Note: Major spoilers ahead for “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is now streaming on Netflix and, as is the case with any murder that requires Benoit Blanc’s attention, it gets a bit complicated. So, who really did it this time?
In Rian Johnson’s third installment of the “Knives Out” franchise, fans are taken to a rural church in upstate New York. Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) has been sent there after the former boxer lets a punch fly at church, and is now working under Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). This church is a bit off, though.
For one, its flock is incredibly small, and Wicks seemingly tries to keep it that way, driving out any new members. To do so, he stokes the anger and hatred in everyone, and during his sermons, he singles out newcomers, and shames them so fiercely that they simply walk out.
When Wicks suddenly turns up dead, everyone assumes his murder came at the hands of Jud. And so enters Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). But like we said, nothing is ever as it seems.
So, what really happened? We’re about to tell you, so consider this your final spoiler warning.
Who really killed Jefferson?
Reverend Jud isn’t the killer. This time, it’s Jefferson’s longtime assistant, Martha (Glenn Close). But she had a little help.
See, Martha knew a massive secret about Jefferson’s grandfather. When she was a child, she watched him swallow a huge diamond — dubbed “Eve’s Apple — that was the key to the Wicks family fortune. Martha held the secret for decades, until Jud unknowingly convinced her to confess to Jefferson. But when she did, she quickly realized that Wicks planned to retrieve the gem from his grandfather’s tomb.
Disappointed in his greed and his plans to continue spreading his hate, Martha planned Wicks’ murder with Nat (Jeremy Renner).
Nat spiked Wicks’ hidden flask with a tranquilizer and then, after Jud discovered the body, covertly stabbed Jefferson for real. When it came time for Wicks’ burial, Martha convinced the groundskeeper Samson (Thomas Haden Church) to go into the tomb in Wicks’ coffin instead, in order to retrieve the diamond. He agreed, because of his love for her.
The tomb was designed to be easily opened from the inside. So, after three days, Martha planned for Samson to emerge from the tomb, making it seem as though Wicks had been miraculously resurrected.
Why did Martha do it?
For all her failings, Martha was still devout. She wanted people to believe that Jefferson had risen again, to help restore their faith in the church without tarnishing their image of their religious leader.
Yes, Martha and Nat took the diamond, but Martha simply wanted to avoid seeing the diamond corrupt yet another person. Unfortunately, it did.
After seeing it, Nat attempted to take the diamond for himself, and tried to kill Martha. She outsmarted him though and got Nat to poison himself. She then staged a scene to make it appear as though a resurrected Jefferson had killed Nat by putting his body in a vat of acid.
What happened to Samson?
Alas, Jefferson wasn’t the only casualty in “Wake Up Dead Man.” After exiting the tomb, Samson wound up dead in the woods, seemingly killed by Jud also. But no, that murder also came at the hands of Nat.
What happens to Martha?
Consumed with guilt for what she’s done, Martha opts to poison herself. But, before she dies, she requests one last confession with Father Jud, to absolve her of her sins. She also sneakily delivers the diamond to Jud and Benoit Blanc.
What happens to the diamond?
At the end of the movie, Jud fashions a new wooden crucifix when he takes over the church and hides the diamond inside Christ’s chest.
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is now streaming on Netflix.
