The Girlfriend ending explained: True villain exposed in deadly finale

The bust-up follows months of tension between the two women, with The Girlfriend's compelling narrative structure offering conflicting perspectives on certain events – and leaving viewers to draw their own conclusions.

However, following the events of the sixth and final episode, you can expect a clearer outlook on who the real villain of the piece is, with the surprising revelations continuing to emerge until the very last moment.

If you're looking for clarification and insight into The Girlfriend's ending, read on for all the key events that unfold in the climactic chapter of Prime Video's brand new series.

The Girlfriend ending explained: True villain exposed in deadly finale

The Girlfriend ends on a bleak note as Laura is drowned by her own son, Daniel, in the swimming pool of her lavish London home.

After starting the series in a position of power and authority, Laura sees her influential status in Daniel’s life erode away as her rivalry with Cherry escalates.

The most damning blow comes when, purely by chance, Daniel (Laurie Davidson) and Cherry discover that she had orchestrated their separation by telling the latter that her son had died after his serious rock climbing accident.

The intense grief that Cherry struggles through suggests that her depth of feeling for Daniel is authentic – and he wastes no time trying to repair the relationship after Laura's deception is exposed.

In an extreme turning of the tables, Cherry ups the aggression of her campaign to ensure that she is the only woman in Daniel's life moving forward.

This includes smashing a champagne glass into her own head to frame Laura for assault and helping an ex-employee to smear her name on social media.

In a final blow, Cherry breaks into Laura's art gallery and vandalises an exhibition by her friend and lover, Lilith – effectively destroying the last sturdy relationship that she has left.

However, Laura only becomes more determined to bring Cherry down, even as her family and livelihood burns around her. Ever heard of the sunk-cost fallacy?

In a last-ditch effort, she goes to Cherry's mother, Tracey (Karen Henthorn), for an explanation of her daughter's shifty behaviour and mysterious past, including the life-altering injuries sustained by her father in an "accident" years earlier.

Tracey says that she will always protect her daughter, but alludes to Cherry's responsibility for her husband's current condition, having pushed him from a high-storey building site after witnessing years of his abuse.

At the time, Tracey helped her to construct a cover story, but watching Cherry indulge in the same dangerous behaviour all over again is clearly taking a heavy toll on her.

Having recorded their conversation, Laura lures Daniel back to their family home with the intention of presenting what she views as a smoking gun.

But believing his mother to be violent, dishonest and mentally unwell, he is resistant to hear anything that she has to say, which compels Laura to drug his whiskey in the pursuit of a captive audience.

In his docile, semi-conscious state, she attempts to play him the recording of Tracey's incriminating message, but Cherry breaks into the house to find Daniel and confront her would-be mother-in-law.

An intense stand-off soon escalates into a physical fight, which disturbs a dazed and confused Daniel, who stirs back to consciousness in the other room.

He races downstairs to his family's private swimming pool, where he finds Laura and Cherry engaged in a struggle in the water. Wading in, he separates the women and holds a frantic Laura under the surface.

It seems that he does not intend to drown his mother, but doesn't realise how long she has been under water or how desperately she is struggling for air – due to his partially sedated state.

When the scuffle ceases, a terrible quiet dawns on both Daniel and Cherry as they realise that Laura has died – although, in all honesty, one of them is probably far sadder about it than the other.

After all, Cherry has essentially won exactly what she wanted: Daniel's undivided attention and a secure place in his affluent family. Or has she?

In the tradition of many sinister thrillers before it, The Girlfriend ends with a last-minute revelation that throws everything into uncertainty.

One year on from the misery, Daniel and Cherry are seen on a radiant summer afternoon in the garden of his father's London home.

Daniel and Cherry are happily married and expecting their first child. Clearly, their relationship has only deepened after 12 months without Laura's persistent interventions.

Yet, when Daniel enters the kitchen for refreshments, he notices his late mother's cat attempting to reach something that has slid underneath a small cabinet.

The item: a phone. Specifically, Laura's phone, which had flown across the room during the scuffle with Cherry minutes before her tragic demise.

Plugging it in to reboot, Daniel peruses the recent photos on the device and discovers a video recorded by Laura on the day of her death, spliced with the covertly attained audio from her conversation with Tracey.

It appears that Tracey's conscience could no longer bear the increasingly callous behaviour that Cherry was exhibiting, and the recording gives a candid verdict on who her daughter really is.

"When she has her sights set on something, you better not interfere or God help you. As you've seen for yourself, Laura, she'll glass herself in the face just to win – but believe me, she's done worse," a tearful Tracey says.

She concludes: "You tell your son: Don't be fooled by the good times because sooner or later she'll want something from you that you're not prepared to give and then, well... she'll find a way to get rid of you."

In a moment, everything Daniel thought he knew comes crashing down.

His beloved mother, whom he killed (albeit, accidentally), was correct to mistrust the girlfriend he'd brought into their lives, who he now knows to be a genuine danger to everything he has left.

And now, if he ever tries to put an end to their relationship, it could be him who ends up in her crosshairs next.

The Girlfriend is available to stream on Prime Video.

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