The Woman in Cabin 10 Ending Explained: Is Richard Dead?

Netflix’s ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ stars Keira Knightley as Laura “Lo” Blacklock, a journalist who is invited to a luxury cruise ship by a billionaire couple. They want her to report on their philanthropic endeavors, and she, too, needs a break. However, things take a drastic turn when she witnesses a woman’s fall from the balcony next to her cabin. When she reports the case, no one can identify the woman, and she is told that the cabin next to her does not have any guests. Everyone tries to convince her that she probably had a hallucination and nothing untoward has happened. However, the evidence suggests otherwise. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Woman in Cabin 10 Plot Synopsis

Billionaire couple Anne Lyngstad and Richard Bullmer are throwing a party, and journalist Laura Blacklock is invited to join them and other ultra-rich people on their luxury cruise ship’s maiden voyage. They want Laura to focus on their philanthropic mission, where they are donating a considerable amount of money to cancer research. It is also revealed that Anne has cancer, and it has taken such a bad form that each day brings her closer to death. Laura, who desperately needs a break after reporting on serious issues, decides to take the job, believing that it might help her uncover a better side of the world.

When she arrives on the boat, she discovers that her ex-flame, Ben Morgan, is also onboard as the photographer. There are a bunch of other rich people who make her feel out of place, but Laura is more focused on finding a story there. On the first evening, while going for dinner, she sees Ben coming through the hallway, and to hide from him, she enters Cabin 10, where she sees a young, blonde woman. She apologizes for entering the room like this and immediately leaves. Anne doesn’t attend the dinner due to her bad health, but she does see Laura, whom she informs about her intention to donate all of her wealth to cancer research and other noble endeavors through her foundation.

Laura is moved by Anne’s decision, but before she can give any more thought to it, something else happens. That night, she is woken up by the sounds of an argument coming from Cabin 10. When she goes to her balcony, she sees a woman falling into the water and immediately calls for help. The entire staff becomes alert, but when the headcount is done, no one is found missing. Moreover, Laura is told that she couldn’t have seen anyone on Cabin 10’s balcony because no one was occupying it. While she tries to present her case, there is no evidence to support her story. She is advised to stop at that, but she keeps digging and gets to the heart of the matter.

After being told repeatedly that no one fell off the board and that she was mistaken, Laura finally finds the woman from Cabin 10. She follows her to a secluded part of the boat where the woman reveals herself to be Anne. She pleads with Laura to give up her search, or she will be killed for it. While Laura is still confused, Anne locks her in the cabin, saying that this is for her own safety. That night, as the journalist ponders on the situation, she realizes that the Anne she talked to isn’t Anne at all. The next day, when the woman posing as Anne arrives, Laura confronts her. She has figured out that it was Anne who fell off the ship that night, and the imposter has taken her place. The woman reveals her name to be Carrie.

Is Ben Dead? What was in the Syringe?

Laura discovers that when Anne told Richard that she was going to donate her entire wealth, he didn’t take it well. He decided to change her will, but the problem was that she wouldn’t do it herself. So, he found a girl who looked like her enough to convince the people around her that she was Anne. Carrie was perfect for this role, so Richard snuck her onto the ship. None of their friends knew about it, and when Carrie appeared in front of them as Anne, they didn’t question it. The first night, when Richard was trying to get Carrie to be intimate with him, Anne entered the room and realized what was happening.

Scared that his secret would be out and he would lose everything, Richard tried to stop Anne and ended up wounding her and throwing her overboard. He quickly made Carrie take Anne’s place so that no one would be suspicious, and with the help of his trusted staff, got rid of everything. Carrie tells Laura that she never thought that Anne would be killed, and now, she doesn’t want another person’s blood on her hands. She tells Laura to stay put and escape when everything leaves the ship at the end of the journey. Thanks to Carrie, Laura is not found by Richard, who decides to leave Doctor Robert and Captain Addis behind to take care of her.

Laura’s absence is also noted by Ben, who becomes concerned about her and is now convinced that something fishy is going on after all. He stays back as well, and this turns out to be a fortunate thing for Laura. When she comes out of her hiding place, the doctor and the captain find her. They corner her and succeed in capturing her. Robert is about to inject her with something when Ben intervenes. A scuffle ensues, where Ben ends up getting injected with the poison that was meant for Laura. Still, even with his dying breaths, he does everything in his power to save Laura. In his last words, he tells her to run and get the truth out, so that’s what she does. She jumps off into the water, while the poison takes effect, blood comes out of Ben’s mouth, and he collapses and dies.

Is Richard Dead? What Happens to Anne’s Money?

When Laura jumps into the icy waters, Robert believes that she will not have the strength to survive the fall or the cold. He believes that she will drown and die. So, he leaves the ship and joins Richard’s party, where he updates him about Ben’s death and Laura’s fate. Richard is not happy about the mess, but now, his sole focus is on getting Carrie to sign the papers and to kill her the same night. The problem is that Carrie knows that her clock runs out as soon as she signs the new will, but there is no other option, so she does it. Fortunately for her, Laura makes it to shore and plans to expose Richard.

She sneaks into his house but is found by Sigrid, the chief of security. Realizing that Sigrid is not in on the conspiracy, Laura tells her everything. She shows Anne’s speech to Sigrid in which the now-dead woman talked about the contents of her real will. While Sigrid is skeptical, she gives Laura the chance to prove it. So, Laura attends the party and comes out of the crowd to read out Anne’s speech. When he tries to stop her, Carrie intervenes as Anne, and everyone sides with her on letting Laura read from the paper. When she mentions the part about giving away her entire fortune, Richard becomes furious and ends up confessing that Carrie is not Anne.

While the rest of the people are confused about what’s going on, Carrie runs away, and Richard follows her. Knowing that he will kill her, Laura runs after them, but when she tries to stop him from getting on the boat, he holds a knife to Carrie’s throat. Sigrid intervenes by shooting Richard in the chest, but the shot is not fatal, and it does not slow him down. He attacks Carrie, and this time, Laura hits him in the head, and he falls down, hitting his head and dying on the spot. With him gone, Carrie is safe, and with the truth out, everyone knows what Richard tried to do. Since Carrie was the one who signed the new will, it is rendered null and void, and with Anne dead, her original will is put into action. As she wanted, her entire fortune is dedicated to the service of others, as her foundation goes entirely non-profit.

Does Laura Get the Truth Out? What Happens to Carrie?

What makes Laura such a successful journalist is her dedication to getting to the bottom of the truth and bringing it out in front of the entire world. Anne saw her integrity through her body of work, and it was she who specifically asked for her to be brought on the ship to cover the news about the foundation and its plans for the future. She knew that Laura would see the truth in the story, and her words would resonate with the people more because she has a good reputation in the matter. During all this, Anne never thought that bringing Laura along would become essential to saving the foundation and bringing her justice.

When the truth is exposed, Richard’s collaborators, Robert and Addis, are taken into custody for trying to murder Laura and Carrie and aiding and abetting the murder of Anne. With Richard gone, there is nothing holding Carrie back. She returns home to be with her daughter. It was for the girl that Carrie agreed to take the money Richard offered to her in return for posing as Anne and signing a will that would leave all his wife’s wealth to her. But after things go downhill and people are killed, Carrie realizes that she doesn’t need anything more than just being with her daughter. Thanks to Laura, the truth comes out, and Carrie goes home. She and Laura stay in touch, and she sends the journalist a message confirming that she and her daughter are safe and sound. She also invites Laura to visit them sometime.

When Laura boarded the ship, it was with the intent of finding a humane story in an increasingly inhumane world. A billionaire investing in a philanthropic endeavor sounded like a good thing to her. But over the course of the week, she sees a more violent side of the story. However, when the time comes to present it to the world, she refuses to take the spotlight away from Anne and her desire to help the world. While Richard’s crimes remain an important part of the story, Laura makes sure that the article is about Anne and her foundation. Despite all the darkness, she focuses on the good part, which shows how much she has been changed by her experience. In all this, she doesn’t forget to speak about Ben’s contribution to getting the truth out and saving her life.

Read More: Where Was The Woman in Cabin 10 Filmed?