Merry Christmas ending explained: How did Jerome die?

Based on Frédéric Dard's French novel Le Monte-charge (Bird in a Cage), this slow-burn, Hitchcock-style mystery starts with a chance meeting between a man and a woman (as Hitchcock-style films often do). What begins as a sneaky yet serendipitous romance between Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) and a married woman named Maria (Katrina Kaif) grows complicated when the pair get closer, only to visit Maria's apartment one night and discover her husband Jerome is dead inside.

Albert is an ex-convict who's only just been released after serving time for killing his wife, but he's not the only suspect surrounding Jerome's apparent suicide.

Oh, and this all kicked off on Christmas Eve, in case you're wondering why the film is called Merry Christmas.

Twists and turns abound throughout until the third act – if you need a recap of those events read on to have the Merry Christmas ending explained with the warning that here are major spoilers from here on out.

Merry Christmas ending explained: How did Jerome die?

In the film's final act, Albert finds out that Maria had secretly constructed a replica version of her apartment that looks the exact same as the one Jerome died in. He's suspicious then, and rightly so, because Maria goes on to reveal that her husband didn't die by suicide, after all. Jerome was in fact murdered by her.

Maria drugged Jerome's drink and then used the connecting apartments, the real one and the replica one, to run off and kill her husband quickly with no one being any the wiser. The plan was to use Albert as an alibi so her whereabouts would be accounted for around the time of Jerome's so-called suicide

Albert is into Maria, so instead of turning her in as he should, the pair then scheme up a way to get Maria off the hook completely so they can run off and enjoy their happy ending together. The new plan is to destroy the replica apartment and all the evidence, including a wallet owned by Ronnie, Maria's neighbour, before heading off into the sunset. More on that wallet shortly. But when Albert's name comes up during the investigation, the police begin to suspect his involvement. With that past incarceration to consider, the cops are quick to bring him in for questioning to discuss the circumstances around Jerome's death.

Ronnie previously mentioned to the police that his wallet went missing around the same time Jerome died, which led them to wonder if perhaps a thief had broken into the building who stole the wallet and also killed Maria's husband at the same time. The police become pretty keen to find the wallet then, which just so happens to be with Albert when they bring him into the station. He was on the way to hiding it in a 'Lost & Found' box, but the cops found Albert instead before he could make it there and get rid of the evidence.

Knowing that Maria was the one who really killed Jerome, Albert decides to sacrifice himself for love, claiming that he was the murderer, not her, so she could escape justice and get away scot-free. That's when Albert shows everyone in the room Ronnie's wallet, thereby proving his guilt in the eyes of the law. As if that wasn't dramatic enough, Albert gives Maria his beloved ring as a declaration of his undying love for her before returning back to the prison which he left at the very start of the film.

With the movie coming to an end, it's safe to assume that Albert's plan has worked and Maria is free to raise Annie, her daughter, the right way. Whether their relationship will continue while he's behind bars remains unclear, plus the real killer is now loose, which makes this whole affair pretty downbeat compared to your standard Netflix Christmas flick. But in March, we'll take any festive fare we can get our hands on at this point. '

Tis the season whenever you want it to be, the facts be damned.

Merry Christmas is now streaming on Netflix. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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