Warning: Spoilers ahead for “The Hunting Wives.”
“The Hunting Wives” is the definition of a binge watch. Sultry yet thought-provoking, the series has stayed near the top of the Netflix Top 10 charts since its debut on the streamer on July 21.
Brittany Snow plays Sophie, who arrives in East Texas from Boston along with her husband Graham (Evan Jonigkeit) and their son. She’s a fish out of water, adjusting to new cultural norms and a few traumatic events in her past that cast a long shadow.
The Maple Brook neighborhood clearly has a charged history. Luckily for Sophie, Margo (Malin Akerman) takes her under her wing — a good friend to have, considering Margo is married to a wealthy oil tycoon named Jed (Dermot Mulroney) who is running for governor.
But there’s a darkness lurking in this friend group. Local teenage Abby (Madison Wolfe) is found dead, and anyone could be the killer. Signs are pointing to it being Sophie, since Abby was shot with Sophie’s new gun. Yep, that’s right: It only took a few weeks and Sophie was already getting arms to match her new neighbors’.
Sophie can hardly remember the night of Abby’s murder — she and Margo were having a bit of a rager at Margo’s lake house. But she’s sure she’s innocent. Still, she’s not innocent when it comes to letting Margo convince her to start drinking, start driving after a tragic accident, and have affairs with younger men (and each other).
Read on to find out what happens in “The Hunting Wives” and how the ending compares to the book by May Cobb.
Who Kills Abby on ‘The Hunting Wives’?
Do you really want to know? OK: It’s Margo, Sophie’s new lover and the queen bee of the friend group.
Two scenes from the first episode foreshadow Margo’s crime.
First, Abby hooks up with her then-boyfriend, high schooler Brad (George Ferrier), but stops because it conflicts with her faith. In the middle of all this, Margo opens the door and makes eye contact with Brad. Yep, they’re a secret item.
Aside from the age gap, and aside from the fact that Margo is married, there’s another complication. Brad’s mom Jill (Katie Lowes) is married to a prominent pastor and is Margo’s friend.
Second, there’s the question of the tampons.
Sophie meets Margo for the first time in the bathroom of her palatial house. There, Margo lets it slip that she can’t use tampons. But that’s not quite the case. In the finale, when Sophie and Margo have rekindled their romance, Sophie goes to the bathroom and sees tampons. Margo says she can use tampons.
Why would this matter? Well, Pastor Pete (Paul Teal), the town’s youth pastor (more on that dude later), had told Sophie that Abby had gotten an abortion — but he interpreted Brad’s confession wrong. In fact, it was Margo who had the abortion. When’s a time that women can’t use tampons? After abortions.
Margo had gone to her estranged biological dad, a doctor, to perform the procedure. (At the same time as all this, Margo is campaigning for her husband’s anti-abortion stance).
As for why Margo killed Abby? Her motive was simple. After a lifetime of manipulating her way to the top, Margo couldn’t let her status be threatened, and Abby was about to do just that.
Abby figured out that Margo had the abortion and was planning to reveal it — a disaster for Margo, her husband’s campaign and her political career.
Margo kills her. With the help of her father and brother Kyle (Michael Aaron Milligan), they conspire to help Margo cover it up, creating an alibi for her.
Who Else Dies in ‘The Hunting Wives’?
A lot of people! Four, in fact. Here’s who dies in “The Hunting Wives” aside from Abby.
- Abby’s mom, Starr (Chrissy Metz), is killed by Jill, Brad’s mom. Mess! Starr learns from Pastor Pete that her daughter had an abortion, which she didn’t. She goes to confront Brad’s mom, Jill — convinced that Jill had killed Abby. Seeing Starr with a rifle, Jill shoots her.
- Jill is then killed by Callie. Margo and Callie (Jaime Ray Newman), the sheriff’s wife, go to Jill’s house to confront her and find Starr’s body. They’re preparing to call the police. Jill pulls a gun out to stop them, then Callie kills her. Jill is framed as Abby’s killer — until Sophie figures out the truth.
- Kyle is killed by Sophie in the show’s final moments. Sophie confronts Margo about her findings — the tampon, the abortion, etc. Margo confesses to Jed about the abortion, affair with Brad and more. He kicks her out of their home and Margo goes to her brother Kyle’s house. Kyle then goes after Sophie and tries to run her off the road. He gets out of his car to get her to talk. Sophie, instead, runs him over. She disposes of the body. This is her second vehicular homicide. Sophie had killed someone accidentally while drinking and driving in Massachusetts and her husband helped get her out of any legal troubles.
- Pastor Pete takes his own life. Officer Salazar (Karen Rodriguez) figures out that Pastor Pete had been kidnapping local girls — including, most recently, Abby’s friend Nina (Abigail Rhyne). When he’s cornered, he shoots himself. The police discover Nina and another missing girl in the back of his U-Haul.
How Does the Ending Compare to the Book?
The book’s ending is totally different — but hinted at in the show. In the book, Jill is the actual killer. She murders both Abby and Margo.
Abby is pregnant with Brad’s baby. Meanwhile, Brad was also sleeping with Margo, as in the show. Jill kills them to protect her beloved Brad.
Sophie, in the book, has an affair with Margo and doesn’t get back together with her husband Graham.