The Better Sister's wild ending led fans to question who killed Jake Rodriguez (Gabriel Sloyer) after he was caught up in an unexpected twist. Amazon Prime Video's new thriller drama followed the story of two estranged sisters, Chloe (Jessica Biel) and Nicky (Elizabeth Banks), who unexpectedly reunited after Chloe's husband and Nicky's ex, Adam Macintosh (played by Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania star Corey Stoll), ended up dead.
The identity of Adam's killer is central to The Better Sister's mystery, but the series has a deeper conspiracy hidden within its narrative that affects its characters, such as Jake. The Better Sister is an eight-episode series from Prime Video that has a star-studded cast led by Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Banks, Corey Stoll, Kim Dickens, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Gloria Reuben, and Gabriel Sloyer.
What Happened to Jake Rodriguez in The Better Sister
In The Better Sister, Jake Rodriguez is Adam's business partner and neighbor with whom Chloe is having an affair. Jake and Adam both worked on the Gentry Group, a shady firm that has been entangled with human trafficking due to illegal labor practices.
Throughout the series, Jake is pressured by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to retrieve evidence from the Gentry Group about their illegal ways so that law enforcement can finally have a reason to arrest its leader, Bill Braddock (Matthew Modine).
Elsewhere, Jake was also accused of killing Adam after Chloe confessed in court that Adam harassed her, claiming she told Jake all about it. Chloe's confession backfired because it meant that Jake had a motive to kill Adam, but it was sorted out in the end after Chloe's son, Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan), was found not guilty.
The Better Sister's finale ended up revealing the truth about Adam's mystery killer. It turned out that Nicky was the one who killed him as revenge for his abusive treatment of her sister. After learning this shocking revelation, Chloe and Nicky worked together to frame Bill Braddock as the main suspect, with Chloe planting the murder weapon in his office while providing the FBI incriminating documents about the Gentry Group that would lead to a search warrant.
Braddock was ultimately arrested for a crime he didn't commit, but the twist didn't stop there, since The Better Sister's final episode shockingly revealed Jake's dead body washed up on a beach. While Jake's death came as quite a shock, his death appeared to be inevitable, considering the dangerous path he took after teaming up with the FBI during their investigation of the Gentry group.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, The Better Sister showrunners Olivia Milch and Regina Corrado played coy about who killed Jake, noting that "there certainly is no definitive answer to that" for now:
THR: "At the end of the series, we see Jake (Gabriel Sloyer) lying dead on the beach. It seems to be hinted that he was killed by Bill and Gentry. Can you confirm that?"
MILCH: "To confirm?"
CORRADO: "Confirm or deny (Laughs.) I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something, but it seems there’s another mystery to solve!"
MILCH: "I think we very much wanted to deliver a very satisfactory ending for the first season and have it feel like you know what happened, like the mystery is solved. But I think that obviously the truth, particularly around these ladies in this family, is that things happen. So there certainly is no definitive answer to that. For now."
Based on the showrunner's comments, it looks like Jake's killer's identity will be the central mystery of a potential second season of The Better Sister. Given Chloe and Nicky's part in the grand scheme of things, there's a good chance that the sisters will be brought back and become entangled again in a web of lies they apparently started.
So, Who Killed Jake in The Better Sister?
The identity of Jake's killer wasn't confirmed in The Better Sister's ending, but there are a few theories about the culprit.
Someone connected from the Gentry Group may have ordered the hit on Jake, with Bill's arrest serving as the triggering event to kick off the plan to eliminate him once and for all. Someone inside Gentry may have discovered Jake's connection with the FBI, and the fact that Bill fired Jake supports this theory. Bill could've ordered a hired gun to kill Jake once he was arrested as a way of revenge for his current predicament.
Another potential suspect is FBI Agent Olivero (Frank Pando). Agent Olivero is the special agent harassing Jake to turn over incriminating documents tied to the Gentry Group in exchange for immunity. While he did threaten Jake at one point in the series, Olivero may not have resorted to killing Jake because Chloe already did what Jake was supposed to do in the end.
Jake could've also committed suicide due to the mounting pressure he has been experiencing with both the FBI and the Gentry Group. As unfortunate as it sounds, choosing to end it all might've been Jake's solution to escape the madness.
