A Mother's Son ending: Netflix viewers split over killer reveal as Rosie learns the truth
Schoolgirl Lorraine was brutally stabbed to death in the chilling dramaA Mother’s Son has found a fresh audience after dropping onto Netflix and the chilling crime drama’s ending has new viewers reeling.
The chilling two-parter – which originally aired on ITV in 2012 – explores the murder of teenage girl Lorraine, who is stabbed to death in the picture-perfect costal town of East Lee, and a mother’s horrified suspicions that her son may be the culprit.
Hermione Norris is a typically class act as fraught mum Rosie, with Martin Clunes starring – and sometimes sparring – with her as partner, Ben. Paul McGann plays David Cutler, Rosie’s ex husband and Jamie’s father.
Nicola Walker completes the stellar leads line-up as Detective Constable Sue Upton in the A Mother’s Son cast.
Read on for a full explainer on the ending to the tense drama…
Why did Rosie suspect son Jamie was the killer?
Apparent evidence began to stack up early. The discovery of Jamie’s trainers with blood on… his ‘step sister’ accusing him of snooping on her when she was in the shower… that load of washing done on a ‘heavy soil’ cycle by someone.
Jamie tried to assure his mum and Ben that the blood on his trainers was not human, but had come from him kicking a dead fox. And she obviously wanted to believe him…
But she told ex husband David: “I saw a look in his eyes yesterday I’ve never seen before.”
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Who killed schoolgirl Lorraine in A Mother’s Son?
*** Warning – spoilers ahead ***
Unfortunately for Rosie, her suspicions about son Jamie were founded – he was the killer. Towards the end of the second episode, he confessed to stabbing Lorraine after she refused to have sex with him, and laughed at him.
Jamie couldn’t hide his contempt as he said that she’d willingly ‘screwed dog’ Sean – his so-called friend he was prepared to see take the blame for the murder – but turned him down.
Jamie admitted he didn’t know what had led him to become capable of murder, and had wondered whether it was due to his parents… or porn… or weed.
Then, he said through tears: “In the end I just think it’s me, in the end I just think I’m a bad person and I’m sorry for that, and for Lorraine and her parents, and you and Dad. But, in the end, that’s all I can give you.”
So Jamie’s friend Sean was totally innocent?
He certainly was not guilty of killing Lorraine. The fact he had previously been in the frame for the indecent assault of a teen girl, and his DNA was on Lorraine’s body, was very convenient for Jamie, who was happy to let him figuratively swing. However, ultimately he had a watertight alibi that proved he couldn’t have been at the scene of the murder as it happened.
Why did Rosie turn Jamie in to police?
Because it was the right thing to do! She had seemingly been lying to herself until he confessed; it’s fair to assume deep down she knew there was a strong chance Jamie was guilty – why else hide the fact she’d found the bloodied trainers from Ben for a week? And why be so perturbed that someone had used the washing machine, and on a setting for heavily stained clothing?
In the closing scenes of A Mother’s Son, Rosie told Jamie: “I can’t believe you are a bad person but you have done a very bad thing, for which you need to be punished.” She then drove him to the police station and said: “I’ll always love you, you’re my son,” before they walked into the police station hand in hand, Rosie in tears.
Who wrote A Mother’s Son – is it based on a true story?
Some viewers have wondered if A Mother’s Son is based on real events but it’s actually a story from the mind of the rather brilliant writer Chris Lang.
Many crime drama fans will be familiar with his other work Unforgotten – which also starred Nicola Walker as a cop – and Innocent; both drama series aired on ITV first, just as A Mother’s Son did. Unforgotten series 7 is currently in development.
A Mother’s Son ending divides viewers
Some viewers felt short-changed because the drama set up Jamie as the prime suspect from the outset. And the killer indeed turned out to be him. They’d been hoping for a twist, not least because the drama hinted at his ‘step brother’ Rob acting suspiciously. (Although the drama later explained this as his fears that Jamie was the killer).
As one viewer summed it up for those in the disappointed camp: “Was expecting more of a plot twist… seemed too obvious that Jamie was the murderer.”
But other viewers appreciated this drama was much more about the psychological impact on mum Rosie suspecting and then realising her son was a killer, and the difficulties faced by blended families when life really gets tough, rather than a twisty-turny whodunit.
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