Fool Me Once - Netflix - Question (SPOILER)

[RelaxedPigeon]

I've just finished watching this and enjoyed it a lot depsite some huge plot holes.

I don't understand something though and wondered if I'd missed something which would explain it. How did the nanny & her boyfriend (or how did Judith) know about the camera in the picture frame? Maya told the nanny about it AFTER seeing Joe on the video on the SD card. Was Eva somehow involved in the setting up of Maya? Maybe all this was explained, if so, I missed it!

Regarding the frame, I’m sure at some point the friend (Eva?) tells Maya that it was a huge mistake giving her the frame. Something about someone watching her through it, an ex-boyfriend I think but without rewatching I’m not sure of the exact connection. I may have completely imagined that whole scene!!

@lazzaroo it was her ex husband that had hacked her frame and was spying on her and therefore they realised you could do the same to hers, this was the one she pictured up and added to the family mantlepiece to live stream their confession / her death.

I agree, all that security and the gone finger print cupboard and no CCTV. Crazy! Also, so difficult to get an illegal / hidden gun. The police inspect your gun cupboard and storage in this country and they would have seen the hidden compartment (which was ridiculous in itself).

Also, the whole adopted son element was crazy if just using it to look around a school. Much better to have made an appointment for her existing son but not brought him to the school tour (very common!)

Also, the whole adopted son element was crazy if just using it to look around a school. Much better to have made an appointment for her existing son but not brought him to the school tour (very common!)

Yes! What was all that about?

I’m so tired of all these Harlan Coben adaptations which all seem to follow the same sort of plot, have plot holes wide enough to drive a bus through and have the same line up of dull, bland characters.

I tried to read one of his books once. The opening line was: 'Daisy wore a clingy black dress with a neckline so deep it could tutor philosophy.' 😬

Plus the adopted son seemed far too old to be starting a new school - the younger son would have been much more appropriate!

Here's the explanation about Shane by the author himself (on Twitter)

Well, taking to X (Twitter) was the writer of the novel - which the series was based on - who has finally explained Shane's role.
Harlan Coben himself explained: "Spoiler: You’re military police. Your best friend suffers PTSD. She is taking medication, lying to you, lost two close family members to murders, has you test a bullet — and says she’s seeing her dead husband.
"You might want to (track) keep an eye on her and her little girl…"

Ah. Great. I number of these bothered me.

Did we ever find out what the boat captain in the freezer had been spending his huge bribe money on? Because that was a LOT.

I've just finished watching it. There are so many plot holes and it's so unrealistic!

Surely everyone knows you can't have a funeral without a death certificate? Maya isn't thick, she'd know the Burkitt family solicitor was lying.

How do Maya and Shane get away with skiving from work all of the time? Maya left a trainee in a helicopter in the middle of nowhere. Are we supposed to believe he was cool with it and just carried on as normal without reporting her? How can Shane run around testing bullets and doing shady shit at work when he's hardly ever there? Maya just rocked up at the shooting place, fired a few bullets at a target and walked out - no signing in or out procedure, no safety precautions or recording that she'd handed the gun back properly.

Who has a big posh house like that and doesn't even bother getting a ring doorbell or a basic CCTV system? Especially a woman living on her own with a small child! You'd think someone from a military background would have all the fancy security gadgets.

All of the rushing around and aggressively confronting people was pretty ridiculous. Even more so when we later find out she knew what had happened. Why all the rushing around when she knew Joe killed Claire and that she'd killed Joe?

When Maya killed Joe, she stayed with him until the police arrived - surely they'd search her and take her statement as well as her clothing? Even if they didn't suspect her, it's routine to collect all evidence straight away in a murder case. Where the bloody hell did she hide the gun?

All of the red herrings meant that the story didn't make sense.

What was the relevance of the sister's ex from years ago and the son they had coming back on the scene?

Why did she take her long lost son to see a boarding school? She was only just starting to get to know him. If she needed an excuse to get into the school, surely she'd have taken her younger son - it would have been more believable. Her eldest son was like university age, wasn't he?

And what was the deal with that dead guy in the storage unit? He was living modestly with his wife so where was all his bribery money going?

Why did Caroline tell Maya the detective was being bribed when he wasn't?

All these things seemed unecessary and spoilt the series as it felt like we were being deceived and taken the piss out of as viewers. I quite like plot twists and things to trick the viewer when it's cleverly done but this just seemed like a clumsy attempt and there were too many things.

I've just finished watching the series now. I thought the half brother looked v similar to Corey the whistle so was expecting a twist to be that he was the dad at the end, and that's why he helped Claire out. That story went nowhere.

Just finished watching it and last episode in particular was hilarious especially at the end when MK was dying! Was not convinced with her acting 😆

Also the brother and sister were uber posh and perfect casting for JL children.. we really see the two siblings properly in the final episode but having seen RA in other things (as he was hardly in it here) I just can't see him be their sibling!!!! So that is totally off along with his age not matching up to 1996 school shots.

As a plus I loved JL and also Adeel Akhtar as Kierce, really superb acting especially the latter. I also loved his storyline of seeing his dead partner. he stole the show in my opinion.

Ep 7 - on no planet is Michelle Keegan a helicopter fighter pilot - and able to go about incognito. Beautiful flowing locks under a cap!

I can't decide whether I'm enjoying this or not. I also thought it was only 4 episodes when I started!

I thought it was rubbish & I struggled to get through it. Some very dodgy acting and just too silly & unbelievable.

I finished tonight. Hurrah! It was all over the shop (like the coppa who nearly killed the lad by having a wobble on the roof). Good fun I suppose. But not the best Harlan Coben adaptation.

This!! and everybody is saying that the bestfriend (eva) was paid off by Judith. But eva was the one who went to maya and told her that somebody had bugged her nanny cam and spied on her which is how maya found out that planting footage was possible! So i don't understand if eva was part of the plan why would she tell maya it was possible allowing her to find out that the footage of joe was fake?

Wasn't it Judith that had got the nanny and partner to create the image of the dead husband on the nanny-cam? How did she know that was possible? And if it was her, then why would she have had one herself and then been so shocked to realise it was there and recording the final shooting scene? 😕

Mia brought the nanny spy cam with her to record herself bring murdered. It was part of her suicide mission. I had totally forgotten about her friend to be honest.

It was so shit!! So many stupid 'red herrings' that just didn't tie together!

Why did Maya ask Judith if she'd seen Joe's body? And asking Eddie if her sister and husband were having an affair - she knew they weren't, so why put him through that?

Why would Claire even have gone to the school - she was supposed to be investigating the pharmaceutical company, not the longwinded tale of the teenage boys drunken murder.

Why would Claire have even got involved? The audio on the video wasn't that much more damning than the fact that Maya had killed civilians so it wasn't really worth suppressing, esp since she'd already lost her job.

Why didn't the police investigate:

Maya getting pepper sprayed
Maya exposing the coach's genitals in front of his students
Maya chasing someone in a helicopter
Allegations that a detective was being bribed

The money going to the detective was stupid - another 'lie' that was just glossed over it the last scene.

And why would Joe tell Maya that his brother killed himself when he was the one responsible for their friend's death? He created more suspicion that would ultimately reveal he was a murderer!

The situation with the photo frame was confusing but whoever gave it to her and when is nothing compared to the weirdness of Judith choosing to embroil two members of staff in a deep fake plan on the offchance that Maya would see the footage of Joe and suddenly confess to murdering him.
Esp considering that Joe presumably left some indication that he was worried about Claire uncovering their pharma shenanigans. It's such a needlessly complex way to achieve what?

And why did Maya do nothing to throw everyone off the scent considering she murdered her husband? She got everyone involved in the investigation despite knowing that it would lead to her!!

That was cathartic, but there are loads more issues with situations that were totally irrelevant in the end! I'm so furious that this was made without anyone giving the viewers credit for having even half a brain!

I've watched 'Into The Woods' which is a Polish adaptation of a HC novel, really enjoyed it. I liked MK in this. The little girl who played her daughter was so lovely and smiley.

Lily was the BEST thing about this series. Absolutely adorable.

Sorry I haven't RTFT so I don't know if anyone has asked this but what I want to know is why the hot Irish friend planted something (a tracking device?) on Maya's car? I think it was him, we see her come out the house when she hears something and we see him put something on her car, but nothing ever comes of it?

I thought they were going to throw in a friend secretly in love and obsessed with Maya storyline but it was just never mentioned again.

They didn't ever explain but I assume it was a red herring and he was just keeping an eye on her to keep her safe?

Finished this today. Also thought the same about the nanny cam and lots of the other points raised here. The characters just seemed so unlikeable and everyone’s actions were very unbelievable (Shane randomly letting himself into Maya’s house, police not doing anything about the pepper spray, no one noticing that a detective is hallucinating and having all those blackouts). Most were just caricatures and Maya all superior, exposing Joe as the murderer and evil at the end when she was just the same really was odd. I found I couldn’t care less what happened to any of them.

There were way too many characters.

Just finished this too and left with many questions.

Wouldn't Joe have checked his gun was suitably loaded/working before the park showdown?

Everyone lacked discretion.. Maya going straight to Judith with Caroline's info. And spouting off to the arcade staff from the off. DC Kierse telling Martin what Corey had disclosed in the cell.

Poor Lily as well. It seemed like she was written in for the nannycam angle and the writer didn't know what to do with her for the rest. Plus wouldn't you just co-sleep with your child in that situation?

I'm sure that the detective's dead ex hallucination said she was his AA sponsor in the first or second scene with him. Bit odd