We love a Scandi noir, and Netflix has just brought another one into our lives in the form of A Nearly Normal Family.
The twisty turny crime thriller keeps you guessing (almost) to the very end. But just in case you needed it unpacking, we're here to dig into the final episode.
We're immediately introduced to the Sandell family; on the face of it, a 'normal family', but we soon discover that there's something from their daughter Stella's past that has been tearing them all apart.
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If you've not yet reached the end of episode six, and don't want it spoiled for you, then we'd recommend you don't read any further until you have...
A Nearly Normal Family summary
The first moments of the drama reveal that Stella was sexually assaulted while away on a school trip at the age of 15.
Having been sent home early after the encounter was discovered, Stella told her parents that she had not wanted to have sex. Her mother Ulrika, herself a lawyer, ended up advising both Stella and her father that they don't report it to the police, citing the appallingly low rate of conviction when it comes to rape allegations and the possibility of re-traumatising Stella all over again through the process.
Fast-forward a few years, and Stella had dropped out of school and was working full time while saving up to go travelling. Her relationship with her parents was strained, mirroring the state of their own marriage, and Stella was instead much more focussed on spending time with her best friend Amina.
But when Stella was arrested for murder, we (along with her own parents) started to piece together what had actually been going on in her life.
The victim turned out to be none other than Stella's new boyfriend Christoffer. We didn't find out, until the final episode, what lead to his death, but we did see fairly early on that Stella had been acting suspiciously – coming home late and showering, covered in blood.
Stella's father Adam, a priest, was adamant that she could not have done what she was accused of. Her mother was a little more hesitant, rooting around to try and get to the truth. Despite their different approaches, both parents wanted to protect their daughter.
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A Nearly Normal Family ending explained: How does it end?
The final episode focused on Stella's trial. Her father testified as part of her defence, providing a false alibi, and her mother watched on.
The prosecution put forward its case: they argued that Stella had gone to Christoffer's home, believing he had been having an affair with her best friend Amina, and that in a fit of rage and jealously Stella had stabbed him to death. They didn't have much in the way of evidence, besides a shoe print matching that of Stella's close to where Christoffer's body had been found, and a neighbour that had witnessed her there earlier that evening.
No clothing from the night in question had been recovered, and neither had Stella's mobile phone – two items that we know Stella's mum had discovered before the police search, and destroyed.
The real bombshell came in the form of Amina's testimony. We'd known from an earlier episode that she had been hiding something (which she later confided to Stella's mother), and it all came out at the trial.
Amina revealed that she had been drugged by Christoffer, who had ambushed her at a bar on the night of his death while she had been waiting for Stella to meet her after work. He then offered to drive her home, posing as a knight in shining armour, but once she had passed out in the passenger seat he took her back to hit flat and assaulted her.
This introduced the court to another possible suspect with a different motive – something that the prosecution had not had time to prepare for. When the prosecutor tried to undermine Amina's story, accusing her of making it up to help her friend, Amina declared that it had been this fear of not being believed which had stopped her from coming forward earlier.
What's more, Amina used this opportunity to make a statement about the sexual assault that Stella had experienced as a teenager.
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Who killed Christoffer in A Nearly Normal Family?
Through flashbacks from Stella's perspective, we discovered that she had grown nervous of Christoffer's controlling and increasingly disturbing behaviour.
Following a series of warnings from his ex-girlfriend, Stella had started to piece together the ways in which Christoffer had started to isolate her. An accusation that Christoffer had raped his ex also brought back fears from her own past.
On the night in question, when Amina was not at the bar that she had agreed to meet Stella at, Stella grew concerned and suspicious for her friend's wellbeing. She had mentioned their plans to Christoffer earlier, telling him that she could not meet him that night because she was seeing Amina instead – which he did not take kindly to.
Then, receiving a text from Amina's phone that didn't read like it was written by her, Stella went to Christoffer's flat. After hearing lots of noise from inside, and not getting an answer at the door, Stella broke in through the back door balcony and found Christoffer assaulting Amina.
Grabbing a weighty wooden pepper grinder, Stella hit him over the head, allowing her and Amina to escape. Christoffer ran after them, still with a hold of the kitchen knife he had been using to threaten Amina into submission earlier. After dropping the weapon and falling to the ground, Stella went back and stabbed him in the chest. He then bled to death.
The final scene shows Stella, after being acquitted at trial, lighting a candle as she recalled her involvement in his killing.
Is A Nearly Normal Family based on a true story?
In short, no.
The TV show, made up of six episodes and now streaming on Netflix, is based on the best-selling novel of the same name, written by author M T Edvardsson.
A Nearly Normal Family is available on Netflix.
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, who work towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
