The Burbs Recap And Ending Explained: Did Lynn Murder Her Husband?

Pervading suspicion in a cloistered township made for an interesting watch back in the 80s, when socio-political issues contributed to the relatability of such a premise, which is the reason “The ‘Burbs” gained a cult classic status. In the present era of increased surveillance and isolation, such a premise has lost its relevance; at least that’s what I felt while watching Peacock’s TV series adaptation of the same name, inspired by the Tom Hanks starrer dark comedy. Led by a cast of renowned comedy actors, “The ‘Burbs” spends way too much time dangling red herrings and obvious misdirects to actually focus on the central mystery, needlessly testing viewers’ patience through eight episodes only to conclude with a cliff-hanger for a possible second season.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Does Samira Suspect Gary and Robert?

Newlyweds and new parents, Samira and Robert move into the latter’s childhood home in the posh, predominantly Caucasian neighborhood of Ashfield Place, located in the isolated small town of Hinkley Hills. Following a break-in at their apartment in the city, the couple decided to leave their old residence behind. Also, since Robert’s parents opted to spend the rest of their lives on a luxury cruise, the decision to move turned out to be an easy one. Samira has left her vocation as a civil litigation lawyer in the backseat and taken up the role of stay-at-home mother. Ever since their arrival, Samira has remained suspicious about the old Victorian house opposite theirs, which has been gathering dust for the last two decades. She becomes acquainted with local elderly neighbors—a kindly widow, Lynn, who has not been able to move on ever since her husband, Marty, passed away; a vigilant, dependable, supportive ex-marine, Dana, who awaits the return of her wife, Julia; and a sharp, eccentric, observant Tod, who keeps to himself. From their account, Samira learns about the rumor that the former owners of the house, the Grants, lost their young teenage daughter, Alison, who disappeared without a trace. It was suspected by many that she was killed and buried in the basement of the house—and ever since the Grants left, the house has gained notoriety. Robert reconnects with his childhood friend, Naveen, who grew up in Hinkley Hills and, as a person of color, has endured discrimination from his peers. Both Naveen and Robert seem to be wary of the rumors involving Alison.

Soon, a mysterious new owner, Grant, moves into the Victorian house, triggering the curiosity of Samira and the rest of the neighbors. Really interested to know more about the new owner and the house itself, Samira tries to get acquainted with Grant, only to have him call the cops on her in suspicion of trespassing. Extremely dismayed by this action, Samira becomes certain that Grant is up to no good after mistakenly connecting Alison’s supposed murder with him. When homeowners association president Agnes’ dog, Darla, goes missing after digging up a large bone from Grant’s backyard, Samira suspects he has captured the dog, as it exposed his connection with Alison’s murder. Samira, Dana, and Tod enter Grant’s house and get acquainted with his wife, Betsy, and an awkward confrontation follows when Samira and Dana try to dig up the Victorian house’s basement area. 

At one point, Samira’s suspicions turn towards her own husband, Robert, when Lynn reveals Robert’s psych evaluation to her and mentions Alison’s murder, sending Robert into a temporary fit of rage. Samira finds Alison’s old flip phone in Robert’s belongings, and a voicemail sent by Robert strengthens her suspicion further. Eventually, Samira is able to locate an underground bunker Robert used to go to back in the day, and she starts to believe that Robert had buried Alison there after killing her all those years ago. On the other hand, during a local gathering, a drunk Naveen confesses his regret over Alison’s disappearance, prompting Tod and Lynn to interrogate him about what really happened to the missing girl two decades ago. 

What Really Happened To Alison? 

Robert confronts Samira in the underground bunker and, in order to clear her misunderstanding, reveals the truth about Alison’s disappearance—or at least as much as he knows. As it turns out, Naveen, Robert, and Alison were great friends who used to hang out in the bunker, and Alison wanted to move away from Hinkley Hills to escape her controlling parents. On one occasion, she decided to leave the town with a former town resident, John, whom she trusted merely after chatting online. Probably because John shared Alison’s passion for dancing, her teenage mind was easily swayed by his words. Naveen and Robert didn’t support Alison’s decision and believed she was making a huge mistake, but agreed to cover up for her nevertheless. When Alison went missing, the friends were devastated with a sense of guilt, and after a while, they believed she had passed away. As Robert and Naveen come clean about the entire situation, Samira realizes her suspicions were grossly wrong. 

Upon seeing sardines, Alison’s favorite snacks, at her shrine in the underground bunker, Samira made a wild guess that Grant’s wife, Betsy, is Alison, who has returned to the town after all these years. Her assumption stems from the fact that Betsy too had this strange fondness for sardines, which she offered to her when Samira visited Grant’s place. As Robert and Naveen decide to validate her assumption by directly approaching Betsy, they learn that she is indeed Alison. She reveals that on that fateful night, when she was supposed to meet John, she was kidnapped instead by her captor, who lured her to the woods, but thanks to an escape trick Naveen had taught her, she was able to escape from her captor’s clutches. She didn’t return to Hinkley Hills in fear of facing a worse fate at the hands of whoever lured her, and has lived under the identity of Betsy ever since. Still unwilling to trust Gary, the team suspects that he is holding Alison captive against her will. Robert and Samira confront Gary and keep him distracted, while Naveen tries to free Alison by visiting the Victorian house. However, Alison reveals to Naveen that she met Gary a year ago on an online forum, when he opened up about the mysterious disappearance of his brother, Hank, who was a resident of Hinkley Hill as well. They found out that Alison’s or Hank’s disappearance wasn’t an isolated incident; in fact, through the years, several key figures in the township, who didn’t sit well with the established status quo, disappeared without a trace or died under mysterious circumstances. To uncover the whole truth, Alison and Grant had partnered up, and taking the guise of Hank’s wife, Betsy, she returned to her old place. 

Who Killed Walter?

Ignoring Alison’s warnings about not trusting the townsfolk, Gary questioned the residents of Hinkley Hill to learn the truth about the longstanding conspiracy. However, his curiosity resulted in his tragic demise when Walter, the garbage collector, killed Gary after luring him with the promise of sharing crucial intel. It was Walter who abducted Alison all those years ago, and he was behind the mysterious disappearances/deaths around the township. Believing that the town’s law enforcement personnel were involved in the conspiracy, the team suspects ex-cop Bill, HOA President Agnes’ husband. However, upon confronting him about Gary’s disappearance and past cover-ups, Bill mentions Dan, the late former town police chief, possibly being involved in the conspiracy, as he held a grudge against Hank in the past. Alison and Samira try to search for Gary in the Victorian house after seeing his car parked outside, only to get chased by Walter, who wants to kill them to cover up his crimes. As the chase leads to the underground bunker, Robert and Naveen join them as well and manage to incapacitate the murderous garbage collector, whom Alison ends up killing accidentally. Naveen covers up for Alison to the cops by mentioning that he accidentally killed Walter in self-defense, thereby keeping her cover from getting blown. Alison leaves the town after bidding adieu to her old friends, with the regret that Gary couldn’t get closure at the end. Alison entrusts the ownership of the Victorian house to Robert and Samira, possibly as a gesture of gratitude for how they helped them. 

Did Lynn Murder Her Husband?

Another surprising twist to the narrative takes shape in the form of the shocking reveal that Lynn is keeping the corpse of her husband, Marty, wrapped inside their large walk-in refrigerator—which is why she doesn’t want anyone, even her close friends, to visit her place. Unable to cope with the loss of her partner, Lynn has been stuck in the past for too long and finally manages to open up to the possibility of pursuing a romantic relationship with Agnes’ husband, Bill. However, upon learning that Marty cheated on her with Agnes, a distraught Lynn rushes back to her home and brings out the frozen corpse in anger to showcase her frustration. Right at the moment, Lynn and Dan see everything and later confront her about her actions. It turns out, Lynn found Marty dead inside the freezer, where he supposedly suffered from a heart attack and passed away. Too overwhelmed by the shock, she couldn’t bring herself to reveal the tragic news to her children, who are living abroad, or to seek help from her neighborhood friends. She deemed it alright to keep the remains of her husband inside the freezer, and however psychotic the decision might sound, to some extent, Lynn’s condition can be sympathized with. To help Lynn ease up, Dana revealed that unbeknownst to anyone else, she has been living in Hinkley Hill on probation, with an ankle monitor restricting her movement, which is the reason her wife left her in the first place. 

Later on, Agnes, with whom Lynn had a bitter relationship, tries to threaten her with a house inspection mandated by the authorities, which she delayed in the past due to her secret affair with Marty. It remains unknown whether Agnes knows Lynn’s secret or whether she simply wants to put Lynn in a troubling situation by forcing inspection in her home. Anyway, Lynn seeks Samira’s legal help, who decides to put her ownership of the Victorian house to good use, burying Marty’s corpse inside the basement. 

Who is the Mastermind Behind the Hinkley Hill Disappearances?

The mystery of the Hinkley Hill disappearance didn’t end with Walter’s death, which was very promptly hushed up by the authorities. Samira knew that influential people employed Walter to do their dirty deeds, as the garbage collector mentioned that he was being paid to clear out the trash. Alison knew this as well, but she chose not to go down the rabbit hole. Samira can’t rest easy, and she finds a connection when Rory, their babysitter (a person of color) who recently got accepted into Hinkley Academy, mentions Agnes has made a crass remark about the institution bringing trash students this year, out of frustration that her own granddaughter couldn’t qualify for the entrance. Samira realizes that the majority of the victims who disappeared through the years didn’t see eye to eye with Agnes, the prudish president of HOA whose stern adherence to maintaining ‘decorum and order’ made her appear almost as an antagonistic figure in Lynn’s eyes. 

By the time Samira figures out the probable connections, it has already been too late, as Kate, one of Agnes’ trusted associates in the Homeowners Association with whom Naveen was entangled in a romantic pursuit, drugs and abducts him in the end. Samira is able to figure out that Kate might be involved in the conspiracy after checking the HOA guidebook, which listed down Agnes’ trusted members, but by the time she and Robert reach Naveen’s place, Kate has already abducted her. The couple helplessly watch as Kate drives away, with an unconscious Naveen in the trunk of her car. As the season ends, Samira pledges to rescue Naveen by any means necessary, hinting at the central plotline for the upcoming continuation. 

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