If you’re afan of crime and comedy then look no furtherthan Peacock original seriesBased on a True Story. Starring Kaley Cuoco as Ava and Chris Messina as Nathan, together this couple gets themselves entangled in a strange situation with a serial killer. Ava being a true crime fanatic, cracks the case of who the West Side Ripper serial killer is, and plot twist, it’s their plumber. She then pitches a crazy idea to Nathan about making a deal with Matt to do a podcast with him to compete with the top true-crime podcasts and bring in some extra money. Nathan, who is a former tennis player, has befriended Matt, prior to knowing who he really is, but ends up unable to say no to Ava after he is demoted as a tennis coach as pickleball makes its way into the scene.
The troublesome threesome make the podcast. Then find themselves in a rather unconventional scenario as Matt fights his urge to kill again, but continues to pitch the idea as new content for the podcast. Meanwhile, Ava and Nathan struggle to maintain control of a rather messy and morally dicey situation. And to make it even more challenging, Ava is several months pregnant and the two parents-to-be are less than focused on preparing for their new child. Despite the twists and turns of the first season,there is a lot from the finale to unpack, so let’s dive into what the ending means for Ava and Nathan and where it leaves them for a possible second season.
Disposing of Ruby’s Body
Matt, true to his nature isunable to resist the urge to kill again. Although this time, he claims to kill for the sake of the group, not just himself. Ruby, Ava’s friend and fellow true crime junkie, discovers that they are the creators of theBased on a True Storypodcast and blackmails Ava. She wants in on the podcast, otherwise, she will expose their true identities and have them all arrested.
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When the group is unable to reason with her, Matt decides to take matters into his own hands and kills her. The kicker is that he doesn’t inform Ava and Nathan of his decision and actually leaves the body for them to find and dispose of. He does this to ensure that they are all in this together and wants to make sure that Ava and Nathan are as committed to the project as he is. And they do get rid of the body. Ava and Nathan (after much freaking out) figure out how to dispose of Ruby and seem to have no plans of stopping things now that they’ve gotten out of hand.
Simon Catches Ava and Nathan
In the process of disposing of Ruby’s body, Ava and Nathan nearly get caught when Simon (Ruby’s husband) shows up unannounced to apologize to Nathan for killing his dog. With Ruby’sbody in the trunk of the car, and her cell phone ringing, Simon becomes suspicious, but Nathan is able to deter Simon away from the situation long enough that he doesn’t discover what, or rather who is being hidden in the trunk. Unfortunately, Simon rolls around once more at the very end while Nathan and Ava are cleaning up Ruby’s blood from the floor of their new house. Prompting Simon to ask, “Whose blood is that?”
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This is the final scene of the season which leaves us all to wonder if Ava and Nathan have been caught or if they’ll be able to talk their way out of the situation. Of course, it is highly possible that Simon already knows that Ruby is missing and perhaps dead if she did indeed tell him that she knew who the West Side Ripper was and who the creators of the podcast were. It is natural to assume that if there is a second season, Simon will continue to be a nuisance to Ava, Nathan, and Matt. However, the question remains: what will they do about him?
Tory Has a Secret Boyfriend
In the finale, we also learn that Tory (Ava’s sister) has a secret boyfriend and most certainly one that Ava and Nathan would not approve of: Matt. We see them kiss rather passionately and make their way to Tory’s bedroom, but we don’t know for sure the extent of their relationship yet, how serious it is, nor do we know how long it has been going on. Although, we can assume that it started rather early in the show when Tory first begins showing interest in Matt while he is fixing their plumbing. The two aren’t shown interacting much otherwise, but obviously, there has been a lot occurring off-screen and the two have developed a sexual relationship at the least.
This of course leads us to wonder if they will reveal their relationship to Ava and Nathan in the second season and how this will affect Ava’s resolve to continue doing the podcast, especially if her sister’s life is at risk. Or perhaps Matt has developed the relationship as insurance so that he can continue to control Ava and Nathan andkeep them under his thumb with the looming threatof harming Tory. With so much left unknown, a second season is undoubtedly set up as we are left with so many loose ends in the finale ofBased on a True Story.
