Diksha Sundriyal
The saga of the Murdaugh family in Hulu’s ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’ comes to an end with the eighth episode of the season as Alex finally confronts the consequences of his actions. The previous episode ended with Alex being sent to rehab by his brother, Randy, after the truth about his financial fraud was revealed. This episode opens with him in rehab, while the news about Paul and Maggie’s murder and Alex’s fraud takes the media spotlight. So, when Alex finally steps out of rehab, he finds the cops waiting for him at the door. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Trial of Alex Murdaugh Begins
After Alex is officially charged with the murders of Paul and Maggie, things get worse for Buster. He cannot get a drink without people pointing her out, and on top of his father’s crimes, bringing up Stephen Smith’s death, even though Buster was never formally accused of it. He believes his father is innocent and will soon get out, but then, the cops show him and the lawyers the video from Paul’s phone, taken a couple of minutes before the murder. It is clearly Alex’s voice in the background, although he claimed that he was never at the kennels that day. When Buster confronts him about it, he says that he lied because he knew it would look suspicious. Still, he claims to be innocent. Soon, the trial begins, and his lies and frauds are presented to the jury in the prosecution’s opening arguments.
Gloria Satterfield’s son testifies that Alex asked them to sue him and then never provided them with the million-dollar check that they were entitled to receive after his mother’s death. The issue of other clients being defrauded is also raised. With Alex’s case and Randolph’s death, the company begins to fall apart. As Buster and his uncle stand on the ruins of the Murdaugh empire, Randy tells him to prepare himself for Alex’s guilty verdict. The next day, Mark Tinsley testifies, and he talks about how the murders happened three days before Alex’s financial records were about to be unravelled in court. The timing of the murders starts to look even more suspicious as Mark points out that Mallory Beach’s family took back their case after hearing about Maggie and Paul.
The next day, Maggie’s sister, Marian Proctor, takes the stand. The day before, she tells Buster she is going to do it. He is hurt, realising that Marian thinks that his father killed his mother. But then, in her testimony, she mentions that Alex was insistent about getting Maggie and Paul to the house. Marian’s words are emotional and impactful, and this starts to worry Alex’s lawyer. They are especially concerned about the fact that now it looks like Alex lured Maggie back to the house to kill her. To make matters worse, the GPS record of Alex’s phone comes out, and it clearly shows that shortly after the murders, he drove away speedily towards his mother’s house and slowed down at the point where the victims’ phones were later found.
Alex’s Claims of Innocence are Repeatedly Refuted
Buster’s desperate effort to believe his father’s innocence starts to stumble. He has a dream where he finds himself in the courtroom with his father on the stand, and Alex mocks him, telling him to ask the question that’s been swirling in his mind. Meanwhile, following Marian’s testimony, the defense worries that the case is already lost, so they put Buster on the stand, hoping that a son’s words for his father will do something. Buster tries to paint a good picture of his father and family, but despite his best efforts, nothing changes for Alex, which makes him even more desperate. He chides his lawyers for failing to take hold of the case and trying to refute the GPS claim, while they point out that there are too many things against him.
By the end of the conversation, he convinces them to let him take the stand because he has always been good at talking his way out of things. This time, however, his charm no longer works. While he tries to use emotion and tears to get the jury on his side, the prosecution points out that he lied to every single person around him, right from his clients to his own wife, which means that his words on the stand don’t hold any credibility, no matter how innocent he claims to be. When the arguments are closed, the jury sits down to deliberate, but it takes them only two and a half hours to agree that Alex is guilty. At the sentencing, the judge awards him to two consecutive life sentences.
Later, Mandy Matney and Mark Tinsley sit down for a conversation in a cafe. While there is cause to celebrate because, finally, Alex’s victims have received justice. However, at the same time, Mark cannot help but wonder if their actions pushed Alex too far and if that was the reason why he killed his wife and kid. He wonders if she ever feels responsible for it, and she says she doesn’t. She assures him that Alex’s actions have always been his own, and no one, especially the two of them, ever made him commit all the crimes that he did. While her words make sense, Mark doesn’t seem to be convinced and confesses that he feels a little guilty about Maggie and Paul’s death.
Buster’s Faith in His Father’s Innocence Wavers
In prison, Buster meets his father, and they talk about his future. Earlier, Buster had expressed his desire to return to law school, but now the timing doesn’t feel right. Before leaving, he asks his father why he didn’t call him that day. According to Marian’s testimony, Alex practically pulled Maggie from the beach house to their home. He used Randolph’s degrading health as the excuse to get Maggie and Paul in the same place, but he never called Buster, even though he could have easily flown down to be with his grandpa. This point gnaws at him, hinting that he may be starting to wonder if his father is not as innocent as he had previously thought.
Alex, however, keeps making excuses about how he didn’t want to worry Buster or pull him away from college, his studies, and his girlfriend. Buster leaves, utterly unconvinced of his father’s words. Some time later, Buster goes to the kennels, perhaps trying to look for a clue that could help him understand what really happened between his father, his mother, and his brother that night. At the house, all the items have price tags on them, and there are many people who want to buy what were once prized possessions of the Murdaugh family. When a man comes to Buster with the framed poem asking for its price, Buster initially hesitates, but then tells the man to keep it.
Whose Reflection Does Alex See in the Mirror?
After the meeting with Buster, when Alex goes to bed that night, the events of that unfateful night play out in his mind. As proven by Paul’s phone video, Alex really was there that night. Maggie’s dog, Bubba, had a chicken in his mouth, and Alex got it out and put the dog in the kennel. The trio seemed to be in high spirits, chatting and laughing with each other and making plans for the future. And then, Alex goes off, wears a disposable coverall, brings out a gun, and shoots Paul. When Maggie comes out, he brings another gun and shoots her down as well. He gets both of their phones, and then, as shown by his GPS data, he races away from the crime scene. On the way, he stops by the woods and buries the guns, which are never found. He throws away the phones, goes home, takes a shower, and then sits with his mother for about half an hour before he comes back and reports the murder.
Some time later, we see Alex becoming comfortable with prison life. He trades cigarettes and other stuff for some TV time. There doesn’t seem to be any change in his personality until he goes back to his cell. When he looks in the mirror, he doesn’t seem himself as he is in the moment. Instead, he sees himself wearing the coverall, with his wife’s and son’s blood on it and his own on his face. This shows that his mind is still stuck on that night, and his nights are haunted by the things he did. The reflection proves that this is how he sees himself now, no matter how much he claims innocence in front of the world. No matter what he tells the others, he knows what he has done, and the horror of his actions will stay with him for the rest of his life. He can lie to the world, but not to himself.
Read More: Did Buster Murdaugh Go Back to Law School?
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