley is the CEO of Beautiful Beastlies, a women’s website. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, Garth, who is an entrepreneur and is trying to greenlight a new phone app. They have three kids and a babysitter, Evie. Evie’s husband Modesto and daughter Melanie are in the Philippines, and her relationship with him is strained. She has to send money to him; otherwise, she isn’t allowed to talk to her daughter. This is why she is getting a small house built for herself and her daughter, which she will return to after a year.
Sara cracks a huge deal with an American company and is overjoyed. She then pays a visit to the Pure Waters beauty clinic, run by her friend Roxanne Waters. The two women are neighbors and have also signed a contra deal that allows them to exchange services without payment. Roxanne’s husband is Jordan, also a millionaire. Their cook is Amy, who overstayed her visa and cannot leave the country. She is also Roxanne’s sister (probably her cousin). One night, Jordan gifts Roxanne a diamond and emerald necklace, which she later finds out is worth $16 million. She asks him if there is any reason for the gift, but all that Jordan says is that it is her insurance policy. Meanwhile, Sara is at home when she gets a text from her ex, Nick Smith, who invites her to dinner the next day. She doesn’t reply. Garth is apparently away in Melbourne for a meeting.
The next day, Sara finds out that she is almost broke, and her company needs a cash injection (a big investment typically in cash) to keep her website going. The American company hasn’t replied yet. Evie brings in a young girl, Margarita, aka Gigi, who will work as a cleaner at Roxanne’s. Evie tells her to stay in the car while she goes and talks to Sara about her wages that she hasn’t received yet. Sara, knowing that her cards have been declined, tells her that she will look into it as soon as she reaches the office. Gigi decides to head to Roxanne’s on her own and finds Amy, who tells her all that she has to do as a cleaner. That’s when Jordan’s mother Jeanne arrives, and it is clear that she hates Roxanne. As Amy takes Jeanne inside in her wheelchair, she also notices Amy. Later, Evie shows up at Sara’s office to follow up on her payment, but Sara threatens to sack her from her job as a babysitter. Evie leaves without saying anything. Sara then confirms the dinner with Nick. Roxanne, on the way to her clinic, drops in on one of her clients, Rose, and finds out that her family has been swindled by Jordan’s Ponzi scheme (he took their money with the assurance of high returns but didn’t really invest the money). Back at the Waters residence, Amy throws Gigi out of the house after finding her wearing Roxanne’s clothes. Gigi leaves without saying anything and meets Birdie (a lawyer), another woman living nearby. She finds out that Gigi isn’t a cleaner but a life coach.
Roxanne returns home and tells Amy that they need to leave the house (along with the kids) because Jordan is a fraud. However, they are inside the car when Roxanne realizes that she cannot leave Jordan. Gigi and Birdie become good friends and have dinner together. Sara meets Nick at a hotel, and Nick manages to woo her. The dirty texts that Sara and Nick exchange while she is in the washroom and Nick is at the table waiting are read by Evie on the iPad that’s at home (the devices are synced). Sara ends up sleeping with Nick that night in a room at the hotel. When Sara returns home late at night, Evie, who hasn’t been able to go home but has been awake all the while, snaps at her for not paying her for all that she does for the kids and the house. That’s when Sara opens up to her, saying that she is broke. Then they notice Gigi, who has also been there, listening to them. Evie brings Gigi to her room that night. The next day, she again takes Gigi to the waterfall, explaining to Amy that she should give Gigi a second chance. Amy nods. Evie then returns to the Beasleys, where she tells Sara about the texts from the previous night and assures her no one will find out. But Sara is shocked because she realizes that Evie has seen them. She tells Garth, who has just returned from Melbourne, that they need to get rid of Evie, but Garth tells her this cannot happen as Evie has become a part of the family. She then receives a mail with photos of her and Nick at the restaurant, which are up for bidding. Sara Beasley has been compromised big time. With a huge payment from her American partnership imminent, she cannot afford a scandal at all. On top of that, Evie knows about Nick.
Episode 2: Recap
Sara tries to get a friend to buy her leaked pictures from Nick, but he charges too much. She shows the photographs to Evie, who helps her arrange an exhibition featuring Nick’s sculptures (he is an artist), so that they can establish to the media and their circle that Sara and Nick are friends and nothing more. But before that, Sara needs to pay Evie. So she sells one of her bags and clears her payment. Evie sends the money to his husband. Amy asks Roxanne about her pension fund and finds out that it was a hoax. All the bonuses Amy received went to that fund, and it is all gone now. Roxanne promises to get her money and leaves for work. Dean Wilson from Photon Home Security arrives at the Waters residence to install a safe that Roxanne wants to keep the emerald necklace in. Gigi ushers him in. After he is done installing the safe, he gives all the documents related to the safe to Gigi. She in return asks him out on a date. Sara and Evie meet Nick at his workshop and tell him about the plan. After promising him popularity, Nick agrees. However, after failing to convince a gallery owner, she decides to have the exhibition at her residence. But it will have to be the next day (Thursday) because her pictures with Nick have already been bought by a newspaper and will come out on Friday. The Americans will also be coming on Friday with their offer.
Roxanne, at her clinic, transfers $200,000 to Amy’s Philippines account (Amy also is from the Philippines) from her and Jordan’s joint account. Sara tells Evie to return to Nick to tell him about the change of plans, but she finds him taking money from a guy at his workshop. It was he who set the photos up. Nick offers her money in return for more compromising intel on Sara. Meanwhile, Jordan is arrested for $200,000 in fraud. Amy, who doesn’t know that the money went to her account, calls Roxanne and informs her about it. That night, Sara tells Garth about Nick and the exhibition the next day at their home. Later on, Evie tells Sara about her daughter Melanie, who knows about the new house her mother is making for her but whom Sara didn’t know anything about. The next day, Evie tells Amy about it all. Amy suggests she do what Nick wants her to do: take the money he is offering and leave for home before Modesto tries to get hold of her new home. Roxanne bails out Jordan, but the transferred money has been seized and has triggered a chain of events. Roxanne will probably lose her business too. The emerald necklace, which would serve as the insurance policy (and a backup plan) as per Jordan, will also be seized. Roxanne literally threw away $16 million.
While preparations begin at the Beasleys’ residence for the exhibition [Nick is also present], at the Waters’ residence, Roxanne and Amy get into a fight (like little sisters fighting) and finally decide to go out and get drunk (all is not lost as they still have each other). Back at Birdie’s, she is impressed with Gigi and gives her a spare room to stay in. Sara introduces Nick to Garth, and everything seems to be going smoothly. Jordan and his mother, Jeanne, are also there. While Sara speaks to the representative from her American partner company, Nick gives Evie a flash drive to insert into Sara’s laptop and dump the contents. It will give Nick access to all that’s on the laptop. While Evie gets to it, Garth takes center stage for a speech, clearly intending to stall everyone else. But Evie can’t bring herself to do it and backstab Sara, so she finds her and tells her what Nick wanted to do. It is nighttime when Birdie and Gigi turn up at the exhibition, followed by Roxanne, who is wearing the emerald necklace, and Amy. But when Jeanne tells Jordan that Roxanne has stolen her necklace, it becomes clear that Jordan didn’t tell either of them before taking it and giving it to Roxanne. Roxanne and Jeanne get into a heated argument. On the other hand, Sara marches toward Nick and starts hitting him for trying to turn her babysitter (Evie) against her, all in front of the media persons clicking some frontpage-worthy pictures. Evie receives a text and picture from Modesto, who has found out about her new house and moved there with Melanie. After all the ruckus is over, Jordan takes Jeanne home and returns the emerald necklace inside the safe. Back at Beasley’s residence, Evie and Sara are sitting together and talking. Realizing that they have both lost a lot of money (Evie also saw the representative leave amidst all the chaos), Sara decides to get drunk. Roxanne and Amy also join them, and they finally come to a plan. They are going to steal the emerald necklace. Birdie also joins the group to provide legal expertise that will help make effective use of the money they will get. The mission is a go.
Episode 3: Recap
Sara, Evie, Roxanne, Amy, and Birdie will be using smartwatches to communicate to avoid phone records. They are planning to host a party at the Waters’ residence. It is the birthday of Roxanne’s twin boys. This will be the loud chaos that’s required to carry out what follows. Sara pretends to get drunk. Roxanne sends Jordan to take Sara to the garage and lay her down. Meanwhile, Birdie, back at her home, cuts the CCTV in the garage to make it seem as if Sara is lying on the couch. After Jordan leaves and Birdie confirms the loop to Sara, Sara puts a mannequin on her couch, locks the garage door, and heads upstairs to the safe, where Amy will already have the equipment ready. Sara drills into the safe while the other girls stay downstairs at the party to be captured by the CCTVs (alibi). Sara takes out the necklace, and on the cue of the Happy Birthday song, she will return to her spot on the couch in the garage, the necklace hidden inside her dress. Birdie turns off the loop and arrives at the waterfall. Evie unlocks the garage door, enters the garage, takes the necklace from her, and exits the garage. Amy ushers in Birdie, and Evie drops the necklace in her bag, after which Birdie leaves. Mission accomplished.
Birdie reminds the ladies that they cannot spend the money quickly because it can be traced. They will have to sell the necklace to someone. Later on, Evie realizes from Sara’s words that she won’t hesitate in spending her money quickly. Roxanne meets her friend Rae, whose husband is an accountant for the mob, so she is well connected. She is the perfect seller for the necklace. The ladies bring her into the plan. That night, Garth finds out that Sara is broke and snaps at her for spending all the money on the website. Roxanne tells Jordan that after the birthday party of their children, Roxanne will file for a divorce.
The day of the mission arrives. Birdie sends Gigi off for a spa day at Roxanne’s clinic just to be safe. Evie arrives at Sara’s house and finds that she is high on drugs. The party begins, and to Sara’s shock, Nick has also come. But she cannot delay and gets to work right away, drinking and getting drunk. Jordan finally takes her to the garage, lays her down on the sofa, and leaves. Birdie is watching all this, thanks to the CCTV malware, from her home when, to her shock, Gigi returns sooner than expected. To prevent Gigi from going to the party at Roxanne’s, Birdie involves her in a conversation about her new date, Dean Wilson. Sara somehow pulls herself together after Birdie confirms the loop discreetly. Sara then puts the mannequin on the couch and heads upstairs. However, the issue is that she is too drunk. She thus forgets to lock the garage door. Once in front of the safe, she starts drilling without being aware that the noise is reaching downstairs. Evie decides to check out what’s going on. Unbeknownst to Roxanne, Evie, and Amy, Jeanne has been watching them. Evie heads upstairs and finds Sara drunk and unable to drill properly. Evie decides to have a go at it. In the garage, Garth finds a mannequin instead of his wife Sara and hears a loud noise coming from upstairs. He follows the sound and reaches a door, on the other side of which is Sara. He apologizes for his behavior the other night. Sara is overwhelmed. Birdie has been waiting for a long time, listening to Gigi’s chats with Dean, when she finally decides to arrive at Roxanne’s. She tells Gigi to wait for his answer. Gigi finally gets a call from Dean, who is about to come and pick her up. Amy, realizing that Jeanne could be an issue, locks her out on the balcony. She then ushers Birdie in. Evie isn’t done drilling, but the music has stopped, so Roxanne tells her the combination, as drilling further will only make the sound audible to everyone. Evie takes out the necklace with the combination, puts it in a pouch, and tries to throw it down at Amy. She misses, and the necklace drops in the pool. That’s when Sara arrives by her side, and after finding out that the necklace is in the pool, she rushes downstairs and jumps into it. She is followed by Garth, who just wants to help her with whatever she is up to and ensure that no one questions her actions. Evie arrives a minute later, helps Sara out of the pool, and wraps her in a towel, taking the pouch from her in the process. She then puts it inside her pants. Somewhere else, Jordan and Nick have been doing drugs all this time and getting high. Gigi has also arrived at the party. Evie discreetly drops the pouch inside Birdie’s bag, after which Birdie leaves. Sara, Evie, and Amy have to clean the evidence in the safe room. Sara, high as a kite, lights it up using alcohol. Outside the residence, Gigi is picked up by Dean, and they leave for a café. The fire alarm goes off, and Roxanne rushes to get a fire extinguisher and extinguishes the fire. She then comes out onto the balcony and yells out that she has been robbed. Meanwhile, Sara, Evie, and Birdie leave the spot in a car. Nick also escapes, chucking a stone and destroying the CCTV overlooking the entrance on his way. The cops arrive at the Waters residence to carry out a search. Sara, Evie, and Birdie arrive at an empty parking lot, where they hand over the necklace to Rae, who gives them two bags full of the amount, i.e., $10 million ($2 million is for herself). After Rae leaves, the ladies find that they have been stiffed by her. It’s not money, just paper bills.
Episode 4: Recap
Detectives Claudia Lin and Andrew Moran are also present and are checking the vault for clues, accompanied by Roxanne and Jordan. Ultimately, Amy and Jordan are both taken into custody for questioning regarding the robbery of the emerald necklace. The detectives put the word out about the necklace. If there’s movement, they’ll know. Meanwhile, Sara, Evie, and Birdie return to Birdie’s house, where Garth joins them. Roxanne joins them a few minutes later, panicking. Sara decides to get the money back from Rae on her own and rushes out in her car toward Rae’s residence before anyone else could stop her. The detectives stop at a bar, where Lin finds out that Dean, the guy who installed the safe, is at a café nearby (through his latest Instagram click). She and Moran head to Dean’s location. Sara reaches Rae’s house and asks her for the money. Rae threatens her with her children’s lives, and she is forced to leave. The detectives reach the café and meet Dean, who introduces them to Gigi, who, contrary to what she told Dean, isn’t Roxanne’s sister. She reveals that she gave all the information about the safe, which Dean gave her, to Roxanne. She, too, is brought to the police station.
The sun has set by the time Sara returns home and tells Evie about what happened. Evie tells her that they need to move on from the money. It’s gone. After getting a call from Gigi, who is at the police station, Birdie rushes there, not wanting to risk Gigi revealing any information related to the robbery. Roxanne takes her kids and leaves her house in front of Jeanne. Birdie arrives at the police station, and Lin explains how Gigi is the one who stole the necklace. Gigi tells the detectives that she wants to talk to Birdie, her lawyer, alone. Then she tells Birdie what she has realized: Sara is broke and cannot pay Evie’s wages; Jordan ruined Roxanne’s life and stole Amy’s pension funds; and the necklace doesn’t really belong to Roxanne. Birdie assures Gigi that she will get her out of all this. The next day, Sara, Evie, Roxanne, and Birdie met and planned to pin the robbery on Nick. Evie arrives at Nick’s workshop and tells him that Jordan and Sara were having an affair, and they stole the necklace that presently is somewhere at the Waters’ residence. Jeanne has offered a reward of half a million dollars that Evie and Nick can split once they find the necklace. Telling him that they would search for the necklace the next day, Evie leaves and gets inside a car where Sara and Garth were waiting for her. As expected, Nick doesn’t waste any time and leaves the workshop, surely heading to the Waters’ residence to find the necklace. Finding an opportunity, Evie takes the drilling equipment and keeps it inside Nick’s workshop.
Birdie arrives at the Waters’ residence and meets Jeanne, offering her a drink. Both then catch Nick as he breaks into the house. Jeanne manages to pin Nick under her wheelchair while Birdie calls in the detectives. The drilling equipment was also recovered from Nick’s workshop. At the department, Evie shows the detectives the flash drive that Nick gave her. With all the evidence against Nick, he is ultimately arrested and put behind bars. Roxanne tells Jordan that she is leaving him. Jordan is then arrested for doing drugs. Sara, Evie, and Roxanne decide to steal the necklace from Rae’s home, while Birdie decides to stay out of the robbery but not out of her cut. That night, they break into Rae’s house but are intercepted by her, as she points a gun at Sara. In the scuffle that follows, Sara ends up shooting and killing Rae. The necklace and thus the money is gone.
‘The Unusual Suspects’ Ending Explained – What Happens To The Emerald Necklace?
Six months later, Evie arrives at her new house in the Philippines, signs it off to her husband Modesto, and takes Melanie with her back to Sydney, where she and Sara have together opened a new company called Love Your Nanny. Roxanne has also opened a new beauty clinic named Roxanne’s. Amy has returned to the Philippines to be with her family. They are all having lunch together (Sara, Roxanne, Evie, Gigi, Birdie, Garth, the kids, and some other close ones) at Sara’s new place. That’s when there’s a knock on the main door and in comes Rae. That’s when Evie reveals the truth to Sara (Birdie and Roxanne knew about it): they couldn’t risk Sara spending all the money. This is why they had to make Rae pull the stunt. Episode 4 ends with all the ladies raising a toast to losing everything (and thus becoming free) and, of course, the money they have made, i.e., $8 million in total. Cheers to friends!
Bizarrely, women who were acquaintances at best initially, unite to help each other and find success. For a mini-series, “The Unusual Suspects” does a good job of bringing together such a spread-out plot and giving it a proper ending. While some may find it normal or not that interesting, especially in the first two episodes, they will, in all probability, decide to wait to find out what happens, thanks to the show’s 4-episode nature.
