The Undoing, starring Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman, had us all gripped. A classic whodunnit. We all had theories, most of them COMPLETELY off the mark.
If you’re behind or are yet to watch The Undoing, stop reading and come back once you have watched it – I’m going to reveal what my theory was.
… SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT! …
It was on that drive between Jonathan (Hugh Grant) and his son Henry that the nation collectively gasped once the flashbacks started rolling.
“No! It can’t be, it was Hugh all along!?”
It sure was. The signs were there in plain sight, but none of us wanted to believe it. It was too obvious to be Jonathan, he was the prime suspect after all, it’s never the first person that’s accused. Until The Undoing came along.
This nicely leads me onto what my theory was… and to be fair, I thought that my alternate ending would have been pretty awesome too!
My alternate ending/theory for The Undoing
My theory came to me when Jonathan mentioned to his lawyer Haley Fitzgerald about another woman he cheated on Grace with before Elena Alves (the victim). He referred to this woman as a “one-off years ago”. This other woman who Jonathan mentioned didn’t have a name, and I thought this was the writers giving us a teeny hint.
I was convinced that it was this other woman that had murdered Elena Alves in a jealous rage.
For this unnamed woman, the brutal murder of Elena wasn’t enough. She wanted to make Jonathan pay, so she went to Jonathan and Grace’s family lake house, where she and Jonathan used to meet, and planted the murder weapon in the fireplace.
A cruel act of revenge!
So, who is the ‘one-off years ago’ woman I’m talking about?
Sylvia Steineitz!
Hear me out. The unnamed ‘one-off’ woman, why doesn’t he name her? Even when the lawyer pushes, Jonathan still doesn’t name her. She’s simply the “one-off years ago”.
Sylvia worked with Jonathan secretly without Grace knowing. Sylvia admitted secretly helping Jonathan after he was fired from his job at the hospital. More lies.
Jonathan ended it, Sylvia was jealous and saw Jonathan leaving Elena’s place the night she murdered him. Rage, jealousy, bitterness took over and boom. The hammer was there.
Sylvia brutally murdered Elena and framed Jonathan!
Or that’s what I thought.
It all came tumbling to me, I was absolutely convinced I had it all figured out.
I didn’t have it figured out at all.
What was your theory on The Undoing?
Let me know!
T. J. Blake #Author 
I was thinking the same thing! I just finished the series.
I was thinking he and Sylvia were together and in cahoots together. Since “ people tell her things” I thought since she was the first to find out about the murder, that she and Jonathan worked together to murder Elena.
It was a great series wasn’t it. Were you happy with how it all unfolded?
Hi guys,
i personally didnt like the ending at all, from the point where Jonathan gets in the car with his son and „goes on a roadtrip“. From then on its just hollywood action film style. It looses all its class.
Now here is what i was expecting to happen:
Just as it was in the original, Grace turns on her husband. As a result he gets convicted. Just as she walks out of the courthouse with her dad. Grace‘s father turns to her and says something like: „You always know that I would do anything to protect you, even if you would never ask“. BOOM! ! That moment you see her face and a flashback and she realizes her dad killed the woman and she wrongfully put her husband to jail.
NOW: keeping the grandfather as the killer in mind rewatch the show. There are so many hints: 1) He says to headmaster of the school that he is a cock sucker in the traditional sense and he would do anything for his grandson and his family – also kill? 2) He visits the husband of the killed woman and stands on the street in the darl watching him and the baby – does he feel remorse for what he has done? 3) He lends Jonathan the 500,000$ – did he get suspicious of where this money went? He could have easily hired a private investigator and found out that Jonathan was cheating 4) He tells Grace about his infidelities and how unhappy Graces mother was – does he want to protect Grace from a similar life? 4) He tells Grace he would do anything for her but that she never asks for his help – so did he act on his own 5) Throughout the episodes Grace‘s dad is repeatedly worried that Grace will go back to her husband – he wants Jonathan to go to jail for his crime 6) The hammer was found at his summerhouse – he could have easily put it there.
There are probably many more hints, if you are actively looking for ghem.
Also, with this alternative ending, how easily could they make a season 2, where Grace turns against her farther and fights for Jonathan to get out of Jail.