A Murder at the End of the World

Starring Emma Corrin as Darby Hart, this series seems at first to be a traditional Agatha Christie (or Knives Out) whodunit: a dozen guests who mostly don’t know each are invited by tech billionaire Andy Ronson (Clive Owen) to his remote retreat. Not surprisingly, one guest dies, and the investigation starts. But the show is more complex and challenging, not just as Darby hunts for the killer, but as other characters come on and off her side, and the power figures try to stop her (or do they?), and the other guests keep introducing blame and confusion, and Darby doesn’t know who to trust. It is very late in the series before the sides become clear.

But the actual show starts before any of this, and ends beautifully in an echo of the beginning. We first see Darby at a bookstore as she’s reading an excerpt from her new book, a non-fiction account of how she and Bill Farrah searched for and found a notorious serial killer of (mostly young) girls. Suddenly Darby is invited to the hidden retreat where she meets Andy Ronson and his wife, another tech genius (Brit Marling).

Created by Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling (who also created the OA), this series takes some surprising turns, without ever quite leading us astray. We’re not surprised at the first death, but we are shocked that it’s Bill Farrah, whom Darby has not seen in years. We’re also not surprised that many of the guests have possible motives, nor that most of the guests are wealthy and brilliant. But why is Darby there? Why was Bill there? And as Darby starts to make progress in finding the killer, why does Andy try so hard to make her leave, without ever actually threatening her? What’s really going on between Andy and his wife Lee Andersen? Why are the other guests there?

Nothing is easy or obvious about this show. I was on Darby’s side from the first jump, even as she makes some confusing moves. With the flashbacks, it can seem hard to follow, but there’s a point to every scene, and when the major confrontations finally occur, it’s up to Darby to save those she can, while, well, burning everything else to the ground. And it doesn’t end there; it ends with Darby again doing a public book reading, again a non-fiction book, in the same bookstore as the beginning, but this time, she’s reading her story about a murder at the end of the world. When the audience stands and applauds, it is well-earned. I cried.

See the Rolling Stone review.