56 Days introduced a decomposed body at the center of the mystery, but it's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the show's several shocking twists. Amazon Prime Video's psychological thriller revolves around the intense romance story of Ciara Wyse (Dove Cameron) and Oliver Kennedy (Avan Jogia) that leads to the discovery of a decomposed body being found in Oliver's apartment after 56 days.
The series is based on Catherine Ryan Howard's novel of the same name, and it features a non-linear narrative with multiple timelines that explain the overarching mystery tied to the decomposed body found in Oliver's bathtub. 56 Days premiered on Prime Video on February 18.
Who Is the Decomposed Body in Oliver’s Bathtub in 56 Days?
While some have theorized that the identity of the dead body is either Oliver or Ciara, 56 Days ultimately revealed that it is none other than Dan Troxler (Patch Darragh), Oliver's counselor and unlicensed therapist, who is aware of his dark past. Dan is no saint because he clearly had it coming due to his consistent blackmail and manipulation of Oliver.
Dan has been threatening to expose Oliver's secret from his teenage years for accidentally killing his friend, Paul, after an argument. The twist here is the fact that Ciara (whose real name is actually Megan) is the brother of Shane. He is Oliver's old friend, who wrongly took the fall for Paul's death and later committed suicide in prison.
After Megan came clean to Oliver about her real identity, he realized that he was happy with her despite the lies. Dan wanted to "protect" Oliver by trying to manipulate him into siding with him instead of Megan. When his plan didn't work, he threatened to blackmail him, and this led to Megan smashing him over the head with a statue that instantly killed him.
As a result, the duo got rid of Dan's body in Oliver's bathtub to cover up his death. They were guided by Megan's sister, Shyla, who also has this deep hatred toward Dan due to their brother's death.
What started as a revenge plot for Megan later transitioned into something more because she realized that she already had genuine feelings for Oliver, and this explains why she decided to kill Dan to save him.
56 Days ended with the revelation that Oliver and Megan managed to escape Boston and live an entirely different life in a tropical paradise elsewhere, ultimately embracing a brand-new chapter anchored by freedom from their traumatic past (read more about a similar twist that happened in Prime Video's The Girlfriend).
Who Else Dies in 56 Days?
The psychological thriller revealed two more deaths from the past timeline from Narrow River: Paul and Shane.
56 Days Episode 7 pulled back the curtain on what truly happened between Oliver, Paul, and Shane during their teenage years that kick-started all of the events in the Prime Video series. An argument ensued between the trio, which led Paul to drag Shane into the water and almost kill him. Oliver stepped in to protect his friend, but he ended up killing Paul instead.
Oliver and Shane made a truce not to tell the truth about Paul's death. However, Oliver flipped and pinned the blame on Shane instead, making him a primary suspect in Paul's death. Dan eventually became Oliver's therapist, misguiding him in every turn, and even manipulated Shane into committing suicide while in prison.
This revelation proved that Dan is the true villain in 56 Days, which further explained Megan's deep-seated hatred toward him, which caused her to deliver the final blow in the finale to cement his death.
Wait, Who Took the Fall for Dan’s Death?
Megan and Oliver's teamwork allowed the pair to create a crime scene that would make the detectives work hard to decipher what truly happened to the decomposed body.
Everything changed when Detective Lee told his partner, Karl, that she had been seeing and being intimate with a known drug dealer in the form of Linus Finch.
Making matters worse for both of them, Finch attempted to murder the pair of detectives after Lee decided to call it quits. Seeing his partner in distress, Karl decided to take matters into his own hands by planting Finch's necklace at the crime scene of Dan's decomposed body in the apartment.
This move ultimately framed Linus Finch for Dan's death, allowing Megan and Oliver to literally get away from murder and start a new life. Karl's move to save Lee by exonerating Finch is disturbingly similar to what Megan did to protect Oliver from Dan's forever torment and blackmail, proving how much anyone would be willing to go to protect those they care for (even if it means throwing someone else under the bus).
