The Perfect Couple: Who Died in Episode 1? Twist Explained

Fans didn't have to wait long for the twists and turns of Netflix's The Perfect Couple to impact the story, as the mysterious dead body in Episode 1 wasn't identified until the final moments.

The Perfect Couple is Netflix's newest limited series which was released on Thursday, September 5.

Starring A-list stars such as Nicole Kidman, Dakota Fanning, and Liev Schreiber, the mini-series is based around a dead body found just before the beginning of a wedding ceremony, raising questions as to who committed the act.

Who Died in The Perfect Couple Episode 1?

The Perfect Couple threw its audience right into the middle of its murder-mystery nature when it was revealed early in Episode 1 that a dead body had washed up on the shore just before the main character, Amelia, and her fiancé, Benji, were set to be married.

However, the identity of the body wasn't revealed until the final moments of the episode, leaving viewers guessing as to who it could be.

Like other mystery dramas, the entire group of main characters were suspects, and Episode 1 threw out clues that made everyone question all of the characters but also question who exactly the dead person was since that was initially kept secret.

The episode included a lot of strong evidence that Amelia's fiancé, Benji, was the one who had died. 

For example, Amelia could be seen greatly affected by the death in sequences set after the body was discovered, teasing that it was definitely someone extremely close to her, such as her fiancé - but that ultimately wasn't the case.

At the end of the installment (and after all of the flashbacks and flashforwards), Amelia discovered that the dead body was none other than her longtime best friend, Merritt (played by Meghann Fahy), explaining why she was so devastated.

Who Killed Merritt in The Perfect Couple?

Since The Perfect Couple was a Netflix release, all six episodes of the mini-series were released at the same time, meaning that fans could binge the entire series in one sitting if they wished.

So, that also means that the identity of the killer isn't something fans will have to wait weeks for. The person responsible for Merritt's death was revealed in the finale, but, of course, there were a lot of other twists, turns, and fakeouts along the way.

However, it is ultimately revealed in the finale that Dakota Fanning's Abby was the one who killed Merritt. She did so by drugging her and then taking her out into the ocean and drowning her while the two swam.

This was a bit of a shock to viewers since Abby was pregnant in the show. However, her motivation was clear.

It was revealed that Abby and her husband, Thomas, were in a bit of financial trouble, and it didn't help matters that they were expecting a child.

Their misfortunes weren't going to last much longer, however, as they were going to get an inheritance from Tag (Liev Schreiber) that was to be split three ways amongst his three sons as soon as the youngest turned 18 (which would have been a few weeks after the wedding).

However, in a shocking reveal, Merritt was pregnant with Tag's fourth child, meaning that the inheritance would be split between four people instead of three, and it wouldn't come for another 18 years.

Seeing no other alternative to get her and her family out of financial trouble, Abby chose to drown Merritt so that the inheritance would remain the way it was before the reveal that Tag was to have another child.

The Perfect Couple is available to stream on Netflix.