‘The Watcher’ ending explained: How to interpret the Netflix show’s finale
All seven episodes of Netflix’s The Watcher were released on Thursday October 13th.
The true crime miniseries follows a mysterious series of events that take place in a New Jersey home. It is loosely based on a true story and adapted from Reeves Wiedeman’s New York magazine story The Watcher.
New Jersey natives Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale star as husband and wife Dean and Nora Brannock, along with their children Ellie (Isabel Gravitt) and Carter (Luke David Blumm).
What is The Watcher on Netflix about?
To escape the hustle and bustle of New York, the family moves to their dream home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield.
Upon moving into the home, the Brannock family receive terrifyingly spooky letters from The Watcher, and the dream home quickly turns into a nightmare.
Dean and Nora started turning as they became obsessed with finding out who The Watcher is. Their marriage is in jeopardy, Dean easily loses his mind and his job, and Nora gets angry and wants to sell the house.
The culmination of sinister events eventually forces the family to accept defeat and move back to New York. Dean and Nora remain blank as they never find out who is really watching them.
Noma Dumezweni, left, plays Theodora Birch, the private investigator in The Watcher. (Eric Liebowitz/Netflix)Eric Liebowitz | Netflix
‘The Watcher’ ending explained: Who is ‘The Watcher’ in the Netflix series?
The Netflix series never reveals The Watcher’s true identity.
However, a menacing look from John Graff (played by Joe Mantello) in the series finale may trick viewers into thinking he’s The Watcher.
Dean suspects early on that John is the watchman. An unexpected meeting with John serving as the local building inspector leads Dean to discover that there is no such inspector named John Graff.
“No inspector named John. Not in Westfield,” a contractor said to Dean, immediately arousing his suspicions.
Was it a ghost Dean was talking to? Was it a dream? Hallucinating Dean?
John Graff’s story is eventually revealed to the Brannocks by their private investigator, Theodora.
The story is: Graff and his family moved into the house years before the Brannocks. John shot his entire family and flees the area, never to be seen again.
“I met him. Johannes Graff. He was at my house,” Dean explained to the private investigator.
The audience can infer that John Graff is The Watcher.
Unlike Dean and Nora, in the series finale, viewers can see John Graff scurrying through the underground tunnel leading to the Brannocks’ home, hiding from Dean at neighbor Pearl’s house, and staring eerily out the window at 657 Boulevard.
Although Graff is never referred to as The Watcher, it’s easy to assume he is.
Was The Watcher Actually Revealed In Real Life?
The hair-raising true story the Netflix series is loosely based on has yet to be unraveled, and the real guardian of 657 Boulevard in Westfield remains unknown — despite court cases, police investigations and DNA testing.
And perhaps that’s why the show never clearly reveals the mystery, leaving viewers to deduce The Watcher’s identity.
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