Summary
- The Magpie Murders ending is filled with reveals and twists, leading viewers to seek answers on Reddit for a clearer understanding.
- Susan uncovers the truth behind Alan Conway's death, Charles Clover as the killer, and the accidental death of Mary, while Robert is found guilty of killing Sir Magnus Pye.
The Magpie Murders ending explained is filled with so many reveals, twists, and turns that some viewers have taken to Reddit for clear-cut answers. A faithful adaptation of the 2016 mystery novel of the same name by Anthony Horowitz, the 2022 Magpie Murder TV show follows an editor named Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) who is assigned a manuscript of the latest Atticus Pünd (Tim McMullan) novel from wealthy novelist Alan Conway (Conleth Hill). As she immerses herself in the world of Atticus Pünd, she soon realizes that the intrigue and murder that permeate the book start affecting her real life when Conway mysteriously dies.
One of the standout features of Magpie Murders is that it functions as a story-within-a-story. While there is a fictional detective story that is happening in Alan Conway's book, these fictional events start affecting Susan's real life to the point that the Atticus Pünd character from the book comes to life and helps Susan catch Alan's killer. The show creates a story in the same vein as other meta-narratives like Scream or Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation. This meta-storytelling approach leads to an ending that has so many reveals that people on Reddit collaborated and shared notes o fully comprehend what happens in the show's finale.
Who Was Alan Conway's Killer?
After Susan finishes reading the manuscript of the latest Atticus Pünd novel, she gets a call from her employer and the head of Atticus Pünd's publishing house, Charles Clover (Michael Maloney), telling her that Alan Conway has died. It is ruled as a suicide, but having been inspired by the Atticus Pünd character, Susan becomes suspicious of Conway's death and believes that there is more to it. With the help of Atticus Pünd, she starts her own investigation and draws up a list of suspects as a lot of people notoriously disliked Alan.
Eventually, Susan learns that Alan was actually killed by Charles Clover. It is revealed that Conway had dreams of becoming a serious literary author and hated how restrictive his commercial success as a mystery detective writer put on himself. Therefore, to criticize Clover and the book series in general, Alan put a spiteful message in the last chapter of his new novel. Clover had set up a buy-out agreement of his publishing organization from another company that, if successful, would make him millions, and so to protect both that buy-out and the reputation of the series, he killed Alan and then hid the last chapter.
Alan Conway's Suicide Note Was A Fake
In the last chapter of Alan's final Atticus Pünd book, the character explains that he is dying of cancer and feels so ill that he is going to take his own life to make the pain stop. This moment also reveals the spiteful message Alan wrote which expresses his hatred towards both the character and Clover. After killing Alan, Clover hides the last chapter of the manuscript and then makes it look like was Alan's own suicide note, not Atticus Pünd's. Eventually though, despite fooling the public, Susan uncovers the truth, which leads to Clover's arrest.
Who Were Mary and Magnus Pye's Killers?
After solving Alan Conway's case and gaining access to the last chapter of the manuscript, Susan can finally learn who killed Mary Blakiston (Karen Westwood), the woman is found dead at the bottom of the stares of a house at the beginning of the book, and Sir Magnus Pye (Lorcan Cranitch), a wealthy aristocrat whose was decapitated and found dead by his wife. It was largely suspected that Mary was killed by her son, Robert Blakiston (Harry Lawtey), but Atticus Pünd reveals Mary's death was an accident. According to the detective, she was vacuuming the house and accidentally tripped on the vacuum cable and fatally hit her head.
However, while Robert was innocent of that crime, Atticus Pünd also uncovers that Robert did in fact kill Magnus Pye. Years ago, Robert killed his younger brother Sam by drowning him in a lake, and Mary was so disturbed by this that she kept a close eye to make sure his violent tendencies didn't go out of hand. She sent a letter to Magnus detailing Robert's violent behavior and asking that he watch over him. In an effort to keep his secret safe, Robert broke into Magnus' house, staged the crime scene to make it look like a robbery, and then chopped off Magnus' head with a sword.
What Reddit Has To Say About The Magpie Murders Ending
While the reception to Magpie Murders' ending was overwhelmingly positive, there were some who took to Reddit for further clarification. In a Reddit post on r/mysterybooks from Iridemanatees, they stated that they were confused at how exactly the last chapters of the Atticus Pünd novel implicate Clover as Alan's murderer. MadScientistNinja explains that the reveal in which the suicide note belonged to the Atticus Pünd character and not the author himself disproved the theory that Alan's death was by suicide and so narrowed the suspect list to Clover.
How The Magpie Murders Ending Sets Up Season 2
After the success of the first season, the BBC bought the rights to the series and confirmed that it will be producing a Magpie Murders season 2 with Lesley Manville and Timothy McMullan most likely returning to play their respective characters. While the mysterious deaths in Magpie Murders were solved, if McMullan is involved in season 2, it points to Atticus Pünd sticking around to help Susan crack more cases.
The sophomore series will be titled Moonflower Murders because it is adapting the second novel of the same name in the Susan Ryeland book series. While many major plot elements have yet to be confirmed, if the second season will closely adapt the story of Moonflower Murders, then it will follow Susan living in Crete, Greece years after the events of Magpie Murders, and investigate a hotel employee's disappearance.
The Real Meaning of Magpie Murders Ending
One of the standout features of Magpie Murders is its narrative-within-a-narrative model of storytelling. The show begins with Susan reading a detective novel, and she becomes so immersed in this book's world that it helps shape her actions in real life. The book not only inspires Susan to become her own detective, but it is also so impactful that the lead protagonist, Atticus Pünd, comes to life and helps her with her case.
Throughout the series, the line between reality and fiction becomes so blurred that eventually, the two start melding and influencing each other. By having real-life and fictional detectives assist each other, they are both able to help solve each other's crimes. With Atticus' help, Susan is able to uncover Charles as Alan's killer, and with Susan's help, Atticus discovers the real truth behind Mary and Magnus' deaths. Witnessing such surrealism in a murder mystery makes Magpie Murders even more unique.
