WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Disclaimer’s finale.
The ending of Apple’sDisclaimershows Stephen grabbing one of Jonathan’s photographs out of the fire as he burns them after learning the disturbing truth about his son. 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.
Nicholas Did See What Happened Between Jonathan & Catherine
It’s revealed in a photograph that Stephen burned in the fire
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 had seen Nicholas watching her, which means she either didn’t notice or couldn’t remember.
The photo also reveals that Nicholas had likely blocked all of it from memory since he couldn’t even recall the trip to Italy at any point in the series. 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.
The Photo Explains Nicholas' Story In Disclaimer
Nicholas has been deeply affected for most of his life
As for Nicholas, the fact that he witnessed his mother’s abuse shows how he has harbored deeply internalized trauma for most of his life. Throughout the beginning of Disclaimer, Nicholas is strongly adverse to his mother despite her constant efforts to connect with her son. For some mysterious reason, Nicholas does not want to give his mother the time of day. This behavior might be typical in a high school-aged teenager, but Nicholas is 25 and has struggled to find motivation and keep a job.The internalized trauma that Nicholas has carried explains his mostly despondent demeanor throughout the series.
When Nicholas was a child in the flashback sequences of the series, he was full of life and joy. While these memories proved to be misrepresentations of reality created by Jonathan’s mother Nancy inThe Perfect Strangerbook, it’s still plausible to believe that Nicholas was a happy child. After seeing the horrific sight of Jonathan abusing his mother, Nicholas was likely never the same again. His response to witnessing the abuse was to not believe it, which extended insofar to the point where he did not recall the vacation altogether.One of the potential symptoms of PTSD is to completely forget that the event ever happened.
Disclaimer’s Ending Is A Hopeful One For Catherine & Nicholas
They are finally able to reconnect after years of unresolved tension
It’s evident thatNicholas' unprocessed childhood trauma has impacted his ability to be a functional adult. What’s remarkable about Catherine is that despite being the victim of such a horrendous crime, she went on to never speak of it and become an accomplished documentarian. In addition to highlighting the various forms of violence inflicted on women by men, the series also portrays the different ways that individuals can respond to trauma throughout their lives. In the end, Catherine and Nicholas’s shared trauma over the Jonathan experience builds a bridge between the mother and son, leavingDisclaimeron a hopeful note for the future of their healed relationship.
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).
