A Murder at the End of the World is a new mini-series from The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. The first two episodes dropped on November 14th, 2023, to its home on Hulu. A Murder at the End of the World follows the story of true crime novelist Darby Hart (played by Emma Corrin) as she attempts to solve a murder at a secluded retreat.
The first episode, titled “Chapter 1: Homme Fatal,” introduces us to Darby Hart, a true crime novelist and amateur detective. The episode opens with Darby arriving at a bookstore. At first, it seems as if she is there to listen, but we slowly realize that she is the author who has come to do the reading for her book The Silver Doe. Darby struggles at first but quickly composes herself and captivates the audience. Before reading from her book, Darby tells the audience about her youth, growing up with only her dad- a forensic pathologist- causing her to grow up surrounded by dead bodies.
Darby begins her reading of The Silver Doe, which tells the story of how she and her partner Bill Farrah (played by Harris Dickinson) attempted to solve cases of female murder cases, specifically a Jane Doe, whom she nicknamed Silver Doe due to the ring on her finger. Darby and Bill fall for each other as they get closer and closer to the murder case they are investigating. Darby and Bill argue about whether or not they should investigate the suspected killer’s home when “No More ‘I Love You’s'” by Annie Lennox comes on the radio, and they bond over it. The pair arrive at the home, and Darby uses her hacking skills to open the garage, a skill she picked from her idol Lee Anderson- the best female coder there is. At the house, Darby and Bill find another body buried under the house, the wife of the killer, wearing a similar silver ring, supporting their theory that the killer is, in fact, a serial killer.
Darby finishes her book reading there and goes back to her place, where we see her open murder cases. There she gets a text with a link. Darby skeptically presses the link, which brings her to an app that begins speaking to her through the AI Butler- Ray. Ray reveals Darby has been invited by Andy Rosnon, the husband of her idol Lee Anderson and reclusive billionaire, to an exclusive and secretive retreat. Darby agrees to go, confused as to why she would be invited. On the plane, Darby meets other insanely smart guests, like Sian, Lue Mei, and Martin. Darby discovers half of the guests had been invited by Lee and the other half by Andy. We also discover that Darby hasn’t spoken to her former-partner Bill, who is now an artist that goes by Fangs, in 6 years.
Darby and the guests arrive in Iceland at a luxurious hotel. Darby checks out some of the features of her room. Darby and the guests are all invited to dinner, where we finally meet Andy Brosnan (played by Clive Owen) and Lee Anderson (played by Brit Marling herself). At the dinner table, Darby discovers that Bill is actually at the retreat as well, as one of Lee’s guests. Later that night, Bill and Darby go on a walk discussing their past. Bill flirts with her but his passes are ultimately turned down by Darby. Darby goes back to her room and takes a bath. She listens to “No More ‘I Love You’s'” by Annie Lennox, which reminds her of Bill, and does some research, discovering Bill and Lee have been seen in public together. Darby decides to knock on Bill’s door, but when she approaches the door, she hears noises. The episode ends as a confused Darby goes around the outside to look through the window to find… bleeding, presumptively dying Bill.
In A Murder at the End of the World Season 1 Episode 1, writer/director Brit Marling gives us a great introduction to this modern take of a whodunnit. Marling, appearing in the series as Lee Anderson, sculpts this very captivating female detective character in Darby Hart while bringing our attention to the crisis of missing women in the United States. Marling does a fantastic job of using this first episode to hook us with not just the initial murder that will lead to the rest of the series but also the set up of the characters invited to the retreat.
Rating 9/10