This article mentions sexual abuse and contains SPOILERS forDisclaimerepisode 8.
The ending of Apple’sDisclaimerreveals what actually happened between Catherine and Jonathan in Italy and finally reveals Catherine’s account of the story. Cate Blanchett leads a talented ensemblecast ofDisclaimeras Catherine Ravenscroft, a hard-working and acclaimed television documentary journalist out of London, England.Catherine’s world unravels once a mysterious novel titledThe Perfect Strangerarrives at her doorstep, bringing up memories of one of her deepest and darkest secrets.Disclaimeris based on the 2015 bookof the same name written by Renée Knight.
The majority ofDisclaimer’sepisodes cast Catherine as a villain responsible for the death of a vacationing English twenty-something named Jonathan.Disclaimeris primarily told through the fictional lens of Catherine and Jonathan’s experience in Italy through the imagination of Jonathan’s grieving mother, Nancy.The Perfect Strangernovel is a culmination of Nancy’s mourning and denial of a painfultruth she has learned about Jonathan through his girlfriend Sasha’s mother. Stephen discoversThe Perfect Strangerand interprets it as truth, which sparks his revenge tour against Catherine. In the end, however,Stephen could not have been more wrong about his son.
Catherine Was Sexually Assaulted By Jonathan In Italy
The photographs that Jonathan took of Catherine were not consensual
The shocking twist in theDisclaimerfinale is that Jonathan brutally sexually assaulted Catherine against her will. This is essentially the complete opposite of how Nancy had framed the experience inThe Perfect Strangerwith Jonathan as the helpless victim caught in Catherine’s provocative grasp. Catherine reveals to Stephen that Jonathan snuck into her bedroom uninvited and held her at knifepoint. He proceeded to threaten both Catherine and Nicholas and raped her for three and a half hours. The photographs that Jonathan took of Catherine were not consensual whatsoever.He despicably forced Catherine to pose and smile for the cameraor else he would hurt her and Jonathan.
All The Clues To The Truth About Catherine & Jonathan In Disclaimer
Nancy was revealed to be an unreliable and biased author
There are several hints that allude to the shocking twists in Disclaimer’s finale that are much clearer in retrospect. For one,the series opens each episode with a content warning about sexual violence, which hadn’t been displayed in the series until the final episode. Catherine’s trauma-like response to seeing the photographs in the present-day timeline after Robert had confronted her with them also suggested that something much worse had occurred than an affair.
Disclaimer’s Four Different Timelines Explained
Alfonso Cuarón’s new mystery thriller series Disclaimer portrays the scandalous past of Cate Blanchett’s Catherine and her dark secret, Jonathan.
SinceThe Perfect Strangernovel was written from Nancy’s limited POV, it had always been more than likely that she had altered the truth, or had never known it in the first place. Most importantly, the depiction of Catherine in the novel doesn’t align with the accomplished and respected present-day version of Catherine at all. Once glimpses of Catherine’s story and the truth about Sasha appeared in episode 6,the book quickly began to lose all credibility as a factual account.
Why Stephen Didn’t Kill Nicholas & What Made Him Accept The Truth
Denial plays a key role in understanding both Nancy and Stephen’s actions in response to the troubling news about Jonathan. It could have been Nancy’s primary motivation in writing the book in the first place. For Stephen, it was arguablyan even harder truth to accept knowing the pain that he had inflicted on Catherineand her family was unforgivable. After learning that his once heroic son was actually a twisted and detestable predator, Stephen could not lean further into the lie as Nancy had done when she wrote the book.
What’s Up With The Cat & The Fox In Disclaimer? Real Meaning & Theories Explained
Two distinct animals, a cat & a fox, repeatedly appear in Disclaimer, representing the two sides of a conflict that is rooted in revenge and deceit.
Denial is what propelled Stephen to go back to the hospitaland try again to end Nicholas' life, even after hearing Catherine’s story. Stephen was driven by so much hatred and vindictiveness that it had consumed him and nearly prevented him from accessing the truth in Catherine’s words. He ultimately makes the right decision after hearing Nicholas call out for his mother. This partly seems to be reminding him of the Jonathan he knew and loved while also forcing him to confront the dark side of his son he was terrified to accept.
Why Didn’t Robert Ever Question The Truth About Catherine & Jonathan?
Robert was driven by an egotistical rage after seeing the photographs
Stephen makes an excellent point to Robert on his way out of the hospital that offers some redeeming value to his terribly misguided character. Robert asks Stephen why the thought had never occurred to him that The Perfect Stranger novel was a work of fiction. In response, Stephen asks him the same question, which leaves Robert hopeless and perplexed. It highlights the glaring truth thatRobert did not hesitate to believe Stephen and Nancy’s account of Catherine’s adulteryonce he had seen the photographs.
Disclaimer Makes A Major Book Change From The Very Beginning & It Makes Cate Blanchett’s Show Better
Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV show, based on Renée Knight’s novel, evades one of the novel’s main mysteries and makes Disclaimer so much better.
Given that the photographs were quite telling at face value, Robert chose to attack Catherine with them rather than approach her with sensitivity and due respect. It ultimately says more about Robert than anything else and makes him one of the worst people in the series, especially as Catherine confirms she could not forgive him in the show’s final moments. Catherine sensed thatRobert was more relieved about her being raped as opposed to him being cheated on.
Why Jonathan’s Mother, Nancy, Made Up The Perfect Stranger
She wrote to heal and preserve her idealized vision of Jonathan
Grief can be one of the most powerful and mysterious forces that a person can experience and can inspire all sorts of actions and behaviors. For Nancy,The Perfect Strangerwas the best way to preserve the memory of her son as she recalled it, despite the troubling news that Sasha’s mother had shared with her about Jonathan. It’s also quite common for a parent to write about the life of a lost child, as writing has many benefits that can aid in the grieving process. It can provide a sense of closeness to the person and can be used as a method of visitation upon completion. Most notably, Nancy could not accept that her dead son was a monster capable of such heinous violence against women.
Why Stephen Burns His Wedding Ring & Nancy’s Cardigan
Stephen tries to erase Jonathan from his life completely
The narration over the scene in which Stephen burns Jonathan’s photographs, the Perfect Stranger novels, Nancy’s cardigan, and even his wedding ring, mentions the idea that Stephen is beyond the point of regaining purity.The series concludes that Stephen has lived a wasted lifewhich is entirely irredeemable and tragic. Stephen’s shame at being so entirely wrong about Jonathan leads him to destroy all evidence of this terrible circumstance.
Disclaimer: What Really Happened Between Catherine & Jonathan (& How Much Is The Show Lying About It?)
Catherine & Jonathan’s affair in Italy is depicted in the early episodes of Disclaimer but may have been dramatized by an unreliable & biased source.
The fire represents Stephen shedding the massive lie he has lived in since Nancy’s death and doing what little he can to make things right with himself after nearly killing Nicholas and destroying Catherine’s life.There is certainly some contempt towards Nancy for writingThe Perfect Strangerin the first place, which he believed to be fact. In her defense, she had hidden it in a locked desk and hadn’t asked Stephen to publish it and start a revenge tour.
What The Photo Stephen Pulls Out Of The Fire Means
The final reveal inDisclaimer’s finale answers the question of whether Nicholas was affected by Jonathan’s horrific abuse of Catherine. As Stephen burns all of Jonathan’s photographs in a fire in his backyard, he quickly pulls one out after spotting something he apparently hadn’t noticed before. In the reflection of a large mirror in the corner of the room, a young Nicholas stares at the frightening scene between Jonathan and Catherine. Catherine had never mentioned she saw him watching her, which means she either didn’t notice or couldn’t remember. It also reveals that Nicholas had likely blocked all of it from memory since he couldn’t even recall the trip to Italy earlier in the series,harboring deeply internalized trauma for most of his life.
Disclaimer’s Biggest Changes To The Book Story & Ending
Stephen dies by suicide and leaves his estate to Catherine in the book
The ending of theDisclaimernovel by Renée Knight is nearly identical to that of the Apple series. Catherine is finally able to reveal the truth about Jonathan to Stephen, who finally stops wreaking havoc on Catherine and her family as a result. It’s worth noting that the book features Catherine and Nicholas vacationing in Spain while the series takes place in Italy. One important omission left out of the series is the fact that Stephen dies by suicide and gives his house to Catherine and her family as a token of his guilt. Catherine and her family move into Stephen’s house in the book, which clearly isn’t necessarily judging by their beautiful home in the series.Catherine also definitively leaves Robert at the end of theDisclaimernovel, whereas it’s left with more ambiguity in the series.
The Real Meaning Of Disclaimer Explained
Catherine endures various forms of abuse by selfish men
The ending ofDisclaimermakes a cautionary point about perception, belief, and the power of a good story. DespiteThe Perfect Strangerbeing almost entirely a work of fiction, both Stephen and Robert interpreted it as fact with the supporting evidence of Jonathan’s photos of Catherine. Of course, neither Stephen nor Robert were objective parties in this scenario and both men felt deeply wronged by Catherine. Theychose to run with the supposed evidence, and even team up, rather than approach Catherinewith the benefit of the doubt. Neither offered her a fair chance at clearing the air, only focusing on their pain without the possibility of others'.
Disclaimersmartly tricks its audience into believing that Catherine is the despicable one meant to be exposed when in reality she was the victim of a horrendous crime. The finale sends a crucial message abouthow fragile the concept of truth can be in an age that hardly adheres to due diligence. The series also demonstrates various forms of violence used against women by men, particularly pertaining to sexuality as forms of both empowerment and devaluation for women, depending on the context. It also explores the complex and often silent process of coping with such horrific physical violence with the possibility of enduring further emotional abuse by speaking of it.
In the end,Catherine discovers that Robert’s notion of love for her can be reduced to mere possession, as his ego is more devastated by the news of her potential adultery than her sexual abuse. Stephen, too, takes a few grasped straws and runs with them through his private form of misguided treachery, even going so far as to accuse Catherine of lying after speaking the truth. Worst of all is Jonathan, who will likely never be known as the criminal predator he is due to the privileges and plausible deniability he inherits from his protective and irresponsible mother inDisclaimer.
Disclaimer
Cast
Told in seven chapters, “Disclaimer” is based on the novel of the same name by Renée Knight. Acclaimed journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) built her reputation revealing the misdeeds and transgressions of others. When she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to realize she is now the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets. As Catherine races to uncover the writer’s true identity, she is forced to confront her past before it destroys both her own life and her relationships with her husband Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) and their son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee).
