Take away the elephant in the room: the latest Netflix limited series "The Watcher" is frustrating to watch. Created by Ryan Murphy and based on the 2018 New York Magazine article "The Haunting of a Dream House," the show fictionalizes the story of a new homeowner who begins receiving creepy letters from an anonymous watcher. The real-life letters were as creepy as the show, containing details about the family's children and claims that the house was seeking "young blood."

Several details of the original case were applied to the show, including the hostility between the main couple, played by Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, and their neighbors, later accusations that the couple might have made the whole thing up, and even the actual address of the house. (The actual 657 Boulevard in Westfield, NJ is smaller than that in Hollywood (opens in new tab)). ) However, the show's creative team inserted an entirely different true crime story, turning everyone else on screen into suspects.

No wonder some viewers didn't make it all the way through the series, even though there are only seven episodes. Those who want a synopsis (or just want to vent their resentment) should read the conclusion of the series.

The finale begins with Mr. and Mrs. Brannock seemingly moving away. They are living in their old home in New York City, and Nora's (Watts) pottery career is on track. However, they are having trouble finding a buyer for 657, and Dean (Cannavale) just can't get over the Watchers. He is angry that someone drove his family out of their home and he has never been able to even find out who it was. While this is understandable, his obsession is putting a strain on the couple's marriage.

Soon, he receives a phone call from the daughter of Theodora Burch (Noma Dumezweni), a sick private investigator he hired to look into the case. Her cancer has worsened and she does not have long to live. The woman, who became a friend of the couple before her death, confesses to Dean. She used to own 657 Boulevard, but had to sell it due to financial difficulties from her divorce and the cost of treatment after she became ill. When her ex-lover died, she found out that he had skimmed over a million dollars and she was desperate to get her house back.

So she came up with the story of the Watcher and John Graff based on that motive. All of these letters were written by her on an old typewriter, inspired by the letters in Ode to a House. (Incidentally, one of the later suspects was a high school teacher obsessed with architecture.) ) She hired an actress to hide in the basement behind the cameras until she could sneak into Dean's bed at night and manipulate the former owner, Andrew Pierce (who is deeply troubled), into believing he had received a letter from the Watcher before his wife committed suicide.

This confession was completely out of place, especially since Theodora was the only character not considered a test subject at that point (and my only light in this seven-hour chaos). Certainly, Murphy and co. are not going to make that big a leap to end this. Neither is Theodora, the watchdog.

Theodora is not a watcher. She is an endearing, determined, and slightly problematic true crime fan who wants to appease a man in distress. Her confession is quickly debunked by Mo (Margo Martindale). She confirms with good old-fashioned polite racism that in the 25 years she has lived next door, no black woman has ever owned 657. Theodora's daughter tells the Brannocks that the detective made up the testimony to reassure them (mainly Dean). She knew they would never find out who the watcher was, so she decided to take the blame on her literal deathbed. *Cue my confused screaming at the television*

Does this sequence make any sense. No. Did it make sense? No, other than that it increased Dumezweni's turn. Of course not. *Okay, I've calmed down. Let's move on.

Besides my consternation that she wasn't suspect #1 from the beginning, realtor Karen (Jennifer Coolidge) was one of my favorite characters to watch from the start. She continues to play the perfect villain in the finale after sabotaging the Brannock's lucrative sale by exposing the Watcher drama to the press. She is now planting stories accusing the couple of sending fake watcher letters to their old neighbors. (Remember, she planted the article implying that they made up the watcher and sent the letter themselves. Dean sent the last letter himself to scare Nora into selling.) Now, Dean confesses that he sent the paranoia-inducing Watcher letter to his neighbor. Nora demands that he go apologize, and so he learns of Theodora's false deathbed confession.

Meanwhile, the property is finally sold to Karen's LLC. As the realtor begins her own renovations (the counters are now pink marble), Nora sneaks in and asks her about her involvement in this all along. Karen denies it, of course, but taunts Nora, saying that she can't believe she's making a big deal out of a letter she's not even afraid of. [After sending Nora away, she even turns down a welcome treat from Mo and Pearl (Mia Farrow). Say it with me: I'm not a good neighbor. Of course, the first night in the house turns into a horror movie, the bathtub overflows the floor, the dumbwaiter delivers a letter from the watcher, and her dog is dead and alone at the front door. By the time a hooded figure rises from the bottom of the stairs (a truly ingenious tunnel route), she is running barefoot out of 657, screaming for help. [All fingers point to the newly expanded preservation society about Karen's terrifying night. The original members were Pearl, her brother Jasper (Terry Kinney), and "John Graff," who impersonated the previous owner of 657, broke into the house, and murdered his own family. (Fun fact: this story is based on the actual John List murders (open in new tab)). By the finale, Mo and the aforementioned English teacher Roger Kaplan (Michael Nouri) had tied the knot. (Mo's husband Mitch (Richard Kind) died of natural causes off-screen, perhaps not in time for filming.)

At the meeting, we first hear about Karen's pink marble (to be fair, this is an A-choice), but Roger also drops a cryptic hint suggesting that he recognizes the graph, which identifies a library employee as William "Bill" Webster. Roger asks, "How is your family, Bill?" "Bill" gives no answer. And that's the end of it. Once again we are shown only a creepy shot of the man in room 657, and there is no more mention of the mystery. There is no explanation as to why he was sneaking around in the tunnel in episode 6. We don't even know if he really is the man who killed his entire family. Consider it one more unanswered question.

After Karen abandons the house (she didn't last more than 48 hours after moving out before re-listing), we return to Dean during his therapy session. A competent therapist helps him voice that he still feels cheated out of the American Dream. Now he is one of the former owners of the house, who also has unfinished business in the house.

In the final scene, nearly the entire cast watches as a new family moves into 657. (Moe, Pearl, and Jasper are at their spooky holdings. Dakota (Henry Hunter Hall) leaves his business card for security. Andrew Pierce sobs quietly nearby. Dean then stands in the driveway and introduces himself to the new owner, Ben, as "John." Dean drives away after watching Ben take the new Watcher's Letter out of the mailbox, and Nora pulls up right behind him and glances at the house before driving away.

The viewing experience of The Watcher can be described as a thrilling ride full of twists and turns and loops. Just as real-life cases remain unsolved, we never learn who the Watcher is (opens in new tab). Instead, we are left with a final scene that stamps the point that anyone can be a suspect. The show seems to be making a philosophical point with this ending about the modern age, where surveillance and conspiracy theories are treated as historical fact, without infuriating even the most neutral viewer. (I came to entertain the confusion and left after typing a barrage of angry sentences to the editor.)

Rather than rant about why I hated the finale or hypothesize about how the show could have been improved (after all, some viewers may have genuinely loved the show, and their opinions and mine would all be valid), here is an update on what happened after the reality story Let me give you some information. The Brannocks' inspiration in reality was the Broaddus', who bought 657 in 2014 and never moved after receiving their first watcher's letter. They ended up holding onto the property for five years, eventually selling it in 2019 for a loss of $400,000. The new owners, a young couple, knew about the Watcher Letter. The Broaddas insisted on complete transparency at the time of the sale and reportedly have not received a letter since.