Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Someone Has to Know’ weaves a compelling tale of a murder and the truths and lies surrounding it. The eight-episode season begins with the mysterious disappearance of a young man named Julio, and focuses on the investigation that is launched not just by the cops but also by his family. The search for truth leads the characters down a very dangerous path, especially as some of them become obsessed with getting to the bottom of the truth. However, the more details come to light, the more twisted the mystery gets, leading to even more questions. The story ends on a note that touches upon the moral dilemmas of the characters, while the search for truth intensifies. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Someone Has to Know Plot Synopsis
Julio Montoya went out to party with his friends one night and did not come back home. He lived with his mother, Vanessa, and elder brother, Erik, with whom he had a close relationship. They know that Julio couldn’t have simply disappeared without at least leaving them a message. As the case is handed over to the cops, their investigation leads to the discovery of several suspects. However, the investigation is also massively fumbled, which creates even more hurdles to get to the bottom of the truth. Initially, the case was being handled by Detective Montero, but then it was handed over to a different team, until that team is found strongly lacking and the case is transferred back to Montero and his team.
The return to the case leads Montero to discover how many things have been ruined or not taken seriously, and how deeply all of this has hurt the case. Apart from gathering evidence on his own, he sends an officer named Detective Curracao undercover. His job is to befriend the people who may or may not have known Julio and to gather any piece of intel that might lead the team to the truth. The process of gathering information is really slow, but eventually some details start to trickle out, and for a minute, it seems that the mystery will be unraveled. By the end, however, so many things happen at the same time that it becomes hard to keep count of the people around the victim’s family, especially as a new and shocking detail about a fresh suspect comes to light.
Did the Professor Kill Julio? How does He Die?
The investigation into Julio’s murder becomes more complicated with each day, especially as the lack of evidence prevents the investigative team from coming to any definitive conclusion. Their theory of Julio having been killed by a group of friends who beat him to death becomes shaky, especially after the discovery of the victim’s remains. But then, another theory surfaces with a new suspect. Carrasco notices a college professor making rounds of the clubs and picking up a young man with whom he would drive away. This makes the undercover detective curious, and he decides to find out more about the professor by following him in college. It turns out that the professor has been involved with the case since the beginning.
He runs a grief support group for the family and has almost always been in the background. He went unnoticed because he didn’t seem attached to the case in the beginning, but then Carrasco discovered that the professor had been taking an unusual interest in the case. He has been asking anyone who may have information to come forward to him and has been collecting all relevant information about the murder. This strikes Carrasco as odd, and he reports it to the team. While almost everyone is compelled by the idea of the professor being the murderer, Montero does not agree with their assumptions. Eventually, Carrasco takes the opportunity to find the answers for himself.
He lets himself be picked up by the professor, and when he is taken to a secluded place, he confronts the professor about Julio. The man is visibly shaken by this sudden line of questioning and leaves the scene quickly. Civninced that he has something to do with the murder, the team decides to move in on him, but then, they discover the professor’s burned car in the middle of nowhere. All signs point towards the fact that the man killed himself, though that still cannot be proven. The team believes it might be due to his guilt, but Montero reminds them they can’t make any assumptions without concrete evidence. Even when the theory is presented to Julio’s mother, she refuses to accept that her son’s killer went off so easily. At the end of the day, the problem still is that there was no concrete evidence against them.
Does the Priest Reveal the Truth?
While the professor being the culprit feels like a compelling theory, the fact remains that his wrongdoing could not be proved. This is after the cops know that the Professor has been struggling in real life. Moreover, he was also seen talking to the priest, which suggests that the former likely had a close idea of what was happening in the professor’s life. With him dead and no availability of evidence, the only way to confirm the professor’s guilt is by getting the priest to talk about the confession. In almost the entirety of the show, we watch the priest struggle with the moral dilemma of keeping the confidentiality agreement that he is bound to according to what his religious law dictates.
Or, he could give in and reveal the truth by talking to the cops and coming clean about everything. The problem becomes when it becomes clear that he is not going to tell the cops anything, no matter what happens. Even though he is haunted by the knowledge that has been shared with him by an unknown person who not only confessed to having killed Julio, but also recounted the whole thing to the priest, such that he might be the only other person who knows exactly what happened to the victim. The priest is sympathetic to the family, and he wishes the truth would come out, especially the part about Julio’s death, so his family won’t nurture false hope. But as things get more and more entangled, Montero keeps begging him to tell the truth.
Despite everything that happens, the priest refuses to give in. There comes a time when he is eventually made to leave his position, as his superiors don’t quite agree with his moral code. However, even when he is not a priest anymore, he refuses to give up any information that was shared with him in confidence, no matter how bad it may have been. Montero appeals to his morality again and again, pointing out that he is not bound by the same codes anymore. He even brings Julio’s family to him in the hopes that their hope of finding the truth about what happened to Julio might make the former priest’s heart melt. But no matter how much anyone begs him, he refuses to give up the information, even though he knows that his words could easily unravel the whole mystery and bring peace to the people involved with the case, especially Julio’s family.
What Happens to Julio’s Family?
Over the course of eight episodes, we watch Julio’s mother and brother relentlessly work to bring the truth to light. They are repeatedly disappointed by the justice system, whose corrupt and entirely lazy practices lead the truth to be buried. But instead of giving up, they keep fighting no matter what. At first, they hold on to hope that even after all these years, Julio might still be alive. But that hope is broken when his remains are found. While they finally get closure about the fact that he is not alive anymore, they still need to know what happened to him, and more importantly, if the people who did this to him will be brought to justice. Vanessa wants nothing less than truth and justice, and she continues to fight for it, even when it seems others may have given up.
When the theory about the professor is brought to her and Eric, they refuse to believe it so easily. It is not hard to believe that the investigators might be using it as a cop out. Because the professor died in a freak accident, they don’t really have his confession. Since he is dead, he is not there to defend himself anymore, which makes it even more complicated. Vanessa considers these factors before giving up on her family’s quest for truth. Even if the professor did it, she wants to be absolutely sure of it. In the end, Montero brings the familuy face to face with the priest, hoping that the sight of them would change his mind.
Since the priest refuses to say anything, Montero’s efforts go in vain. However, when Erik asks his mother what happens next, she tells him that they are not going to give up. While the priest may be bound by his own moral code, Vanessa is convinced that the truth will come out one day. She and Erik continue their fight against the system, which seems to be thoroughly stacked against them. But there is no other choice. Even as Erik wonders if this is where they should leave the case because they have exhausted all possible leads, Vanessa tells him that there is no way they are going to stop looking for the culprit. The show ends on a bittersweet note, where a family braces to spend the rest of their lives in search of truth, while the truth, tragically, is right in front of them in the form of the priest who won’t talk.
Read More: Where Was Someone Has to Know Filmed?
You must be logged in to post a comment.