Summary

• The biggest mystery in Fool Me Once is Joe's killer, and it turns out that Maya murdered him as revenge for him killing her sister Claire.
• Joe's appearance on the nanny cam was a deepfake video created by Izabella and her boyfriend Luka, hired by Joe's mother to make Maya have a mental breakdown.
• Maya's confrontation with Judith about the deepfake video and Joe's crimes leads to her own demise when her overconfidence and pride get the best of her.

Warning: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Fool Me Once.

Netflix's miniseries Fool Me Once is a fast-paced murder mystery with an ending that wraps up questions like how Claire and Joe died. Fool Me Once started with Maya attending her husband Joe's funeral. After returning home, her friend gave her a secret nanny cam to watch her daughter when she was away. When she watched the video, she saw Joe pick up their daughter and snuggle with her. When asked, her daughter denied seeing her daddy, so Maya confronted Izabella – the nanny. Izabella pepper-sprayed Maya, stole the video, and ran. This incident prompted Maya to start investigating the video.

Meanwhile, the ballistics team discovered that the same gun was used to kill Joe and Maya's sister, Claire. Detective Kierce used this information in his investigation of Joe's murder. However, he struggled drastically with the investigation due to unexplained symptoms like blackouts. These two concurrent storylines started to interweave, making it so almost all the characters in Fool Me Once were trying to solve the mystery surrounding Joe, Claire, and the nanny cam footage. This culminated in an ending that was equal parts confusing and compelling.

Fool Me Once will not get a second season.

How Did Joe Die In Fool Me Once?

The biggest mystery throughout Fool Me Once is the identity of Joe’s killer. The series set up multiple red herrings. Joe’s death wasn’t caused by motorcyclist thieves. He also wasn’t killed by his family of origin, despite the series implying this at points in time. It turns out that Maya murdered Joe after learning that he killed her sister – a reveal that many viewers have criticized for creating plot holes.

Maya began suspecting her husband after his cold and calculated response to Claire’s death. She also knew about his violent past, though she didn’t know the details of his previous murders. Eventually, Maya asked Shane to test her gun against the bullet that killed Claire, which finally confirmed her suspicions. In retribution, she used the same gun that he used to kill her sister.

How Joe Showed Up On The Nanny Cam

Since Joe is dead, the question comes up about how he was on the nanny cam. It’s revealed at the end of Fool Me Once episode seven that the video wasn’t real. Izabella and her boyfriend, Luka, worked together to create a deepfake video. The footage combined a video of Luka going into the room to pick up Maya’s baby and Joe’s wedding video. Joe’s mother, Judith, hired the pair to make and plant the video because she believed that Maya played a role in her son’s death. The goal was to make Maya have a mental breakdown, at which point she would it what really happened to Joe.

It turns out Judith was correct about Maya’s guilt, and her goal partly worked. Maya started questioning her sanity, doubting whether she actually killed Joe or he survived. She also confessed her crime to Judith, her son, and her daughter during a confrontation about their harmful medications and Claire’s death.

Claire’s Death in Fool Me Once Explained

One of the two big deaths driving the plot in Fool Me Once is that of Claire. In the first episode, it’s established that both Joe and Claire were killed by the same gun, narrowing the suspect pool to characters who would’ve had access to the same gun and motive to kill both of them. This is a fakeout, though, because Joe and Claire weren’t killed by the same person. Rather, Joe killed Claire with Maya’s gun, which Maya later used to kill him. It’s highly likely that Joe used Maya’s gun to make her the suspect if police ever found the gun.

Fool Me Once slowly reveals details about why Claire was murdered, though it’s impossible to put it all together until the end. Claire worked at Lambur Pharma and learned that they falsified data and studies about their drugs. The Burketts then released the drugs, knowing they would cause potentially lethal side effects. Joe confronted Claire, and she refused to return documents proving the company’s corruption. Ultimately, the murder shows how morally repugnant the Burketts were and the lengths they’d go to in order to cover up their deception. What’s more, they’re reflective of real-world corporations who are willing to harm others and silence whistleblowers for profit.

What Happened To Maya After The Joe Reveal?

Maya decided to confront Judith after learning about the deepfake and her knowledge about Joe murdering people like Claire. She thought she’d be safe because she and the detective set up a nanny cam picture frame that’s live-streaming the entire encounter. Additionally, she had taken down other characters who came at her, using her soldier training. Despite this, the confrontation went sideways when Maya’s brother-in-law managed to grab her gun. He shot her in the chest multiple times, and she died on the spot. The show repeatedly foreshadowed that Maya’s overconfidence was always going to be her undoing in Fool Me Once.

Maya was confident in her decision to kill people in war despite being ordered to wait. She was confident that nobody would discover that she murdered Joe since she covered her tracks. The ex-soldier went into potentially deadly situations throughout Fool Me Once, confident that she wouldn’t get hurt because of her military training. She felt certain that she would be safe confronting the Burketts. Ultimately, pride was her fatal flaw.

Detective Kierce’s Illness Explained

Throughout Fool Me Once, Detective Kierce showed symptoms of a serious illness, revealed in episode five as a degenerative brain disease. He experienced hallucinations of his AA sponsor, Nicole, not realizing that she wasn’t real. Kierce dealt with dizzy spells and blackouts, resulting in him crashing his car into a fence. His hands shook, and his sight went blurry. He even experienced suicidal ideation that could’ve had tragic consequences.

He believed his alcohol use disorder caused the brain disease, but Fool Me Once revealed that the prescription drugs he took caused his illness. He was just one example of the many people suffering at the hands of Lambur Pharma, a subsidiary of Burkett Global. If they’d taken precautions and done proper studies, he likely wouldn’t have ever developed the disease. Luckily, he stopped taking the medications and recovered. He was shown alive and well in the 18-year flash-forward at the very end of Fool Me Once.

Who Was Tommy Dark?

Tommy Dark is an important part of the conspiracy committed by the Burkett family in Fool Me Once. Dark was the owner of a shipping security firm and a yacht captain. At the start of Fool Me Once, he’d been missing for six weeks. As Maya started investigating Claire’s murder, she found that he approached Claire about his history with the Burketts. Maya later learned that Tommy Dark was being paid by the Burketts every month for his silence. He’d been the captain of a yacht when Joe killed his brother by pushing him off the edge of the boat. Eventually, Joe killed Tommy to keep him quiet.

The Real Meaning Of Fool Me Once’s Ending

By including the nanny cam in the series’ climax, Fool Me Once sends the message that secrets can’t stay hidden forever. It became public knowledge that Maya only killed Joe as revenge for his murder of Claire. All of Joe’s previous killings came out, showing how much the Burketts hid to protect their image. They unknowingly revealed their company’s corruption to the whole world. The series laid everything out on the table.

Additionally, Fool Me Once comments on massive corporations and big pharma. The series points out that companies like Lambur Pharma have much more hiding in the closet than they want the public to know. Claire’s storyline also points out that these companies perceive whistleblowers as the biggest threat.