The Hunting Wives on Netflix: The Ending of the Soapy Drama, Explained

Warning: Spoilers for The Hunting Wives, ahead.

So, you’ve just went down The Hunting Wives rabbit hole and are wondering exactly what went down on Netflix’s soapy, sapphic series about a small-town murder in a conservative Texas town. Well, you’re in luck, because we’re about to break down exactly what happened to Abby (Madison Wolfe) at the hands of the titular Hunting Wives in the Netflix adaptation of May Cobb’s bestselling novel.

Here’s everything you need to know about the final moments of The Hunting Wives season one—and what they means for a potential second season. But first, let’s go over a few things you might have questions about.

The Hunting Wives Cast

Before we really go into what happened in The Hunting Wives, let’s go over the characters that are most involved with the murder mystery itself—and the star-studded cast them to life (or, well, death).

• Brittany Snow plays Sophie O’Neil, the character every small town drama needs: The newcomer. Sophie O’Neil moves from Massachusetts to Maple Brook, Texas when her architect husband (Evan Jonigkeit) gets a job working for oil tycoon Jed Banks, putting her directly in the orbit of the town’s wealthy socialites. You definitely recognize Snow from Pitch Perfect, Hairspray, American Dream, etc…
• Malin Åkerman plays Margo Banks, the leader of Maple Brook’s affluent group of housewives called the Hunting Wives. Åkerman’s face is all over your favorite TV shows and movies, including Watchmen, 27 Dresses, The Proposal, and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
• Dermot Mulroney plays Margo’s husband Jed Banks, the Texas oil tycoon running for governor. Mulroney’s career is all over the map, from rom-coms like My Best Friend’s Wedding to classics like The Family Stone to horror projects like Scream VI. He also plays the cello, like, really well.
• Madison Wolfe plays Abby, a teenage murder victim from Maple Brook, Texas. Wolfe has strong horror roots, having starred in movies like The Conjuring 2, Bone Face, and The Man in the White Van.
• Chrissy Metz plays Starr, Abby’s single mom who is not associated with the Hunting Wives. Of course, Metz is most famous for playing Kate Pearson in This Is Us.
• George Ferrier plays Brad, the 18-year-old son of one of the Hunting Wives. He dated Abby while having an affair with Margo. Ferrier himself is 24 and previously played roles in Sweet Tooth and the Peacock drama, One of Us Is Lying.
• Katie Lowes plays Jill, another member of the Hunting Wives. She’s Brad’s mom and married to a reverend. Lowes is best known for her prominent roles in Scandal and Inventing Anna.
• Jamie Ray Newman plays Callie, the wife of the town’s sheriff and member of the Hunting Wives. She’s also having an affair with Margo. Newman has soap opera experience, having played Kristina Cassadine on General Hospital. Other credits include Stargate Atlantis, Eastwick, and The Punisher.
• Karen Rodriguez plays Officer Salazer, a woman who was shot while investigating the disappearance of a girl in Maple Brook—and is now looking for Abby’s murderer. Rodriguez’s previous projects include Swarm and The Big Leap.
• Paul Teal plays Pastor Pete, a creepy youth pastor with an obsession with Abby and very dark history. Teal has had a few small roles on shows like One Tree Hill, Outer Banks, and The Staircase.

The Hunting Wives Episode Guide

Here’s a quick refresher on all six episodes, to help break down this twisty tale.

Episode one, “Strange and Unfamiliar Places”

This episode basically introduces Sophie to the Hunting Wives. Unnervingly quickly, she’s taken under the wing of their ringleader, Margo, who seems to have a very inappropriate relationship with her friend’s teenage son…who, in turn, is dating a working class girl named Abby. Though it takes a few episodes, Abby is eventually murdered, which is the show’s central mystery.

Episode two, “Knocking Boots”

Aside from setting up heaps of sexual tension between Margo and Sophie, this episode pretty much breaks down our suspect list. We’ve obviously got Margo, who is having affairs with the sheriff’s wife Callie and Jill’s son Brad—and is trying to keep them both quiet for the sake of her husband’s upcoming gubernatorial race.

Aside from Margo and her sketchy brother, there’s also Brad and his mom Jill, who obviously disapproves of her son’s relationship with Abby’s working class upbringing.

This episode also serves to shed a more suspicious light on Sophie, who has a history with CPS (Child Protective Services), which implies there’s more to her past than she’s let on.

Episode three, “Sunrise Tells the Story”

Sophie goes full Hunting Wife this episode, in more ways than one. During the episode, she purchases two guns (a pistol and a rifle) before partying and making out with both Margo and Brad’s friend, Jamie. Furthermore, we learn Sophie’s “car accident” was actually a vehicular homicide.

While all this is going on, Abby learns something damning about Brad from the youth pastor Pete (Paul Teal) and fights with his mom over the phone.

Most importantly, this is the night Abby is murdered—and she may not be the only one. It turns out a girl named Kaycee Krummell previously disappeared and Officer Salazar was shot while investigating that kidnapping. Now, Salazar is on the hunt for a possible serial offender, despite her recent injuries.

Episode four, “Cheat Day”

As the investigation for Abby’s murderer picks up, Sophie spends the whole episode looking for her missing pistol while Margo attempts to keep everyone quiet about her affair with Brad—and his whereabouts on the night of the murder.

Sophie is eventually arrested for the crime, which is why the series spent so much time on her sordid past. You know, to make her seem like a plausible suspect to those who don’t know what the viewers know.

Episode five, “Not Her First Rodeo”

After her arrest, Sophie is ostracized by the entire town and her husband. Margo has effectively shot Sophie’s alibi to hell, telling the police story that left Sophie alone for hours on the night of the murder. Thankfully, Jed’s ex-wife tells Sophie to find Margo’s wayward brother, Kyle…

Episode six “Deep in the Heart of Texas”

Well, Sophie finds Kyle and ends up getting dragged into an armed robbery before getting all the deets on his fractured relationship with Margo. He tells her that he did not see Margo on the night of Abby’s death because he was hospitalized for a near-fatal overdose.

However, a doctor named Blevins tells Sophie that Margo visited Kyle’s bedside that night, exonerating her. Now, it’s up to Margo and Sophie to find out who killed Abby—and who is blackmailing Margo with evidence of her affair with Brad.

Pastor Pete also reveals that Abby had an abortion, making Brad’s conservative mom Jill the most logical suspect besides himself. After all, he has Abby’s sweater and kidnapped her friend Nina at the end of the episode.

Episode seven, “Shooting Star”

Well, it’s not Pete, given he was being held in jail for public indecency around the time of Abby’s death. He did, however, kidnap Kaycee and Nina. Pastor Pete ends up dying by suicide when he’s discovered by Salazar. Meanwhile, Sophie is formally arrested over video footage that shows her following Abby in the woods. Holy twist!

But that’s not the biggest twist. Margo and Callie go to confront Jill for acting suspicious, only to find Abby’s mom Starr dead in Jill’s kitchen. According to Jill, Starr confronted her over Abby’s murder and she was forced to shoot her in self defense, but things get even more out of hand when Jill pulls a gun on Margo. Sadly for Jill, Callie is a better shot and shoots her in response.

Episode eight, “Sophie’s Choice”

Things start to settle down now that everyone believes Jill killed Margo, as there is more evidence against her than Sophie. It’s revealed Callie has been the one blackmailing Margo over her relationship with Brad, in case you were wondering. But there are still plenty of loose ends to tie up… Let’s talk about the real focus of the final episode.

Who Killed Abby in The Hunting Wives?

Margo (duh). Okay, so after all the rumors that Abby had an abortion, it turns out Margo was actually the one who had a pregnancy terminated. Sophie discovers the truth after rekindling her affair with Margo and finding tampons in her bathroom. That throws her for a loop because Margo told her she couldn’t use tampons the first time they met, which she thought was a “conservative thing” at the time. For some reason, this really sticks out to Sophie and a quick internet search advises against using tampons shortly after having surgery, including an abortion.

Sophie takes her suspicions to Brad, who confirms Pastor Pete misunderstood what he meant when he said his “girlfriend” had an abortion. And surprise, Doctor Blevins performed Margo’s abortion and is secretly her dad, which is why he gave her and Kyle false alibis! Remember when I described this series as soapy? This is a prime example.

Sophie finds that little detail out after reaching out to a guy who was following her in a previous episode. She ends up meeting with another guy, who says “you’ll be dealing with me from now on.” Their motives have something to do with Margo but will be left up to a potential second season, it seems.

But yeah, Dr. Blevins gave his kids an alibi. Margo killed Abby and left her brother Kyle to dispose of the gun. After Sophie confronts Margo, Kyle tries to protect her by going after Sophie. She ends up running him over with her car and dumping his body in the lake.

Will There Be a Hunting Wives Season 2?

While Netflix has not confirmed a second season, Cobb and showrunner Rebecca Cutter have definitely thought about it. “I think we’d do a little bit of a time jump — not a year, but a time,” Cutter told Variety. “By the end of shooting, I realized that the two engines of the show are the whodunit and the Margo/Sophie relationship and tracking how those spines intersect with each other.”

Cutter just isn’t sure who to kill next, telling Variety, “I don’t know whodunit yet or who got done!”