The Innocent ending explained: Is Mat a killer?

The final episode of the thriller began with corrupt Special Crime Unit cop Teo Aguilar lying dead in the road after he shot himself, knowing that the video tapes made by nightclub owner Anibal would reveal he had engaged in orgies with underage girls and killed one of Anibal’s prostitutes.

Meanwhile, Kimmy was holding her former best friend Olivia captive at the warehouse where Anibal used to have them host the orgies, and Mat was trapped in a container there that handily had a glass window so he could see just what Kimmy had planned. Furious and feeling betrayed after she felt Olivia had abandoned her and had left her believing she was dead, Kimmy had arranged for former clients to come in and assault and rape Olivia as revenge.

Luckily, with the help of Mat’s private investigator friend Zoe, police detective Lorena Ortiz was on her way to the warehouse to rescue them. This didn’t go to plan, of course, and as naked men ran off to avoid being arrested, Kimmy pointed her gun at Lorena, only for Olivia to rush towards her just as another police officer fired his weapon at Kimmy.

Did Olivia survive?

Happily, the bullet only wounded Olivia, and it also missed her and Mat’s unborn child. At last, the pair were together and no longer had any secrets between them. Mat knew that Olivia was previously a dancer and sex worker for Anibal (whom she and Anibal’s girlfriend Emma killed and dumped in the sea before escaping), and that she had a daughter she gave up for adoption. And while Olivia already knew Mat didn’t intend to kill Dani, the man whose accidental death he was sentenced to four years in prison for, he finally promised her that he was also innocent of the murder of a fellow prisoner during his incarceration.

What happened to the tapes?

The tapes, made by Anibal, had been used to blackmail the powerful men featured on them, and cop Aguilar had been determined to recover them. In the previous episode, Aguilar’s police partner – unaware of Aguilar’s involvement – had retrieved the tapes from Olivia and Emma’s safety deposit box, and Olivia managed to escape with them when she realised who Aguilar was.

Eventually, the tapes ended up in Lorena’s safe hands. Aguilar’s boss, Colonel Prieto, demanded them from her, but Lorena refused to hand them over and instead gave them to her own boss as evidence (a great career move, as the solving of the case earned Lorena a promotion by the end of the series).

Is Anibal really dead?

Anibal in The Innocent (Netflix) — Netflix

Kimmy, Emma and Olivia were all frightened of Anibal, the club owner and pimp who had kept them captive for years. Olivia shot him while she and Emma were trying to escape, and the two of them dumped his wrapped body into the sea. However, Olivia wasn’t entirely certain he was dead when they pushed him from the boat, and it’s not until the final episode that his body is found.

A letter from Emma that ended up in police hands said she was the only one responsible for Anibal’s death, saving Olivia from prison.

Did Mat kill Gallardo and Saez?

Lorena discovered that a blurred fingerprint on the weapon that killed both crooked ex-cop Gallardo and nightclub thug Saez belonged to Mat. When she went to arrest him, he disappeared, and headed to the home of Jaime, Dani’s surgeon father, after realising it was Jaime who was framing him.

Luckily for anyone who was still confused as to who had killed who, and why, Jaime was in a chatty mood and confessed to Mat and his horrified wife Sonia that he was behind it all. Months before, he had spotted Mat at his hospital when he and Olivia had gone for their first baby scan, and was angry that Mat’s life had moved on while his own son was dead.

Determined to ruin Mat’s life and marriage and get him sent back to prison, he hired Gallardo and Saez to trick Olivia into handing over 50,000€ (the couple’s entire savings) for the chance to see her long lost daughter. They also drugged her in a hotel room and sent a video to Mat to make him believe she was cheating on him. When the thugs got greedy and wanted more money from Jaime, he killed them. He then rather cleverly copied one of Mat’s finger prints from his car door handle using sticky tape, and planted the print on the gun to incriminate Mat in the murders.

Jaime also confessed that it was he who hired an inmate to try and kill Mat in prison but the plan had failed. Disgusted by her husband, Sonia supported Mat and left with him. Jaime is later shown alone in prison while Mat is free, at home with Olivia and their newborn baby.

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Does Olivia ever find her daughter?

Yes. Before the end of the episode, Olivia is reunited with her daughter, Paula, and she is later shown at a 1^st birthday party for Olivia and Mat’s baby. One question remains, however – just where were Paula’s adoptive parents when she was travelling around Barcelona and Marbella, trying to track her birth mother down? Did they not wonder where she had gone?

Is Mat a killer?

So Jaime was behind it all. That means Mat didn’t kill anyone, right?

Not exactly. While Dani’s death years before was an accident, the final scene reveals what really happened to Mat in prison. Threatened by the inmate hired by Jaime, Mat defended himself. After a fight, he walked away from the attacker, but when the man attacked him again, Mat threw the inmate over the prison railings to his death.

So maybe he’s not such a nice guy, after all.

The Innocent is streaming now on Netflix – check out our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix. For more TV recommendations, visit our Drama hub and TV Guide.