‘The Undoing’ Ending Explained: Who Killed Elena and What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

For the past six weeks, HBO’s The Undoing has been thrilling us with a mix of decadent wealth porn and old fashioned “Whodunit?” storytelling. The murder victim? Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis), an intensely beautiful young mother and artist who was bludgeoned to death in her own study. The prime suspect? Dr. Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant), a seemingly perfect pediatric oncologist who seemingly was a liar, cheat, and murderer??

However, The Undoing gave us clues aplenty that the murderer might not be Jonathan. Whether it was Grace Fraser’s (Nicole Kidman) spotty memory and love of walks or the revelation that little Henry Fraser (Noah Jupe) had been hiding the murder weapon the whole damn time, The Undoing gave us all pause for self-doubt. Indeed, the crux of the whole series was the idea of how confirmation bias blinds us to the harsh truths we should otherwise see.

And The Undoing‘s series finale forced us to confront our own biases in murder mystery storytelling. Though the killer ought to have seemed obvious, we spent every episode of The Undoing questioning the party’s guilt as much as Nicole Kidman’s character did. We’re so used to a complicated conclusion that we simply wouldn’t accept the facts.

So who killed Elena Alves on The Undoing? And what exactly does Narcissistic Personality Disorder have to do with it? Here’s everything you need to know about The Undoing‘s ending…

WHO KILLED ELENA ALVES ON HBO’S THE UNDOING?

Jonathan Fraser, aka Hugh Grant, did it! Yup, it really was him. The whole time. Director Susanne Bier’s crafty flashbacks aside, the obvious suspect was the actual murderer. We learn that after making love to Elena in her studio, Jonathan flipped out when Elena revealed that she had befriended Grace and wanted the families to mesh. When Elena teases he would never hurt her, Jonathan violently smashes her head against the wall. Elena attempts to fight back and that’s when Jonathan uses the hammer to murder her.

While The Undoing Episode 5 ended on a cliffhanger that suggested little Henry Fraser did it, that was soon cleared up. The sweet curly-haired angel boy actually discovered the murder weapon in the ashes of the family’s outdoor fireplace (at that swanky vacation home from earlier in the season). Concerned by how it could ruin his father, Henry ran the weapon through the dishwasher twice to clean it of any incriminating DNA evidence.

Jonathan’s desperate reaction to this revelation is kind of what finally tips Grace off that her husband might be the asshole everyone says he is. Jonathan is willing to incriminate his own 12-year-old son in the murder to save his own hide. Grace then smoothly manipulates herself onto the stand so she can seemingly vouch for Jonathan. However, she’s actually set it up so the prosecutor can ask her all about Jonathan’s history of sociopathy. She gives him a diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder on the stand…which all but wraps up the trial…which sends a desperate Jonathan on one final rampage. He attempts to kidnap Henry and go on a suicidal run with the boy. However, the authorities (and Grace) put a dramatic stop to this.

So, yeah, it was Jonathan. Jonathan and his Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or NPD…

WHAT IS NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER, AS REFERENCED IN THE UNDOING?

Okay, I am a lowly English major and have no authority when it comes to psychological analysis, but the Mayo Clinic defines Narcissistic Personality Disorder as “a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that’s vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”

Using my own scholarly expertise in narrative analysis, yeah, that sums up Jonathan Fraser’s character to a tee. Jonathan, as Grace explains, is so wrapped up in a vision of himself as a hero to the little cancer children and savior of his family that he can’t deal with any pushback to this narrative. It’s why Elena’s suggestion that the families can merge sets him off — because it reveals he is an imperfect husband and father — and why he manipulates Grace and others throughout The Undoing. The comment that sets him over the edge? Henry’s admission that he knows he murdered someone. Jonathan’s NPD can’t cope with the idea that his own son, who has hitherto hero-worshipped him, knows he did it.

So The Undoing was less a traditional “Whodunnit” and more a portrait of how the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves can literally lead to our own…undoings.

Where to stream The Undoing