Who is 'The Watcher'? The Netflix series ends on a note of mystery (2024)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for “The Watcher.”

New spooky Netflix series "The Watcher" gives a creepy twist on a true story with each episode, but does the Brannock family find out the identity of their anonymous stalker?

After several threatening letters have been delivered to 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey and neighbors continue to create eerie suspicion, the finale begins with the family of four starting over in New York City.

Here's what happens in the finale of "The Watcher." Heads up: If you’re looking to have the mystery solved, you might be a bit disappointed by the ending.

The Brannock family starts over again — this time, in New York

At this point, the couple's marriage is rather rocky following outbursts from Dean Brannock, played by Bobby Cannavale, to neighbors and family members, as well as him losing his job.

Luckily, pottery sales for Nora Brannock, portrayed by Naomi Watts, have taken off, so she can be the primary financial provider.

Still on the job hunt, Dean has remained at home taking after the two kids and going to therapy to recover from the trauma that the letters from the Watcher gave him.

Though he claims to have moved on from the horrifying events, Nora has a breakdown late one night when she comes home to her husband conjuring up another theory on who the family's stalker could be.

Theodora Birch claims to be ‘The Watcher’

Shortly after, the couple goes to visit their private detective Theodora Birch (Noma Dumezweni), who is dying of cancer at a New York hospital. In Dean's brief absence, Nora admits life at home has been hard still not knowing the identity of the Watcher.

When Dean is visiting the medical center alone, Theodora confesses that she was the Watcher all along. An emotional Dean listens and questions the detective as she explains exactly how she did it.

At Theodora's funeral, the couple asks Birch's daughter about the guilty admission. She responds that her mother's story wasn't true. Rather, Birch was hoping to give both the family and herself a sense a peace from the endless search.

657 Boulevard gets a new owner

As for what happens to their "dream home"? The Brannocks had been struggling to sell the house, which on the show they bought for over $3 million, as media outlets had been covering the home's dark history and menacing letters.

Though far under the asking price, the family decides to sell the home to their only offer, who viewers later discover is Jennifer Coolidge's character Karen Calhoun.

Nora then confronts her former friend inside Karen's new home, warning her that things might not turn out how she expects.

Karen has her own bone-chilling encounter with the Watcher

Brushing off any suspicion of the Watcher, Karen gets ready for bed when she hears a phone ringing, only to answer with no one on the other line. After hearing water pouring off the stairwell downstairs, she rushes to her bathroom to see the tub suddenly flooded.

The realtor then calls the detective at the police department, whom she had previously been seeing romantically, asking if he can check for an intruder. Due to the unsettling end to the relationship, the detective tells her to not even bother calling 9-1-1 anymore.

Karen is quickly startled by the sound of her small dog barking in the basem*nt. When she goes to check what's causing the sound, carefully walking with a knife in her hand, she finds nothing and takes her dog back upstairs.

Finally attempting to get some sleep, she hears a noise come from the dumbwaiter in the hallway. She opens it to find a note from "The Watcher," that reads, "Welcome to your worst nightmare!"

Hearing a squeal, Karen runs downstairs to find her bloody dog lying dead on the ground in the hallway. Suddenly, the staircase's landing opens and a person dressed in all black appears behind Karen. Already screaming in terror, she turns around to encounter what viewers are led to believe is "The Watcher" and amply runs out of the house and down the street.

So, uh, who is the Watcher?

After Karen promptly moves out of the home, a new family of four appears to have moved into 657 Boulevard.

Several neighbors, who were formerly suspects, watch the family from afar, calling their innocence into account.

Dean, in one of the last scenes, stands in front of his old home. The new owner greets him on his way back from a run. Dean Brannock introduces himself as "John," noting that he lives a couple blocks away. (This is a call back, likely, to John Graff, the murderer who had lived in the house before).

In the final moments of the series, Nora calls her husband on the phone and asks how his job interview went. She adds how proud she is that he's been going to therapy to help the family.

As Dean drives away from the home, another car pulls up from behind and sits in front of the house for a moment. The driver is Nora, indicating that she's also haunted by her brush with the Watcher.

The mystery is never solved

So, does the series ever solve the mystery? Similar to the true story, no. The identity of the Watcher is never revealed on the show, nor is it in real life.

The Watcher is out there, it seems. Check your mailboxes.