Murdaugh Death In The Family Finale Recap: What Happens To Alex?

The trouble with lies is, to cover up one, you have to come up with thousands more, create a mountain, but still, the truth will inevitably surface and shatter its structure from the core. This basic truth escapes Alex Murdaugh even when he finds himself cornered on all fronts in the final episode of “Murdaugh: Death in the Family.” His financial crimes and frauds are the least of Alex’s worries as shocking new evidence portrays him as the prime suspect in Maggie and Paul’s gruesome murder. The eighth and final episode of the series, titled “The Man in the Glass,” revolving around Alex Murdaugh’s trial, finally provides a glimpse into the harrowing events that transpired on the fateful day, highlighting what kind of vicious psychopath Alex had become thanks to family influence, toxic patriarchal practices predominant in the family, and unchecked greed.

Spoilers Ahead

The episode begins with a flashback, as we see Buster is golfing with his father, Alex, whose worldly wisdom to his son indicates an inherent moral degradation. The act of dodging accountability and gaslighting people close to him has been justifiable for Alex for a long time, and the indications were always there. 

At present, Alex’s attempt to stage his murder to claim insurance for Buster becomes public news, drawing major criticism and suspicious gazes from people and media alike as speculations about Alex’s involvement with the murder of his wife and son are raised. Buster is quite certain that his father is being wrongly labelled as a murderer and becomes furious while visiting a local bar upon hearing patrons gossip about Alex’s possible involvement in the family tragedy. Even before dealing with the blowback of the murder staging incident, Alex gets arrested on the charges of scamming Gloria’s sons with insurance payout. At the same time, the investigators, Agent Owen and Detective Rutland, present new evidence to the Murdaughs regarding the murder investigation, as video recordings from Paul’s phone indicate Alex was present in the kennel minutes before Paul and Maggie were killed—proving Rogan’s statements to be true after all. A shocked Buster confronts Alex, who lies that his paranoia got the best of him and, under the influence of pills, he made a rash decision to lie to the cops about not being present to evade suspicion and questioning. However, this deceit on the part of Alex is enough to put him on trial as a murder suspect. Alex seems positive that with the help of his long-time lawyer colleagues, Jim and Dick, he will be able to win the case without breaking any sweat. State Attorney Creighton Waters makes a solid opening statement, but his presentation lacks solid evidence, as the murder weapons were never found. Creighton emphasizes Alex’s dozens of financial embezzlement cases and tries to draw a possible motivation angle by highlighting the fact that the upcoming federal case against Alex, which would have exposed his scams, put immense pressure on him to have him commit such a heinous act. Mark Tinsley’s statement about the Beaches dropping the civil suit for the boat crash after the Murdaugh family tragedy adds to the possible motivation angle as well. 

Buster’s belief in Alex is still unshaken, but Randy, who knows his brother a little better than Buster does, is not fully convinced about his innocence or the chances of him getting acquitted. Maggie’s sister, Marian, is asked to stand on behalf of the state attorney, and her emotional statement about Alex’s repeated pleas to bring Paul and Maggie back in the family home further worsens things for Alex. It remains unknown as to why she didn’t reveal the fact that Maggie wanted to file for divorce, as this would have buried Alex by presenting a concrete motivation. The bombshell drops when GPS data of Alex’s vehicle is linked with the possibility of him disposing Maggie’s phone near the woods after her and Paul’s death.. Buster’s faith in his father gradually starts to wane, which is very apparent from the nightmare he has and shaky statements shared during the trial. 

Alex, still holding on to his inflated ego and family pride, forces his lawyers to present him on the witness stand, as he is confident that his crocodile tears, gaslighting, and addiction angle will do the trick and convince the jury of his innocence. Ironically enough, Buster himself appears unsure of how much of Alex’s statement he can rely upon. To add on to Alex’s misery, State Attorney Waters makes Alex acknowledge that he kept his family, colleagues, and clientele in dark about his financial crimes, so why should anyone believe a single statement from him regarding the murder investigation when circumstantial evidence is stacking heavily against him? Alex has nothing to say in response, which clearly conveys where the jury’s verdict is headed. Appropriately, the jury finds Alex guilty on the charges of murdering his wife and son, and he is charged with consecutive life sentences. While having a conversation with Mandy Matney, who was instrumental in the entire investigation, Mark Tinsley can’t help but speculate whether the surmounting pressure piled up on Alex by them on all fronts prompted him to lose his grip and kill his own family. Even though Mandy assures him that Alex is accountable for his own actions, Mark still feels a sense of guilt. 

An aggrieved Buster meets with Alex and informs him that he will not pursue law like Alex wanted him to;  this is how Buster denounces the legacy of his family. As Alex appears confused, Buster questions him why he didn’t ask him to arrive at the house on the fateful night. Alex had used Randolph’s deteriorating condition as an excuse to plead with Paul and Maggie to return home; by that logic, Buster should have been informed by him as well. Alex’s response feels like he is adding up excuses, and Buster leaves him. Buster has confirmed what he already knew; he merely kept himself in denial to avoid the ugly truth about his family. 

Alone in his prison cell, Alex memorizes the events of 7th June, 2021, as he remembers it, and the flashback scene conveys Mark Tinsley was beating himself up for nothing. Pressure didn’t trigger Alex to commit such horrendous crimes; he is a cold-blooded psychopath who hunted down his wife and son with as much nonchalance and brutality as one can think of, without having an iota of remorse after committing the crimes. Alex hid the weapons in some far corner of the sprawling Murdaugh property, which was never found by the authorities in real life either. 

Buster puts his family home and its belongings on sale and gives away his grandpa’s cherished framed writing of the poem Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.’s “The Man in the Glass” to a stranger. Alex, on the other hand, maintains his stance of being innocent and shamelessly chats with his prison mates without showing a shred of remorse for his actions. He returns to his cell; as a compulsive liar, he has tried everything he could to convince the world to believe his lies, even keeping pictures of Paul and Maggie on the walls of his prison cell. But as he gazes upon his mirror reflection, he can’t help but acknowledge the truth about himself—and the significance of the poem about self-reflection is conveyed in the most appropriate manner as the episode comes to an end.