Oliver St. Ledger's dark past in 56 Days caught up with him in the present day, forever changing the trajectory of his life, starting with his relationship with Ciara. At the center of the mystery in Amazon Prime Video's romance drama series is the identity of the decomposed body that was found inside Oliver's apartment in Boston. However, as the episodes progressed, it became clear that the body was only a secondary piece in the grand scheme of things, mainly because Oliver's past actions were slowly unraveled in the show.
In 56 Days, Oliver had been working as an architect, and he seemed to have a perfect life. The fact that he managed to forge a strong connection with a beautiful girl like Ciara made it seem that everything was going well. Little did he know, Ciara was a ghost from his past that would unearth something horrible that he had done that left him struggling with guilt for years.
What Did Oliver Actually Do In 56 Days?
56 Days confirmed that Oliver had been living under the alias "Oliver Kennedy" rather than his real name, "Oliver St. Ledger," and there is a pretty compelling reason for it. As it turns out, Episode 7 revealed that Oliver was involved in killing one of his friends (Paul) when he was a teenager, and he ultimately evaded justice due to being the son of a billionaire and allowing someone else to take the fall.
What made it even more heartbreaking was that this wasn't the only horrible thing Oliver did. After he killed Paul, Oliver let his other friend, Shane, take the fall for a crime he didn't commit, leading to him spending a long time in prison, and he later died by suicide due to the manipulation of Oliver's therapist, Dan Troxler (Patch Darragh).
In a shocking twist, Episode 7 also confirmed that Shane was actually Megan's older brother, and this was the main reason why she posed as Ciara in the present day: to seek revenge against Oliver for her brother's death. Shane's death took a toll on Oliver, and his massive guilt prompted him to change his name and move to Boston to leave everything behind.
What Oliver did was messed up, and running away to escape scrutiny is no doubt a cowardly move. The fact that his therapist played a part in manipulating his actions made him an easy target for Ciara in the present day, but her act of revenge turned into something more when she finally learned the truth behind what's truly wrong with him.
What Is Wrong With Oliver In 56 Days?
56 days confirmed that Oliver's guilt has led him to suffer from debilitating anxiety and insomnia, forcing him to inject himself with a drug called propofol just to have a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, that was only the tip of the iceberg because the main problem Oliver had was therapeutic abuse.
While Oliver's massive guilt prevented him from doing the right thing and admitting to a crime he actually committed, another factor kept him from getting out of the horrible action he did: Dan Troxler (his former school counselor turned unlicensed therapist who has been manipulating him from the start and leeching off his wealth).
Dan actually knew the whole truth about what Oliver did to Paul, and he had also been blackmailing Oliver's wealthy family for money. Even though Oliver wanted to make things right, Dan kept him from confessing the truth because he knew that the benefits of consistent cash flow from the St. Ledger family would disappear.
Thankfully, the 56 Days finale saw Oliver break out of Dan's trauma cycle after Ciara (Megan) helped him to eliminate Dan from the equation once and for all by killing him. It was later confirmed that Dan was the decomposed body inside Oliver's apartment after Oliver and Ciara worked together to dispose of it.
Although Oliver initially wanted to come clean to the police about the crime he committed, he eventually chose to leave everything behind (again), but this time to start something free and happy with Ciara, restarting his life in the way he sees fit.
So Did Oliver Really Kill Paul?
56 Days Episode 7 confirmed that Oliver did kill Paul during an argument that took place in Narrow River. Oliver saw that Paul was brutalizing Shane in the river, and he decided to take matters into his own hands by holding Paul underwater until he drowned.
While some would argue that Oliver only did the horrible act to protect Shane, it didn't change the fact that he killed someone, and he got away with it by throwing another friend under the bus. It also didn't change the fact that Oliver's youthful impulsiveness left him open to Dan Troxler's manipulation for years.
At the end of the day, Megan's revenge plan of entering Oliver's life actually helped him in more ways than one, because it made him realize the importance of choosing remorse and taking accountability for what he did. The fact that Megan forgave him was the opening he needed to choose his love for her and a fresh start for a family (even though many pointed out that it's still messed up that they both got away from killing Dan).
Read more about another insane twist that happened in another Prime Video series, The Girlfriend.
