A Couple of Lies Ending Explained: What Happened on August 24? Who Survives the Lies?

A Couple of Lies Ending Explained: Netflix’s four-episode crime thriller A Couple of Lies (Bytet) begins with what seems like a fairly harmless but suspicious home exchange between two couples. A missing tourist, a dead body in a well and two marriages in the frame turn the vacation into a messy murder investigation leading to more bloodshed, and we learn that these people are not as innocent as they appear.

A Couple of Lies Ending Explained

The series follows two couples, Helene-Carl and Scarlett-Tom, who exchange their homes for vacation, and the swap happens through the internet, as it appears. Things take a disturbing turn when Helene and Carl discover a dead body rotting in the well outside the house they stay in, and what follows is a series of lies, infidelity, murders and a rather calculated attempt to frame everything against someone who cannot really remember what happened in real life.

So who is the dead person in the well? Why was Carl being framed? What were the actual culprits trying to achieve? Here is a breakdown of the twisted ending.

Warning: Major Spoilers ahead!

Who Killed Tom?

The mystery surrounding the dead body begins after Helene and Carl hear about a missing tourist while staying at their exchanged vacation home when police come to ask them if they knew anything about it. The couple eventually discover a dead body in the well outside the house, but things turn more suspicious when Ragnar arrives at the house, bringing Rosita Perotti, a wealthy businesswoman, to discuss a deal with Carl. While talking casually, Rosita tells them that the missing tourist was found and was safe.

The question then is: if the missing tourist has been found, whose body is in the well? Ragnar advises Carl and Helene to leave the property and move into a hotel rather than getting involved in any investigation. However, Helene secretly contacts the police, and before they leave for the hotel, police arrive. The interrogation eventually leads to Carl being arrested.

The body is identified as Tom, Scarlett’s brother, and the investigation starts pointing towards Carl. Carl, however, has a serious problem with blackouts and seems not to remember what happened on August 24. Helene claimed that Carl had visited their vacation house on that particular day at the beginning, when the police had come to their stay to ask about the missing tourist. Now his phone location also placed him in the area, and the evidence points against Carl. Whatsoever, Carl does not seem to remember anything!

The catch! Carl did not kill Tom. Tom was killed by his brother-in-law Adam, who was having an affair with Helene. When the relationship was discovered at Scarlett and Adam’s home some time ago, Adam pushed him during the confrontation, making him fall down the stairs, leaving his head injured and dead. Helene and Adam then decided to pin Carl as the murderer.

Why Did Adam and Helene Frame Carl?

Helene and Adam’s affair was not just about sneaking behind their partner’s back. Helene was pregnant with Adam’s child and not Carl. However, everyone was being made to believe that the baby was Carl’s; the plan was to get rid of Carl and make sure his wealth eventually came to Helene and the child.

Since Carl had a history of blackouts, framing him for Tom’s murder was assumed to be a considerably easy way out and his inability to recollect fed the story that was built around him by Adam and Helene. The phone location, the supposed visit to the vacation home, and Tom’s accident made for evidence against him, and Helene’s injury around the eyes strengthened the case, making an argument that he gets angry easily.

How Does Scarlett Find Out About Adam?

Scarlett is not entirely convinced by the accusation against Carl for her brother’s murder and finds something suspicious in the story of a man who supposedly committed a crime, going back to the same house where the crime had happened. She begins investigating with the help of Sylvia, their neighbour on the island, a retired woman with previous experience working to solve crime.

Following Adam, Scarlett discovers Adam’s secret phone in the woods, takes it over, and hands it over to Sylvia, who tells her that she has a friend who can break into the locked phone to retrieve messages. Once Sylvia gets access, she discovers from chats between Helene and Adam that they were involved in the murder.

Scarlett eventually confronts Adam about his affair, but things turn as Adam has already poisoned her drink. During the confrontation, Scarlett also opens up about Sylvia’s involvement, putting the latter in danger. Tom eventually goes and kills her. However, before the death, Sylvia manages to leave behind a voice message revealing Tom’s involvement, which becomes important later when Scarlett actually understands the betrayal and the danger she was in.

Carl Suspects Helene

On the other side of the story, Ragnar informs Carl that the police did not have the judge’s signature authorising them to investigate his phone, which meant that the evidence from the phone cannot be used against him, setting him free. He eventually heads to the hotel where Helene was staying but finds her looking rather comfortable, enjoying herself and appearing rather startled on his arrival. During their meal, Carl starts questioning the events that led to his arrest and becomes suspicious of Helene, sensing something is terribly wrong.

He goes into the washroom and leaves Ragnar a voice note telling him that something was wrong with Helene and that he was scared. He eventually hears noises from outside, and as he opens the door, Helene stabs him but makes it look like an act of self-defence.

Another twist comes as Helene believes that Carl’s death would lead to her accessing his wealth, but Ragnar twists the situation. He calls her to sign the papers to transfer the ownership of Carl’s wealth. But this time, to Ragnar, as he had Carl’s final voice note suspecting Helene, along with the noises of confrontation.

How Did Things End With Scarlett and Adam?

Scarlett, who was poisoned by the drink, eventually wakes up and finds Helene at the vacation house, not knowing the full extent of the involvement, and the latter helps Scarlett. Meanwhile, Adam also arrives, but Scarlett soon discovers the truth about Tom’s murder and Helene and Adam’s involvement.

Scarlett tries to escape, but Adam shuts the doors, trapping her inside. The two get into a physical confrontation during which Adam attempts to drown her. Believing that she is finally dead, Adam starts walking away, but Scarlett manages to grab the man by his leg, causing him to fall, hit his head on the floor and die. Scarlett turns towards Helene and asks her whether the child she is carrying belonged to Adam. On nodding yes, Scarlett let Helene go.

What Does A Couple of Lies Ending Mean?

The ending brings the series’ central deception into focus, revealing that infidelity, Tom’s accidental death and Carl’s blackout all become the pieces of a one-hundred-piece puzzle which was difficult to solve because of the manipulations happening.

Carl was framed because his condition made him an easy target; Adam’s involvement was kept hidden until Scarlett’s investigation began, and even the neighbour, Sylvia, paid the price for getting too close to the truth. Scarlett survives the murders and plotting, finally!

What do you think about A Couple of Lies (Bytet)? Tell us in the comments.

Watch A Couple of Lies on Netflix.

Also Read: