Warning: this article touches on subject matter that some readers may find distressing

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HBO Max and BBC One drama The Girl Before was released as a box-set on BBC iPlayer on Sunday 19th December.

This means that BBC iPlayer users can easily binge the entirety of the four-part series in one go.

This will make it easier to keep track of all the twists and turns.

From the first episode, the series has followed two separate timelines, one focused on Jane (Gugu Mbatha-Raw in The Girl Before cast) in the present and day and one in the past focused on Emma (Jessica Plummer).

Jane moves into an ultra-minimalist house with a strict set of rules, designed by enigmatic architect Edward (David Oyelowo) - only to discover that her predecessor, Emma, died in the house three years ago.

As events unfold in both timelines we discover more and more about Emma and her troubled past, while in the present, Jane grows ever closer to Edward.

So, did Edward kill Emma at One Folgate Street? Or could her killer have been hiding in plain sight all along? And will Jane survive her stay in the high-tech and ultra-minimalist house?

So, we have unpacked the fourth instalment of the series, breaking down some of the key questions and theories that have come up after the events of The Girl Before finale.

How does The Girl Before end?

*Warning: major spoilers ahead for BBC One's The Girl Before finale*

What happened to Emma in The Girl Before?

The Girl Before
Jessica Plummer as the tragic Emma in The Girl Before BBC

In episode four, we finally learned the truth about Emma's experience of sexual assault, after she initially lied about her assailant's identity to the police.

When her ex-boyfriend Simon visited her at One Folgate Street following their break-up, she sat him down to tell him what had happened to her before they moved into the house.

It was her former boss Saul (played by Mark Stanley), rather than a burglar, who raped her at a hotel following a work function.

It was Saul who filmed the assault, later sending the video to Emma's phone (the same video the police found at the end of episode one).

How did Emma die and who killed her?

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 04/12/2021 - Programme Name: The Girl Before - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Behind The Scenes Simon (BEN HARDY) - (C) 42 - Photographer: Amanda Searle
Ben Hardy as Simon in The Girl Before

It wasn't just Edward who fell in love with both Emma and later Jane.

Simon, Emma's insecure ex-boyfriend, had been helping Jane in her investigation into architect Edward (who also dated Emma in the past and is still dating Jane in the present. Both women bear a striking resemblance to Edward's late wife).

Jane invites Simon over for dinner at One Folgate Street so that they can discuss the investigation. But things soon take a sinister turn, when it was revealed that it was Simon, not Edward, who had been sleeping in the service cupboard while Emma was alive, spying on her following their breakup.

It was also Simon, not Edward, who had begun to confuse the two women, telling Jane that when he first saw her, it was like meeting Emma again for the first time.

In a flashback, it's revealed that Simon tricked Emma by changing his contact details in her phone so that she believed it was Edward texting her and hoping to rekindle their relationship.

Simon showed up at the house (he had secretly got a second electronic bracelet made), and began threatening Emma, refusing to leave until she got back together with him.

He ripped the pearls she was wearing, before chasing her around the house in anger - until she fell down the stairs to her death.

How does Simon die?

Gugu Mbatha-Raw in The Girl Before
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jane in The Girl Before

In the present day, Simon also chases Jane around One Folgate Street in a fit of rage, confusing her with his late ex-girlfriend, Emma.

However, Jane manages to hit back at him, using the heavy string of pearls that Edward had gifted her (and that are identical to the ones he had gifted Emma previously).

This time, it's Simon who falls backwards down the stairs to his death, landing on the exact same spot where Emma had landed three years previously - and surrounded by tumbling pearls, after ripping Jane's necklace from her hands.

Jane calls Edward, who comes over to the house - and although he offers to help her cover up the death in order to avoid a trial, she decides to tell the truth to the police, including her findings about Emma and Saul.

We later see Saul being arrested at his place of work, taken away in handcuffs (presumably following Jane's full confession to the police).

Who did Edward kill in The Girl Before?

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 04/12/2021 - Programme Name: The Girl Before - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Ep4 Edward (DAVID OYELOWO) - (C) 42 - Photographer: Amanda Searle
The enigmatic architect Edward did not kill Emma

Edward had nothing to do with Emma's death, which was caused by her ex-boyfriend Simon.

However, he did inadvertently cause the deaths of his wife and child, reversing a truck in order to knock down a wall at a construction site - without realising that they were standing behind that same wall.

As Jane discovers, both Edward's late wife and child - Elizabeth and Max - are in fact buried at One Folgate Street, too, the same site where they died.

How does The Girl Before end?

David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessica Plummer in The Girl Before
David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessica Plummer in The Girl Before BBC

After he discovers that Jane is pregnant, Edward is determined that she should get an abortion, even escorting her to a clinic.

However, she instead leaves a letter for him, informing him that she is keeping their baby - before advising him to visit the therapist she has been seeing (the same one Emma visited three years ago), suggesting to him that he has unresolved grief and trauma about his family's death.

At the end of the episode, there are flash-forwards to Jane with her young son Toby, and starting a new job at charity organisation Stillbirth Action, while Edward is in a therapy session, just as Jane had advised him.

However, in the final moments of the episode, we also see a lettings agent showing an unseen prospective tenant around One Folgate Street, once again explaining the strict rules occupants must abide by...

Take a look at our other Drama coverage, or find out what else is on with our TV guide.

This year's Radio Times Christmas double issue is on sale now, featuring two weeks of TV, film and radio listings, reviews, features and interviews with the stars.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article please contact the Samaritans on 116123 for support or visit the website at www.samaritans.org.

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Or visit rapecrisis.org.uk. You can call 0808 802 9999 between 12 noon – 2.30pm and 7 – 9.30pm every day of the year for confidential support and/or information about your nearest services.

Authors

Flora CarrDrama Writer, RadioTimes.com
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