Credit: Lander Larrañaga / Netflix

Netflix’s newest Sherlock Holmes-inspired series, The Final Problem, leaves viewers guessing the killer throughout.

Set in 1959 on a secluded island coast off Mallorca, the Netflix series opens with an inciting incident: the death of quiet English tourist Elisa Mander, which looks like a suicide but is far more than meets the eye. With no way off the island because of the violent rainstorm, all 13 people stranded become suspects, making it increasingly difficult to pinpoint who the killer could be.

Enters Basil, a veteran actor who portrayed the Victorian-era detective Sherlock Holmes on screen, who puts on his detective hat and uses his fictional detective skills to track down the perpetrator before more people end up in a body bag.

Although the series is packed with multiple red herrings that stretch the investigation to play with viewers’ minds, is the actual killer ever really found?

Who is the real killer in The Final Problem?

The Final Problem is a tightly packed investigative drama framed in a locked-room mystery where the killer is constantly evasive. While most clues suggest Francisco Foxá, the crime writer, the truth is different and only comes to light in the third episode. So, bring on the drumrolls if you may; the real killer who has been throwing dust in everyone’s eyes is actually Adela, but not the real one.

The unmasking is frankly shocking, considering the assistance she provides Basil in the case and the fact that she had been close with Elisa, one of the many victims in the murder mystery. However, the killings that take place are not without reason. When Basil lures Adela to offer her a rundown of his findings, we learn that Adela and Elisa arrived on the isolated island around the same time.

But they swapped identities to live different lives. Adela, or Elisa, shall we say, was envious of the real Adela’s reputation, prestige, and fortune, having come from a background where struggle was the only way of life. And even then, that didn’t guarantee success. To make things worse, the original Adela never really looked up to her. So, driven by bitterness and jealousy, she killed Adela.

Although Dr Seruya closed in on the case, she killed him as well to shut him down. However, Elisa orchestrated the entire plan to exact revenge on Sr Klemmer, who shares a bitter past with her husband, having ostracised the latter in more ways than one during the holocaust. Since Klemmer got away with it, Elisa decided to take matters into her own hands.

Elisa originally planned the trip and the identity swap to cover her tracks after getting rid of Klemmer. However, nature and life clearly had other plans.