TV Romance
‘The Girlfriend’: Do Cherry & Daniel End Up Together? The Finale Twists, Explained
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Girlfriend.]
When Olivia Cooke said The Girlfriend was “for the freaks,” she wasn’t lying. The psychological erotic thriller features a sort of love triangle, but not in the traditional sense. Laura (Robin Wright) has an overprotective, borderline creepy relationship with her son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson), which gets put on the backburner when he falls in love with Cherry (Cooke).
Disturbing premise aside, Prime Video’s latest limited series isn’t without romance, though its authenticity is up for interpretation. As the show flits back and forth between the women’s perspectives, Laura becomes increasingly paranoid about Cherry’s motivations, determined to drive them apart. However, as the events unfold, viewers find out that her suspicions aren’t entirely incorrect. Cherry is far from an innocent bystander.
“It’s all in such a heightened state, and also they’re vying for Daniel’s loyalty and affection,” Cooke told TV Insider. “Even in their point of views, it goes beyond the point of truth. We are beyond facts. We’re in a post-truth world when it becomes so emotional towards the end, especially.”
Does Laura succeed in keeping the couple apart? Does she finally convince Daniel of Cherry’s conniving nature? Or does Cherry get her way and get the guy, forcing Laura out of the picture? Read on for the full breakdown of that twist ending.
How does The Girlfriend end?
Christopher Raphael / Prime Video
The show hints throughout that it would end in a violent showdown between Laura and Cherry, and it delivers exactly that. Daniel confronts Laura about her role in Cherry’s arrest. His mother ends up drugging her son to keep him from leaving and to reveal Cherry’s secret: that her father is still alive, and she’s responsible for the “accident” that put him in a care facility.
After finding out that Laura is about to expose her, a frazzled Cherry tracks them down. Brandishing a kitchen knife, Laura accuses Cherry of destroying her family. “You’ve driven me to this,” she says. Ultimately, she drops it and tackles Cherry into a pool. Daniel, still woozy, jumps in to separate them, but he accidentally holds his mom under the water for too long. Interestingly enough, Cherry tells him to stop, but it’s too late: Laura has drowned.
Do Cherry and Daniel end up together in The Girlfriend?
In a flash forward, we find out that Daniel and Cherry seemingly get off scot-free. They’re married and living in his parents’ house, and she’s pregnant. It’s picture-perfect, until Daniel finds his mother’s phone hidden underneath some furniture.
He happens upon the video Laura took of her conversation with Cherry’s mother. Now, he learns that there might’ve been some truth to his mother’s claims. “When she has her sights set on something, you better not interfere or God help you,” he hears Cherry’s mom say. She also touches on her daughter’s violent past and ruthless tendencies.
The show ends with Daniel gazing at his pregnant wife with doubt and fear in his eyes. So, did they end up together? Yes, but at what cost? Will he leave Cherry, or is he stuck with her? After all, who knows what she’d do if he tried to end things?
Is there going to be a Season 2 of The Girlfriend?
As of right now, Prime hasn’t renewed the show, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost just yet. It’s unclear how the show would move forward without the conflict between Laura and Cherry driving the narrative and giving the show it’s format, but producer Jonathan Cavendish isn’t ruling anything out.
“We decided – and this wasn’t our original thing – that we’d love to do a second season if Amazon wanted to,” Cavendish told Tech Radar. “Season 2 could really go at the same story told in a different way.”
The Girlfriend, Season 1, Now Streaming, Prime Video
