Pratik Handore
Paramount+’s ‘Fatal Attraction’ is a psychological drama series about the aftermath of Dan Gallagher’s affair with Alex Forrest. In the series, Dan’s daughter, Ellen, is the focus of her own storyline that revolves around her interest in psychology. However, the season 1 finale takes Ellen’s story in a new direction when it is revealed that she has been stalking someone. As a result, viewers must be wondering who Ellen stalks and why in ‘Fatal Attraction.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Ellen Stalking Her Professor
In ‘Fatal Attraction,’ Ellen is the daughter of Dan and Beth Gallagher. Actress Alyssa Jirrels portrays the teenage version of the character, while Vivien Lyra Blair plays Young Ellen. In the present, Ellen is a psychology student, but her life has been affected by her father’s affair with Alex Forrest. Her relationship with Dan is fractured because the latter was imprisoned for the murder of Alex. However, she and Dan slowly mend their relationship after Dan is released from prison. Meanwhile, Ellen also forms a friendship with classmate Stella and discovers the latter is secretly dating Ellen’s professor, Richard Macksey.
During the fifth episode, viewers learn that Alex kidnapped Ellen as a child. However, she quickly returned to her parents and was found on the road by Mike. In the season 1 finale, viewers watch the interaction between Alex and Ellen unfold. Alex warns Ellen never to trust anyone, and their conversation affects Ellen’s psyche fundamentally. As a teenager, she takes an interest in psychology, especially in cases of infidelity that have destroyed families. During the finale’s closing scene, Ellen is seen editing the recordings of her interactions with her professor, Richard Macksey, to sound like he desires her. Ellen is sitting inside Macksey’s house when he arrives home, only to be greeted by Ellen confirming that she has been stalking him.
Why Is Ellen Stalking Richard Macksey?
In the finale’s closing scene, Macksey finds Ellen in his apartment, and she asks him, “I feel like you’re mad at me. Are you mad at me?” The words are reminiscent of Alex’s personality, and she usually used them when she crossed a line but did not want to accept the repercussions of her actions. Moreover, the edited audio Ellen listens to seemingly confirms that she has a romantic interest in Macksey and is obsessed with her professor, resulting in Ellen stalking him. The revelation of Ellen stalking Macksey because she is obsessed with him is planted in the earlier episodes. We see Ellen follow her friend, Stella, as the latter meets Macksey several times.
We also see Ellen warning Macksey about his inappropriate relationship with a student. However, in the finale, Stells reveals that someone complained against her, exposing her relationship with Macksey resulting in her being kicked out of the school. Initially, Ellen seems to be trying to protect Stella but is actually clearing her own path to fulfill her obsession with Macksey. In an interview with Hollywood Life, actress Alyssa Jirrels broke down the meaning of the ambiguous scene that reveals Ellen is obsessed with her professor.
“It obviously is a bit of a repeating a past thing. I think Alex had a huge impact on her. But in my eyes, the thing that had more of an impact on her in that conversation was you can’t really trust anybody. You always need to leave before somebody else does,” she said. “It’s interesting because it impacts in a fairly indirect but also direct way. I don’t think she’s trying to imitate Alex. I don’t think that’s what it is. I think that the stalking and the obsession, it’s a manifestation of a lot of the daddy issues really to me,” Jirrels added. Ultimately, Ellen’s childhood experiences, especially her father’s affair with Alex, seem to have manifested as her obsession with her professor.
Read More: Why Did Arthur Kill Alex in Fatal Attraction, Explained
