Apples Never Fall author explains how TV series ending differs from book
There's a big difference with Savannah's story.
*Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the ending of Apples Never Fall.*
If you've been tuning into BBC One every Saturday evening like we have, you'll undoubtedly have been glued to your screens for Apples Never Fall.
The twisty, turn-y thriller unfolded across previous weeks taking us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as we sought to find out what exactly happened to Joy Delaney (Annette Bening).
After last being seen riding happily on her bike, the next we saw was blood left on the ground and no trace of Joy to be seen. Soon, her family were thrust into the spotlight but also, quickly proved to not be the picture-perfect family they led everyone to believe they were.
The ending of the series sees Joy return to her family – alive – and we find out that actually, when she was ringing her children in her time of need, she found solace in enigmatic stranger Savannah (Georgia Flood) once again.
But it was soon revealed that Savannah wasn't who she claimed to be and was actually out on a revenge mission against the Delaney's for her own personal vendetta. The ending of the series saw Savannah crash her car with Joy in it, leaving Joy for dead on the road but escaping unscathed.
It's a pretty open ending when it comes to Savannah, especially seeing as her vendetta wasn't exactly resolved and her actions are wholly unpredictable. It turns out, though, that the ending of the series is quite different from the original novel penned by Liane Moriarty.
Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com on the release of her latest novel, Here One Moment, Moriarty explained the differences with Savannah's portrayal, saying: "It had quite a different ending."
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She explained: "Savannah had a lot more of a story in the book, but I understand it’s a different medium and changes are always made. Sometimes I actually, as a viewer, I enjoy watching the parts that I don’t know anything about because then I just watch it as a normal viewer.
"They’re just two different things, different art forms.”
Of course, with any TV adaptation of Moriarty's, it comes with its own fair share of comparisons to HBO hit series, Big Little Lies, which was also based on Moriarty's 2014 novel.
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But it's a comparison that Moriarty wish didn't exist when it comes to seeing her tales unfold on the screen. She said: "Yeah, I think everything should just stand on its own but I guess it’s just natural that because Big Little Lies was such a success.
"Ideally – it’s the same with my books – I would prefer everything just stood on its own. They’re two totally different stories so yeah, I’d prefer they weren't compared.”
Apples Never Fall is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
