Pratik Handore
Paramount+’s ‘Fatal Attraction’ follows Dan Gallagher, whose life takes a downturn after a brief affair with co-worker Alex Forrest. The psychological drama series establishes that Dan was imprisoned for Alex’s murder but was falsely implicated in the crime. As a result, he teams up with Mike to search for the actual killer and prove his innocence. As the finale winds down the story and delivers a conclusion to some of the major story threads, it reveals that Arthur killed Alex. Hence, viewers must be wondering how and why Arthur murdered Alex. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Arthur Killed Alex
Alex Forrest is a co-worker of Dan Gallagher, and the two have a brief affair. However, Alex soon becomes obsessed with Dan after he starts moving away from her. Alex starts stalking Dan and meddles in his personal life. She is responsible for the death of Dan’s mother-in-law, Sophie. Moreover, Alex takes several drastic actions to draw out a reaction from Dan after he ignores Alex and returns to his family. Eventually, the conflict concludes with a physical altercation between Dan and Alex, and shortly afterward, Alex is found dead. The show’s opening scene confirms that Dan was imprisoned for nearly ten years for Alex’s murder. However, Dan claims to be innocent and is determined to prove it by uncovering the truth about the real killer.
As the narrative progresses, several people involved with Alex in the past, such as Gabriel Ibarra, Clay Bishop, Elijah Acosta, and Olena Kuzma, are considered suspects after their fingerprints are found in Alex’s apartment. However, the season 1 finale delivers a killer twist when Alex’s actual killer is revealed to Arthur, Beth’s former best friend and current husband. In the final episode, titled ‘Caregiving,’ flashbacks reveal Arthur arrived at Alex’s apartment shortly after Dan threatened to destroy Alex’s life. Arthur attacked Alex and tried to strangle her. He hit her head with a weight, causing the blunt-force trauma that killed Alex. Arthur later dumped Alex’s dead body in a nearby lake to cover up his tracks.
Arthur’s Motivations
Arthur killing Alex is a major surprise to viewers since he is primarily a background character for most of the first season. Moreover, he is an original character created for the television series not present in the 1987 film. Alex and Arthur do not share any interactions during the first seven episodes, making viewers curious about his motivations behind killing Alex. In the series, Arthur is the best friend of Dan’s wife, Beth. They run a business together, and Arthur’s wife is dying, presumably from cancer, which affects his mental health. However, after learning from Beth about her involvement with Dan, Arthur decides to kill Alex.
Seeing Alex trying to destroy Dan’s life and hurt Beth seemingly motivates Arthur’s actions. In the sixth episode, Arthur and his wife offer to pay for Dan’s course case when he is accused of killing Alex. Thus, by helping Dan defend himself in court, Arthur is trying to free himself from the emotional consequences of his actions. In the finale, we see Arthur admitting to feeling guilty about Dan being imprisoned for his crime. He contemplates coming forward and admitting his involvement in Alex’s murder. However, since he has no proof to confirm his testimony, it could negatively hamper Dan’s case and land him in prison for perjury. Ultimately, Arthur seemingly escapes the consequences of his actions, and it remains to be seen whether the truth about his involvement in Alex’s death will come to light.
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