Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has unsurprisingly been a huge hit on Netflix, debuting straight at the top of the most-watched lists following its release on December 23.
We've all been waiting for the return of Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and if you didn't catch the Knives Out sequel on its limited cinema release in November, you can finally see what fiendishly twisty case he's investigating this time around.
Unlike the first movie, the sequel didn't even reveal who was the victim (or victims) ahead of its release, but like the first movie, it's a far from straightforward case and writer-director Rian Johnson throws several twists into the mix.
So much is revealed that it can be hard to keep track of who did what and why, which is why we're here to help.
Let's delve into Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery to clear up any questions you might have, but be warned, major spoilers are ahead so don't read on if you haven't seen the movie yet.
Glass Onion kicks off with our huge list of characters each receiving a gift from their friend, the enigmatic entrepreneur billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). We see each character proceed, with varying degrees of difficulty, to open the gift — a puzzle box inside of which is an invitation to a holiday getaway on his private Greek island.
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Meanwhile, Benoit Blanc is suffering from lockdown-induced ennui until he, too, receives the mystery box. Everyone meets at the dock to board the yacht to Miles' island, where they are ushered into his magnificent home, called the Glass Onion — except for Benoit.
Benoit is invited into Miles' office where he reveals that he did not invite the famed detective, but is more than happy to accommodate him. Benoit tells Miles he sees his invitation as a subtle threat to Miles' life and warns Miles to be careful.
That night during their drunken post-dinner party, all the characters are gathered together with Miles and Benoit: politician Claire (Kathryn Hahn), Bron's head scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr) former supermodel turned fashion designer Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson) and her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), Twitch streamer and "men's rights activist" Duke (Dave Bautista) and his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline) and, most tantalisingly, Bron's former business partner Andi (Janelle Monáe).
Amidst the debauchery, Duke suddenly dies. The power goes out and everyone is thrown into chaos and Andi, too, is murdered — shot on the stairs leading up to the house.
Only, Andi isn't dead. And she isn't Andi.
Glass Onion explained: Who is Andi?
Rewind and we find out that Andi has a twin sister named Helen who believes Andi was murdered by Miles, though she's unsure why beyond it must have had to do with their company developing a renewable energy source called Klear, and that Andi was sceptical it was ready.
While cleaning out Andi's house, she finds the box from Miles, smashes it open, and brings it to Benoit — hence the random extra invitation, it was really Andi's.
Benoit convinces Helen to pose as Andi and go to the island so they can figure out who killed Andi, and for her protection, Benoit has Helen wear a bulletproof vest. Helen discovers that each person had a motive for protecting Miles and killing Andi.
Claire has taken money from Miles for her campaign, Lionel has greenlit Klear knowing it wasn't working, Duke needs Miles for his social media presence (as does Whiskey), and Birdie needs him to help her out of a sticky situation with a sweatshop (Peg is the only person who doesn't need to protect Miles, as she feels Birdie's arrangement will result in Peg's downfall, too).
So who did really kill Andi and Duke? Or are there multiple killers on the island? Eventually, however, Benoit figures it out (because he's Benoit Blanc) so here's another final warning for more major spoilers.
Glass Onion ending: Who is the killer?
Miles killed both Andi and Duke. He killed Andi because she had proof that he was a fraud (a napkin on which she wrote the idea for their business) and killed Duke because Duke saw him driving away from Andi's house in his unique Porsche.
Also because, perennially online as Duke is, he was the first person to get the notification of Andi's death and was using this knowledge to blackmail Miles into putting him on TV.
Miles' murder method? Poison, mostly. He did also shoot at Helen, thinking she was the real Andi who'd somehow survived. But Miles burns the napkin, leaving Helen with no recourse or proof.
In vengeance, Helen destroys his things (and the rest join in) but that's a rouse for her to set off a fire which ignites the Klear fuel on which Miles' house runs. Everyone survives, and though Miles chides Helen for her behaviour, the rest of his former friends agree to testify against him and vindicate Andi/Helen.
Helen and Benoit finish the film happily sitting on the coast, the Glass Onion burning in the background. We're left on the precipice of Miles' public destruction, but where Benoit will go next remains a mystery.
For Helen though, she ends the movie looking much like the Mona Lisa she destroyed in Miles's home, except here we think she's definitely happy as the movie ends.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is available to watch now on Netflix.
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Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance film critic and journalist, with a focus on J-drama & film, and the Japanese production industry. She was previously Locations Editor at Screen International and Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. Her writing can also befound in Curzon, 1883, and more. A born and raised New Yorker, she loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.
