Warning: If you haven’t finished Season 1 of The Residence, turn back now. Spoilers are about to drop faster than A.B. Wynter. (What, too soon?)
When it comes to murder mysteries like Netflix‘s The Residence, the killer always ends up being the person you least expected… unless it’s exactly who you expected, in which case, congratulations. Maybe you should consider going into detective work.
After seven episodes of interrogations, revelations and birding (so much birding!), the Shondaland comedy finally exposes the person responsible for killing White House chief usher A.B. Wynter. Naturally, Uzo Aduba‘s ace detective Cordelia Cupp makes a meal out of the big reveal, gathering every potential suspect for a spectacularly thorough reenactment of the fateful night.
In the end, we learn that the heinous act was committed by none other than Lilly Schumacher, President Morgan’s social secretary, played by Molly Griggs (Servant). As Cordelia explains in her masterful speech, even though every member of the White House staff fought with A.B. at some point — or at many points, more specifically — they were all fundamentally working towards a common goal, unlike Lilly.
“It wasn’t ‘us vs. them’ for Wynter, it really wasn’t,” Cordelia says in the finale. “It was just us. One house, one family, one imperfect union trying to make it work. Enduring. He believed in that, in this. And look, I’m just the detective, but I think this is really worth believing in. And she does not believe in this, and that is why she really, really sucks. Also, she’s a murderer.”
With the case closed, Cordelia departs our nation’s capital for another birding expedition. Now to tackle some of the questions you’re probably asking right now: Will The Residence get a second season? And if so, will it center around another White House murder, or will Detective Cupp find herself sleuthing in a new locale?
To answer the first question, Netflix hasn’t officially renewed The Residence for Season 2, but given the pedigree (Shondaland, hello?), as well as the show’s apparent popularity among subscribers, it’s a fair bet that we’ll be seeing Cordelia again. In what setting, however, remains anyone’s guess.
“I really do hope that I have the opportunity to tell more stories with it, and I think it would start with Cordelia,” series creator Paul William Davies tells TVLine. “She’s Cordelia Cup, she’s the sun around which everything else revolves. So whether it’s more in the White House or somewhere else, I really do think there’s more story to tell with her. I’ve got ideas, so I hope people respond to her and [to the show], and then we can do it.”
OK, let’s talk: Did you correctly deduce that Lilly killed A.B., or were you surprised by the big finale reveal? And if you were surprised, were you disappointed? Grade the first season of The Residence below, then drop a comment with your hopes for the show’s future.
