What Really Happened Between Catherine and Jonathan (and How Much Is the Show Lying About It?)

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Disclaimer episode 6.

Apple’s mystery-thriller series Disclaimer depicts a heated affair between Jonathan and Catherine that leads to a tragic death. Cate Blanchett leads a talented cast of Disclaimer as Catherine Ravenscroft, an acclaimed and hard-working television documentary journalist from London, England. Catherine’s world unravels when a mysterious novel titled The perfect stranger arrives at your doorbringing back memories of one of his deepest, darkest secrets. Disclaimer also stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Robert, Catherine’s husband, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nicholas, Robert and Catherine’s son, and Kevin Kline as Stephen Brigstocke, a local Londoner who lost his wife and son.

Created by Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón, Disclaimer is based on the 2015 book of the same name written by Renée Knight. The show offers a twisted and convoluted narrative that obfuscates the truth, telling a story within a story where viewers are left trying to discern between fact and fiction. The only thing that’s certain, really, is that Jonathan Ravenscroft (Louis Partridge) died while on vacation in Italy.But Catherine’s role, and what really happened between them, is still not entirely clear after episode 6, although the picture is clearing up in the seventh and final episode.

Catherine vs. Nancy: Which Jonathan is the real one?

The two versions of it are completely different

After six episodes of Disclaimerthere are many doubts about the events that take place in the Italian scenes regarding their accuracy. The biggest consideration of all, which seems to be the central point of the show, is the questioning of reality and truth through the lens of perspective and prejudice.

In the first few episodes, the way Jonathan and Catherine’s characters are portrayed in the Italian scenes makes it seem like they are characters from their own novel, living out scripted scenes in real time. This dynamic, combined with the bright, divine tone, brilliant paradisiacal visuals, and opening and closing irises take us in and out of each flashback. implies that the scenes in Italy are highly romanticized and dramatized, which may ultimately mean that they are also somewhat manufactured.

Disclaimer episode 6 begins to shift the perspective, as we finally begin to hear Catherine’s account of things, which she tells Nicholas, who remains unconscious in the hospital. It shows that the photos of Catherine on the beach were not posed, but simply her adjusting her bikini, while Jonathan spied on her. This version of Jonathan seems scarier, bordering on stalkerish, as when he sits across from her at the bar. She admits to being excited about his interest, but also nervous. There is no suggestion of her initiating anything, nor inviting him to her room.

At this point, it’s up to the audience to decide what the truth is, but that tilts in favor of Catherine’s story. A key difference is that we hear Blanchett narrating these events, recalling a clear memory. In contrast, the earlier scenes, apparently taken from The perfect strangerIt’s more like we’re watching a history unfold. What actually happened is still up in the air for now, but Disclaimer is apparently heading towards a bigger reveal about Jonathan, and that the book version, Nancy’s version, is a work of fiction.

Did Jonathan really die from drowning after saving Nicholas?

Could there be more to it?

Disclaimer Episode 4 depicts Jonathan’s death by drowning in the Mediterranean Sea after trying to save Catherine’s 4-year-old son, Nicholas, who is trapped in deep water in an inflatable raft. Although the series makes it seem like this is what really happened, there are some doubt due to the increasingly unreliable perspective of The Perfect Stranger authorNancy, disguised as EJ Preston. Although Stephen never explains why he chose the pseudonym, EJ Preston, it’s obvious that he doesn’t want to draw real-life attention to himself, but rather to use the book as a means of destroying Catherine’s life. Both Nancy and Stephen believe this is how Stephen died, but Catherine may know a more precise truth.

Stephen, who did not change Nancy’s draft The perfect stranger either way, he is under the impression that Nancy somehow discovered the truth about Catherine and Jonathan and wrote the manuscript to expose it. He never considered that his wife wrote the novel as an expression of grief and a way of coping with the terrible loss of her son, finding relief and even pleasure in making Catherine a monstrous enemy who seduced and discarded her poor son. . Stephen also raises questions about the mysterious and potentially unresolved aspects of Jonathan’s death.one is that Jonathan did not appear to have drowned because his face was not swollen.

Even though Jonathan died from drowning, there’s a good chance there’s more to the story that hasn’t been shown (or truthfully told) yet. It could be that he wasn’t actually saving Nicholas and his death wasn’t all that heroic, or, instead, it could be the circumstances leading up to it and after it – namely, Catherine’s actions – changing the truth of what happened. .

Why Catherine didn’t tell anyone that Jonathan was still in the ocean

Catherine realized that Jonathan wouldn’t be a problem if he was dead

Catherine is the first to spot Jonathan struggling to stay afloat at sea, but does nothing but watch from afar for at least a minute. This could have made all the difference in the world, as Jonathan was almost saved by lifeguards, according to the description of events in Disclaimer episode 4. Catherine strangely remains silent with a contemplative look on her face, indicating that she is briefly wondering if she should say something. She determines that having Jonathan dead is more advantageous than keep it alive.

The point is to show how callous Catherine really is and how little she cared about Jonathan in the first place, who proved he wouldn’t take no for an answer and was determined to fall in love with Catherine in London. Of course, that’s what Nancy saw The perfect strangerwants us to think. It’s possible that Catherine wasn’t as involved in Jonathan’s death, or had a different reason for letting him drown: if he was stalking her – and perhaps it went beyond that – then she may have been scared of him, which resulted in his inaction as he died.

What was the mark on Jonathan’s arm?

The cut could lead to the truth about Jonathan’s death

The biggest clue as to what really could have happened to Jonathan is the mysterious cut on the inside of his right forearm. It is first noticed by his father, Stephen, as he and his wife Nancy observe Jonathan’s body in Italy to confirm his identity. Jonathan could have been cut from the switchblade Stephen gave himwhich is seen during two crucial scenes in Disclaimer when Stephen finds Nancy’s manuscript and when Stephen and Nancy collect Jonathan’s belongings in Italy. While Jonathan may have been cut while trying to save Nicholas, it’s also entirely possible that the cut represents an entirely different, more accurate sequence of events that connects to Catherine and the switchblade.

What happened to Catherine and Jonathan was extremely traumatic

Catherine’s reaction strongly suggests there’s more to it than that

Based on Catherine’s response to reading The perfect strangerwhich the series portrays with flashes of sensual photographs and uncontrollable vomiting, it is clear that everything that happened between Catherine and Jonathan was very traumatic. She has a similar meltdown when Robert confronts her about it, far beyond simply being defensive about an extramarital affair.

Although it is difficult to determine exactly why Catherine responds this way, she is likely overcome with sadness over what is certainly the worst case of her life, or she is disgusted by the idea of ​​having your dirty laundry printed and distributed as a paperback. The biggest mystery next to what happened to Jonathan is what exactly happened to Catherine during these events. As episode 6 begins to hint, there’s a darker truth here, whether it’s Jonathan stalking her or assaulting her, which should be revealed at the end.

Why are the photos so harmful to Catherine

Why is everyone so quick to accept that this is what really happened?

Catherine had probably never seen Jonathan’s photos of her before and believed they would remain eternally undeveloped. Viewing the photographs creates a new monster that Catherine, almost 20 years after the events in Italy and Jonathan’s death, thought could not have existed. Catherine buried her involvement in the affair with Jonathan himselfreturning to her successful life and marriage in London, away from her betrayal in Italy. The photographs not only unearth a dark secret about Catherine’s past, but also about her identity and her view of her place in the world.

If what happened in The perfect stranger were the truth, so what Disclaimer What it’s saying is that she thought she got away with it and now that she’s been exposed, she can no longer carry her selfish air of invincibility. Yet given her traumatic response, it’s also plausible that the photos are so damaging because of what they remind her of, unearthing a past she worked hard to close.

What’s particularly interesting about the photos, the book, and Stephen’s story in general is how quickly everyone accepts this narrative. Until episode 6, Catherine is unable to tell her side of the story; no one wants to hear it or hesitates to question whether this is true. This speaks to the compelling story that Nancy has created, and could be a commentary on “cancel culture”: it looks like Catherine may lose her job as things at work get worse, and the show may be trying to emphasize how quickly people can be judgmental without knowing all the facts.

It’s also, more specifically, an issue about women’s voices not being heard, which seems more telling. Nancy’s voice is only heard when her husband publishes the book; Catherine’s story is only told when she sits with her unconscious son. Even more so for Catherine, there can be a lot of bitterness, jealousy and rivalry in her relationships, both at work and at home: her husband and colleagues resent her, quickly seizing the opportunity to tear her down.

How does Jonathan’s mother know so much about what happened?

It is likely that Nancy filled in the gaps in the story with her pain and suffering

While there were obviously news and police reports about Jonathan’s death for Nancy to draw information from, she seems so smug and knowledgeable about everything in an intense and mysterious way. Your convictions regarding Catherine, that she’s some demon that showed up and took her son awayis clearly written from a place of pain, as Catherine points out in her voicemail to Stephen in Disclaimer episode 4. Since Nancy only has secondary sources of reports and photographs to draw from, it is entirely plausible that she filled in the gaps in the narrative with her own speculations and fiction as a way of finding comfort and someone to blame Disclaimer.

What happened between Jonathan and Catherine in the book

Book spoilers ahead, although the show may be different

Node Disclaimer book, it is revealed later in the story what really happened between Jonathan and Catherine in Italy: he sexually assaulted her. As Catherine began to reveal on the show, he stalked her on vacation – in the book, it’s Spain – and then assaulted her in her hotel room. There was no affair, no flirting between them or hint of romance. She never wanted to tell her story, but was forced to by Stephen’s actions. It’s a harrowing turn of events, and although Disclaimer may be different, the setup of episode 6 seems to be laying the groundwork for this to be true in the series as well.