‘The Thursday Murder Club’ ending explained
Like every good whodunit, The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix doesn’t waste time introducing the victim: Angela Hughes. The adaptation is set in the 1970s and revolves around an unlikely group of sleuths, hailing from the retirement community, Coopers Chase.
The murder which raises eyebrows is of a woman who plummeted from a second-floor window, with a sharp knife quite graphically puncturing through her white nightgown. It’s not long before the autopsy reports reveal the cause of her death, which is the gruesome stab that’s hard to forget. Yet, something worries Ron Ritchie, the funny guy of The Thursday Murder Club.
Apparently, the man who found the body could have stopped the blood shower. Moreover, this isn’t the only murder the retirees need to look into. Following a messy divorce, Coopers Chase co-owner Ian Ventham plans to earn money by selling the property to a developer, even after the residents’ contrasting opinions.
While Tony Curran, another Coopers Chase owner, stands against the idea, he ends up dead, too. A few days later, Ian turns up dead during a protest against the developers, making The Thursday Murder Club suspicious of a bigger conspiracy that has links to Ron’s son, Jason, notorious criminal Bobby Tanner and the club’s alumni, DCI Penny Gray.
Who is Penny Gray?
Currently in hospice, Penny Gray was actually a formidable local police officer, the only woman in the authorities in the 1970s. She is a friend of Elizabeth Best, who was also a part of The Thursday Murder Club, before she had to retire to bed following a heart attack. Her husband, John, takes care of Penny, who has lost her ability to speak.
Who is Bobby Tanner?
Bobby Tanner is the enigmatic third co-owner of Coopers Chase, whose true identity is revealed by The Thursday Murder Club and Donna de Freitas over the course of the Netflix film. With a crime chart that goes on and on, Elizabeth finally makes Bobby confess how the owners exploited illegal workers by holding their passports against their will.
Who kills Tony Curran?
Coopers Chase handyman, Bogdan, who seemingly appears harmless, ends up confessing to Tony Curran’s murder to Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen. It’s a revelation of lost calculation. While playing his routine chess match with Stephen, who’s slowly succumbing to dementia, Bogdan accidentally admits to killing Curran in a move he describes as self-defence.
The incident, more of a heated kerfuffle, happened when Bogdan asked for his passport back so he could visit his ailing mother in Poland. But what Bogdan fails to realise is that Stephen might be of age, but he is a man of habits. He records all his chess games in order to improve his skills. So, his confessions are ultimately recorded on the tapes, leading to his arrest.
What’s the truth behind Angela Hughes’s death? What’s Ian Ventham’s role?
Despite the resistance surrounding the development, Ian Ventham had ordered Bogdan to start digging up the property. For the longest time, the Thursday Murder Club kept wondering why Penny never pitched Angela’s case during her stay. But when Bogdan confesses to Tony’s murder, Elizabeth finally connects the dots.
Peter Mercer, Angela’s boyfriend, was the murderer who was let off by the boy-centric police force back in the day. However, Penny decided to get even on her own, killing Peter and burying him deep underneath the Coopers Chase cemetery.
If it weren’t for Ian, this secret would still be buried. However, John, desperate to protect his wife, decided to bury the findings on his own, injecting Ian with deadly fentanyl.
Do John and Penny end up in jail?
Elizabeth cracks the mystery and ultimately confronts John. However, they don’t end up behind bars. Instead, aware that John and Penny will inject fentanyl to avoid the legal holdbacks, Elizabeth bids adieu to her friends.
At their funeral, Penny’s TMC necklace is passed over to Joyce, who officially becomes a member. As for the fate of Coopers Chase, Bobby and Elizabeth come to a negotiation. So that she won’t give him up to the authorities, he agrees to sell Coopers Chase to a bidder they cannot say no to, Joanna, Joyce’s daughter.
The Thursday Murder Club culminates with Elizabeth and Stephen’s anniversary celebration, Ron and Jason enjoying a football match, and Joyce and Ibrahim reminiscing with photo albums.