This Theory About What's Really Going On In The Watcher Will Blow Your Mind

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from The Watcher’s finale. Netflix’s latest psychological thriller poses a disturbing question... but it doesn’t provide a clear answer. At the end of the miniseries’ seven-episode run, the identity of the show’s titular Watcher is still a total mystery. But the final scene may have hinted at what was really going on the whole time. So, were Dean and Nora actually the Watcher all along? Despite all the creepy neighbors around them, this theory about The Watcher may be the real story.

Just like the actual Watcher mystery that blew up back in 2018, the Netflix series that adapted the true crime story never solved the case. Nearly a decade after real-life couple Derek and Maria Broaddus began receiving threatening letters from an anonymous author known only as the Watcher, the letter-writer’s true identity remains unknown. Rather then invent a perpetrator to wrap up the Netflix series, The Watcher also kept its mystery open-ended, as Dean and Nora Brannock leave Westfield without ever finding out who was torturing them. However, the show’s ending may be a clue pointing to an explanation about the Watcher.

In the final scene, Dean returns to 657 Boulevard to meet the new homeowners. Suspiciously, he introduces himself as John, the same name as the former homeowner and murderer that Dean was convinced was the Watcher. After Dean drives away, Nora pulls up to the house... then the show ends. The bizarre ending seems to suggest Dean and Nora were more involved in this mystery than they let on.

So, what if the true villain of the show is the house itself?

OK, let me explain. The Watcher dropped *so* many hints that Dean’s personality was changing to be very similar to the overprotective, slut-shamey former homeowner John Graff when he was at 657 Boulevard. Once he finally got out of the house, Dean became his jovial old self again, even bonding with his daughter’s boyfriend Dakota after initially threatening him. It really felt like the house had some supernatural control over Dean — perhaps the same control it may have had over John back in the day.

If we focus on Dean’s personality change, here’s the theory: 657 Boulevard is able to turn its inhabitants into Watchers. Obviously, this is not part of the “based on a true story” element of the series, but what if the show took some creative license to bring it in a supernatural direction? It’s even possible that every person who once lived in 657 Boulevard was a Watcher, and at the end of the series, it’s possible Dean and possibly Nora have become full-fledged Watchers themselves. Dean even admitted he started sending out his own Watcher-style letters. Could the house have its claws deep in him?

Since the real-life Watcher case is still unsolved, it definitely feels like a possibility that the team behind The Watcher wanted to lean a bit more into fiction to provide and exciting ending, and having the house itself be the true Watcher (or the Watcher-maker) actually kinda makes sense. But no — that’s not to say that’s what happened in real life. The true story may remain a mystery until the end of time.

The Watcher is streaming on Netflix.