Why The Watcher ending has left Netflix viewers ‘disappointed’
Netflix viewers have been left fuming at the ‘disappointing’ ending of the streaming giant’s new horror series The Watcher, despite being gripped by the real-life plot.
The gripping seven-episode series from Ryan Murphy is based on the real-life story of a couple who were harassed out of their dream home by a creepy stalker – whose identity remains a mystery to this day.
It stars Naomi Watts, 52, and Bobby Cannavale, 51, as married couple Dean and Nora Brannock who move into their dream home in the New Jersey suburbs only to find themselves targeted by a stalker. Also starring is Jennifer Coolidge, 61, as the realtor who sells them the property and Mia Farrow as one of their creepy neighbors.
After they move from New York City to 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, the couple are sent a series of cryptic and increasingly threatening letters from an anonymous person, signed off with The Watcher, who wants to force them out of their house.
The letters become increasingly chilling and the family spirals as they try to discover who’s behind the threats. Everyone becomes a suspect – their unusual neighbors, their realtor, the town police chief, and the husband and wife homeowners even start to turn on and suspect each other.
Unresolved mystery: Dean and Nora Brannock (played by Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, pictured in a scene from The Watcher) buy their dream home in a quiet New Jersey suburb only to find their hopes of a new life become a living nightmare
Real life: Derek and Maria Broaddus (pictured here with their children) bought 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey for $1.4million in 2014. Between June that year and February 2017, they received four sinister letters signed by The Watcher that left them fearing for their safety and eventually forced them out of what had been their dream home
The Watcher, a fictionalized retelling of the Broaddus family’s real-life nightmare, has garnered praise for the gripping storyline but viewers were mostly disappointed with its true-to-life ending. Pictured above Bobby Cannavale as homeowner Dean Brannock who marches from his house with a letter from The Watcher in-hand to confront neighbors he thinks could be behind the chilling notes making his family’s life a misery
The Brannock family receive a letter from The Watcher in the photograph above from the new Netflix show featuring Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale
The Netflix version of 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey where the Brannocks are left on edge by the letters, leaving them suspicious of their neighbors, their realtor, the police chief and each other
The real-life Watcher home: The real 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey (pictured) where the Broaddus family were harassed by an anonymous stalker who sent them chilling letters signed ‘The Watcher’
Uneven: According to Metacritic, The Watcher has received mainly mixed reviews and currently holds a score of 52 out of 10
It seems they have finally brought the horrifying chapter to a close when their terminally ill private detective Theodora (played by Noma Dumezweni) confesses to being The Watcher.
Theodora claims she’s…
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