Warning: Spoilers ahead for “All Her Fault.”
“All Her Fault” is one thrilling ride, filled with kidnapping, deceit, twists and turns.
Peacock’s new thriller, released Nov. 6, follows Sarah Snook as Marissa Irvine, a businesswoman whose son, Milo (Duke McCloud), goes missing.
Marissa was scheduled to pick up her son from a playdate with his friend Jacob (Tayden Jax Ryan), whose mom is Jenny (Dakota Fanning). The two working moms were not close but had briefly bonded over the judgment they received from other mothers at their sons’ school.
Dakota Fanning as Jenny and Sarah Snook as Marissa Irvine on “All Her Fault.”PEACOCK / PEACOCK
The plan was for Jenny’s nanny Carrie (Sophia Lillis) to pick up the boys from school and they would play at Jenny’s home.
When Marissa arrives at the address she assumes is Jenny’s residence, another woman answers the door. She panics as she discovers the woman doesn’t have Milo and the phone number that texted her about the playdate is now disconnected.
Who Took Milo?
Carrie kidnaps Milo. She had been getting close to Milo’s nanny Ana (Kartiah Vergara) to get information on his home and family life.
Carrie is also not who she said she was. As the detectives investigate Carrie, they discover that she worked with an ex-con named Kyle (Dominic Masterson).
What Happened to Milo?
In the sixth episode, Milo is returned to the police station. The child is in good spirits and asks where Carrie is. He is questioned by Detective McConville (Michael Peña) and tells them that he and Carrie went on “vacation,” that he rode in the trunk of a car and he was with a man but then never saw him again.
As they leave the police station, Marissa asks McConville, “My son wasn’t found, he was returned? By who?”
Michael Peña as Detective Alcaras in “All Her Fault.”PEACOCK / Sarah Enticknap/PEACOCK
McConville and Detective Greco (Johnny Carr) later go to Marissa and her husband Peter’s (Jake Lacy) home to ask Milo more questions. After their visit, McConville tells Marissa, “Usually when a kidnapping victim is returned, it’s because a ransom has been paid.”
She tells him they never received a ransom demand, not knowing that her husband had.
Did Someone Pay a Ransom?
Jake Lacy as Peter and Sarah Snook as Marissa in “All Her Fault.”PEACOCK / Sarah Enticknap/PEACOCK
Not trusting Peter, Marissa snoops around the house and discovers a bag with cash.
“You got a ransom call? When?” she asks Peter, who says that he did get a call but never went ahead with delivering the cash because the person never called again.
He tells Marissa to not tell the police. But that still doesn’t answer the question of who returned Milo.
Who Was Really Behind Milo’s Kidnapping?
Carrie was behind Milo’s kidnapping — but there’s a very long and twisted explanation.
As the detectives continue to investigate Carrie’s whereabouts, Kyle is found dead. They also track down a woman named Irene Murphy who turns out to be Carrie’s mother. During their conversation with Irene, they find out that Carrie’s real name is Josephine “Josie” Murphy.
As new information rolls in, Marissa finds out that her business partner Colin (Jay Ellis) has been defrauding her company. Colin is a former gambling addict, who also happens to be dating Lia (Abby Elliott), Peter’s sister.
When Marissa confronts Colin, he admits that he relapsed and “lost big.” His bookie visited him during the Easter weekend when he and the whole family were on their group trip. That trip is significant because it’s when Milo’s favorite stuffed toy frog went missing. The toy was recovered the a hotel room that Carrie stayed in with Milo.
Colin, who has been moving around money to pay back his debt, didn’t think Milo’s disappearance was connected to his situation. However, Marissa shares that his bookie, named Rob Murphy, was found murdered. Turns out Rob is Irene’s ex-husband and Josie’s, or “Carrie’s,” father.
Who Is Carrie, AKA Josie?
Kartiah Vergara as Ana, Duke McCloud as Milo and Sophia Lillis as Carrie in “All Her Fault.”PEACOCK / Sarah Enticknap/PEACOCK
Josie’s backstory is revealed during the seventh episode, where viewers see a 16-year-old Josie finding out she’s pregnant and living in a trailer with her boyfriend. Poor and with little to their name, her boyfriend is arrested for trafficking drugs and she’s left all alone.
One scene shows a pregnant Josie angry and violently hitting her trailer. She’s then seen in a hospital bed with nurses telling her she lost her baby.
Josie moves in with her mom but the two have a tumultuous relationship. Irene is known for calling Josie “crazy.” When Josie spends time with her sketchy father Rob, she asks if she can live with him. He says no, but offers her a job for some extra cash.
As she starts to work with him, he takes her to the house where Colin and the Irvines were spending Easter weekend to give Colin a warning about his gambling debt. Josie tells her dad that maybe she can pay off Colin’s debt because she “used to see signs” and doesn’t want to “feel dead anymore.” After her dad calls her “crazy,” she begins to execute her kidnapping plan.
While her dad threatens Colin, she runs into Milo with his stuffed frog. Josie feels a connection to Milo and later begins researching Colin and Marissa’s family. She starts to follow them, learning everything she can about Milo and the Irvines.
Now going by “Carrie,” Josie interviews with Jenny to become their nanny. She deliberately befriends his nanny, Ana, and how they would spend time together after school.
Viewers also get the backstory on how she visited Kyle in jail. It turns out Kyle was her boyfriend and the father of her child. When he’s released from prison, he confronts her about kidnapping Milo.
He calls her “crazy,” only setting her off. At first Kyle is reluctant to help, but ends up helping Josie because she thinks Milo is her actual son.
In a flashback scene, it’s revealed that Milo and Josie’s son, Noah, were born on the same day. Josie did give birth to her baby but then got into a car accident. Nurses told her her son died, but Josie was adamant that her baby survived because she heard him crying. When finding out about Milo, she believed the hospital staff got the babies mixed up.
What Happened to Josie’s Baby?
After Milo is returned, Josie goes to Marissa and Peter’s home with a gun in her hand. Colin tries to take the gun from Josie, and she ends up shooting him. He dies.
Josie says she didn’t mean to hurt anyone but warns Marissa to keep Milo safe from Peter. Why?
When she tries to tell Marissa, Peter snatches the gun from Josie and shoots her. He pretends that it accidentally went off and he didn’t intend to kill her.
Before Josie was shot, she held up a phone with a voice recording that included Peter’s secret. It turns out he was behind the baby mix up. When Josie got into the car accident, she collided with Peter, Marissa and their newborn baby.
Peter believed that Marissa and Milo were dead when he called the police. He then heard Josie’s son crying in the back of her car and switched the babies.
“Our baby died?” Marissa says. “He wasn’t ours, he was hers.”
Peter says that he thought Josie was dead and could provide the baby with a better life. He tells Marissa not to tell the cops. She doesn’t.
What Happened to Kyle and Rob?
Josie had enlisted her father’s help after she was unable to get Milo a fake passport.
Seeing this as an opportunity to make some money, Rob is the one who ends up calling Peter about the ransom. When Kyle becomes connected to Carrie, his mugshot gets blasted by police and news outlets. Protecting his daughter, Rob shoots Kyle and doesn’t tell Josie.
Then one night, Josie finds her dad dead in their hotel room and Milo missing.
When Marissa listens to the voice recording Josie told her about, Peter is heard revealing his secret about switching the babies to Rob. Marissa also hears Peter killing Rob.
Marissa tells Peter she listened to the recording and he confesses to killing Rob and says he was the one to return Milo to the police station. He put Milo in the trunk of a car and made sure the boy didn’t see or hear anything traumatizing.
What Else Did Peter Lie to His Family About?
Daniel Monks as Brian, Abby Elliott as Lia and Jay Ellis as Colin in “All Her Fault.”PEACOCK / Sarah Enticknap/PEACOCK
Peter’s brother Brian (Daniel Monks), who is disabled, finds out that Peter lied to him about being a candidate for a surgery that could help him walk again.
When confronting Peter, Brian discovers (to the whole family’s surprise) that Peter was actually at fault for his life-changing accident. Peter originally made it seem as if Lia was the one that accidentally injured Brian when they were kids.
Peter reveals that when they were all playing, he stuck his foot out to trip Brian. It wasn’t his intention to hurt his brother, but he also didn’t clarify that it was his fault and not Lia’s. Since the accident, Lia has blamed herself for her brother’s disability and even struggled with addiction.
Does Peter Get Away With Josie’s Death and Secret?
Yes and no. Detectives are still skeptical about how Josie died, but they can’t prove that Peter killed her. Days pass and Peter informs Marissa that police have determined that Josie was killed in self defense.
Over the season, Marissa and Jenny get close. In the final episode, Marissa tells Jenny the whole story and that she’s scared to be with Peter.
“I don’t know how I can divorce him, knowing what he can do. I’m stuck, so what’s left?” Marissa says.
At Colin’s funeral, Marissa gives Peter something he is allergic to. Pretending like it was an accident, she also gives him an expired EpiPen and removes the emergency ones from their car. The ambulance is too far away and he dies.
Additionally, Detective McConville, who has a neurodivergent son, discovers that Josie and Milo both had synesthesia, a “phenomenon that causes sensory crossovers, such as tasting colors or feeling sounds,” according to Cleveland Clinic.
The first time Josie met Milo, they had bonded over being able to taste colors and see days of the week in color. McConville begins to investigate Josie, Peter and Marissa’s car accident again.
After Peter dies, Lia is questioned by the detectives about Marissa’s involvement in his death. Weeks later, McConville visits Marissa and tells her how both Milo and Josie have synesthesia. He also gives her a chance to confess that Peter switched the babies at the accident, killed Rob and put Milo in the trunk.
“And I’m guessing you had no idea what was happening until Josephine Murphy showed up to your house with a gun and told you,” he said. “And I know you were stuck… so you made some choices.”
He tells her the case is now closed, but he feels fine not getting confirmation — because he too would do anything for his child (including getting rid of criminal records to get his son into a special school).