Diksha Sundriyal
Hulu’s ‘Death and Other Details’ lifts the veil off its mysteries that it had been brewing the entire season in its final two episodes. Quite a few pertinent questions are answered, but there are some things that are left for the viewer to extrapolate upon. The fates of a couple of characters are left hanging in the balance, while there are others who get a much better ending. For Laurence Collier and Rufus Cotesworth, things look much different. While the billionaire struggles with the decline of his wealth and health, Cotesworth finally has his career revived. Where does the end of the season leave them? SPOILERS AHEAD
Laurence Collier Gets a Taste of His Own Poison
The events in ‘Death and Other Details’ begin years before the passengers board SS Varuna and witness a series of brutal murders and startling revelations. It was when Laurence Collier’s company started using Captionem Blue, the hazardous chemical used for coloring the fabrics. Even though Collier and his company knew the effects of the thing, it didn’t stop them from using it and continuing to ruin the lives of the workers in their factories.
Years later, Kira Scott’s discovery of this chemical led to a chain of events, eventually bringing the audience to the events of the Varuna. Here, Victor Sams targets anyone who had a part to play in the continued use of the chemical and the price the factory workers had to pay for it. While everyone else gets their due, surprisingly, only Laurence Collier is left alone. One would think that his degrading mental state might have let Victor Sams leave him alone, but that’s not the case. In fact, Collier had been targeted even before the Varuna came into the picture.
Because Laurence Collier deliberately used the chemicals in his factory and let his workers die, Victor Sams found it best to let him have the taste of his own medicine. About two years before he boarded Varuna, Collier got an advertisement about a pill that would help him stay healthy, mentally as well as physically. Before this, he had been drinking something that gave his drink a green color. However, once he started taking the new pill, his drink took a distinctly blue color.
Turns out, the pill contained Captionem Blue, and once Collier started taking it, it started having the same effect on him that it did on the factory workers. It caused his dementia, among other things, and rendered him incapable of handling his business and completely losing it in the end. When the truth comes to light, it is likely that Collier’s children would be apprised of the situation, and they would stop him from taking any more pills. However, it has been two years since he started, and the damage has already been done. It is only a matter of time before his condition worsens, and he eventually dies.
Rufus Cotesworth May Already Have Another Case on His Hands
At the beginning of the show, Rufus Cotesworth was slammed for being a fake. He was called the greatest detective in the world, but he clearly wasn’t. It was to redeem himself that Cotesworth came on the ship to solve the case that had haunted him for eighteen years. In the end, when Victor Sams’ men take over the ship, Rufus, along with other people who are entirely innocent, is taken off the ship. Victor Sams doesn’t want him or anyone else to get hurt unnecessarily, so he gets them out of the way.
This, however, does not mean that Cotesworth has stopped working on the case. We know that he got to the end of it because he is the narrator of the story, which is a novel that he has been working on. Sure enough, by the end of the season, he and Imogene, with the help of their friends, have uncovered every mystery surrounding Victor Sams and his operations. Once all the questions are answered, Cotesworth’s book is written, and he moves out of the picture.
In the final scene, however, another body is discovered. While Cotesworth is not present on the scene, it’s clear that he will be called back once again, especially considering that he has reclaimed his lost glory. After solving the murders on the Varuna and exposing Victor Sams’ identity, he has, once again, become the greatest detective in the world. It only makes sense that he returns to the game. Of course, he cannot do it alone, and this is where Imogene and her friends come in. Cotesworth already has a premise for his next book; how it will turn out remains to be seen.
Read More: Death and Other Details: Is Rufus Cotesworth Inspired by a Real Detective?
