Talk about a twist! If you’ve reached the end of your binge of Devil In Ohio as just about everyone with a Netflix subscription is getting to this week (considering it's been a top trending series in September), then it’s time to talk about how the miniseries' ending. Viewers more than likely had thoughts and, on that token, series star Emily Deschanel shared just how she reacted to the finale's final moments.
At the end of Devil In Ohio, Emily Deschanel’s character, Dr. Suzanne Mathis, saves Mae (Madeleine Arthur) from the satanic cult that she’s lived in her whole life. However, the lead character did this at the cost of tearing her family apart. The series eventually jumps to Thanksgiving Day, where Suzanne’s husband and kids are having a separate celebration from her and Mae. While the latter two enjoy a meal, Suzanne receives a call from the detective on her case, and he tells her that he's learned that Mae had set up her return to the cult in order to get Suzanne to save her with a bouquet of white roses.
The final scene has Suzanne sitting back down to their Thanksgiving dinner and visibly mortified that Mae manipulated her into becoming her pseudo mother. And while speaking with CinemaBlend, the show's leading lady revealed that she had a somewhat similar reaction:
I am someone who predicts a lot of twists and turns in shows. I'm always leaning over to my husband, like ‘She's blind!’ or whatever, and then it's revealed that she's blind a scene later or whatever. So I loved it cause I did not predict it. And so I love being surprised when I'm watching something. And then also, it was such a juicy kind of moment to play as actors and what a huge reveal… I thought it was really kind of juicy and interesting.
The actress is best known for headlining mystery series Bones for twelve seasons, with Emily Deschanel's show coming to an emotional close back in 2017. With that, she’s usually pretty good at figuring out the twists of movies and TV shows, but Devil In Ohio completely shocked her. What might be even more stressful about it, is that the limited series is based on true events.
Devil In Ohio is based on Daria Polatin’s book of the same name. While the book is told from Mae’s perspective, the series focuses on Suzanne and her own struggles with past abuse and trauma, which Emily Deschanel was keen on exploring authentically in the series.
Suzanne certainly has a soft spot for Mae as we learn throughout the show, because she was in an abusive home as a child. When other families won’t take her in, even her own, Suzanne is prompted to give Mae away after the events of the show, though she still stands by the young woman -- who as we know by the end, will stop at nothing to keep her as her provider. Mae's upbringing in a cult, whose members are experts at using manipulation tactics to keep people within the group, has clearly affected her relationships with others.
Madeleine Arthur prepared to play a cult member by doing a ton of research and watching numerous movies, including Midsommar, as she told CinemaBlend. Though the show has reached its end, I would love to see more of Arthur in the role alongside Emily Deschanel.
Check out Devil in Ohio now if you haven't already and, if you have already, take a look at what else is coming to Netflix this September.
