Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for The Perfect Couple.
Netflix’sThe Perfect Coupleweaves small clues that are easily missed into the mystery, hinting at Merritt’s killer’s identity from early on. With murder at the center of the limited series' plot, showrunner Jenna Lamia needed to create a web of possible suspects while hinting at the actual murderer’s identity throughout.
Critics and audiences ofThe Perfect Coupleare dividedon how successful the script is in executing this goal. Despite all the criticism, it isn’t fair to say that Lamia didn’t provide ample clues as to the killer’s identity. The series includes many hints that Abby is the true killer of Merritt. On their own, they might not be noticeable, but they help create a bigger picture of what happened the night before Amelia and Benji’s wedding.
9Abby Packs Up Merritt’s Clothes
Abby’s Doesn’t Want People To Linger On Merritt’s Death
Soon after the police start investigating the death, Abby starts acting like everyone should just forget about Merritt. A prime example of this is her packing up the victim’s clothing despite the police not wanting anyone to contaminate the possible crime scene. She tells Amelia that the police can arrest her if they have a problem with it. Since there isn’t anything incriminating in Merritt’s stuff,the only explanation for this action is that she’s eager for everyone to move on.
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Considering Abby murdered Merritt, her desperation for everyone to move on makes complete sense. If people look closer into the crime, they could discover what Abby did. (Though, admittedly, there was little concrete evidence for the police to find by theend ofThe Perfect Couple.) Theoretically, the sooner they focus on other things, the sooner Abby can stop worrying.
8Abby Jokes That She’ll Never Be Arrested Because She’s A Pregnant White Lady
Abby’s Overconfidence Begs The Question Of What Else She Thinks She Can Get Away With
In addition to the suspiciousness of Abby packing up Merritt’s clothes, she says one quote during that scene which raises immediate red flags. After saying the police can arrest her if they don’t like what she’s doing, she jokes that they’ll never arrest her because she’s a pregnant white lady. Abby’s overconfidence could just be seen as a rare moment of self-awareness about the amount of privilege she holds. However, she never shows that kind of reflection in any other part ofThe Perfect Couple.
On the other hand,Abby could be saying this because she truly believes the police would never arrest her.If she thinks she could get away with contaminating a crime scene, what else does she think she could get away with? It’s not a far stretch to conclude that she committed other crimes. Frankly, the fact that Amelia doesn’t react like Abby’s joke is weird is baffling.
7Abby Tries To Leave The Island In The Perfect Couple Episode 2
Abby Rushes To Leave Nantucket For A Hair Appointment
One of the most suspicious behaviors of Abby early inThe Perfect Coupleis the fact that she tries to leave the island in episode 2, despite the police telling the entire family that they have to stay in the area. When Thomas reminds her of this, she says she got approval to go.
Based on Detective Nikki Henry’s interactions withthe Winbury family,there’s no reason to believe that she would give Abby and Thomas authorization to leave the island.Maybe the police would make an exception if there was a medical emergency, but them giving her permission to go for a hair appointment is downright laughable.
Ultimately, the true reason for Abby’s urgency to get out of the area is hidden because of her privilege and neuroticism. Everything up to that point indicates that she’s someone who would try to get around the rules for something like a hair appointment.
6Tallow Is Listed In The Toxicology Report
Abby’s Pregnancy Balm Contains Tallow
The biggest hint that Abby killed Merritt before the ending occurs inThe Perfect Coupleepisode 4, when Officer Carter learns that traces of Tallow appeared in Merritt’s toxicology report. The ingredient name should sound familiar to viewers because, in an earlier episode, Abby tells Amelia that the balm she uses for her belly contains Tallow. She elaborates that the ingredient is illegal for cosmetics in the US and that it helps with stretch marks.
Considering the ingredient isn’t easily obtainable,the likelihood of both Abby and someone else in the family having access to a product containing Tallow seems low.In addition to hinting at her involvement, the tallow in the balm is essentially the only physical evidence that could link Abby to the crime in the end. There’s circumstantial evidence, like the conflicting stories about where Thomas was, but the only other concrete evidence was likely washed away when Abby cleaned the glass.
5Abby Washes A Glass Early InThe Perfect Couple
Abby Didn’t Leave The Cup For Gosia To Clean
When Detective Henry first meets Abby, she’s washing a lone glass with remnants of orange juice, a very strange action based on the character’s personality. Abby expects Goisha to do everything for her, including getting her yogurt from the fridge, an extremely easy task that doesn’t involve getting her hands dirty.Her willingly washing a glass because the caterers missed it is entirely out of character unless she has an ulterior motive.
The other possible explanation is that she’s doing it to cope with the stress. Even then, it’s still very odd that she would manage her emotions by cleaning. Eventually,The Perfect Couplereveals that she cleaned the glass she gave to Merritt with the crushed-up barbiturate inside. This not only removes traces of the drug but gives her a solid excuse for her fingerprints being on the cup if the police decide to investigate.
4Abby Makes Amelia Suspicious Of Greer
One of the more subtle hints at Abby killing Merritt is her making Amelia suspicious of Greer after Benji gives his fiancée the NDA. Abby tells Amelia that Greer makes people sign NDAs all the time and gives her the name of a woman who was once involved with the family.
Unlike other hints, this one is easy to miss the first go-round but very blatant in retrospect. Abby is shown to enjoy gossiping from the beginning ofThe Perfect Couple. As such, the pregnant Winbury could have just been spreading rumors or talking about the past because she thought it would be fun.
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However, looking back at it with the knowledge of Abby’s crimes,it seems that Abby was trying to provide Amelia with another suspect.After all, as Merritt’s best friend, Amelia is the most prominent character inThe Perfect Couplewho’s looking to solve the murder outside the police. By pointing her in a different direction, she could be shielding herself from suspicion.
3Thomas Is In Debt And Can’t Pay For The New Apartment
Abby Needs The Money From The Trust Fund
Early inThe Perfect Couple, Thomas is established as being in debt and doesn’t have the money to pay for his and Abby’s new New York apartment. She pushes him to ask his father for a loan and gets upset at Thomas when he can’t secure the money.This immediately puts the two on the radar as possibly being murderers. After all, it’s said that murder always happens for one of three reasons – sex, money, or revenge.
The issue that keeps Abby hidden is that most of the Winbury family and their guests falls into one of the categories. That doesn’t mean they’re all equally likely, but there’s at least a possible reason they could want Merritt dead. Additionally, the exact way money would come into play doesn’t become clear until the end ofThe Perfect Couple, when it’s discovered that the trust only pays out when the youngest child of Tag turns 18.
2Abby Speaks Negatively Of Merritt
There’s No Obvious Reason For Abby To Speak Poorly Of Merritt
Early inThe Perfect Couple, Abby is interviewed by the police about Merritt’s personality and character. It seems that any decent person in this situation would bring up positive things or at least be tactful when mentioning flaws.Abby doesn’t seem to have any regard for the sensitivity of this situation, implying to the police that Merritt was promiscuous and a golddigger.
Like speaking about the NDA, Abby is presented as a gossip, so her statement to the police doesn’t immediately send off signals about her guilt. She also goes on to say nasty things about others, so there’s no reason to believe Merritt will be treated any differently.
However, it’s a nice, subtle clue that has more significance in retrospect. By painting Merritt as someone who gets into relationships for money, she’s doing two things. Firstly, she’s tarnishing the positive image of Merritt, which could impact how the police investigate the crime. Secondly, Abby is pointing the finger at the men in the Winbury family, especially Tag.
1Abby Tells Thomas To Clean Out The Pill Drawer
Thomas' Pill Drawer Could Connect The Couple To The Murder
When Abby is getting ready to flee the island, she tells Thomas that he needs to clean out the drawer on his side of the bed because, in different words than she used, it’s full of controlled and harmful substances. On its own, this could be seen as a caring comment about a wife who doesn’t want her husband to get in trouble for stealing pills. However,her instructions become suspicious when Merritt’s toxicology report comes back with her having prescription drugs in her system.
The presence of drugs narrows the suspect pool down to three main people – Thomas, who stole other people’s drugs in the first place; Isabel, who took the drugs Thomas stole; and Abby, who knew about the drugs and had access to them. Out of all three individuals, Abby is the only one who tries to hide the fact that Thomas is stealing pills, making her crime inThe Perfect Couplemore obvious.
