What do you get when you get a pair of Emmy nominees and a five-time Oscar nominee? The brand-new limited series Apples Never Fall.
The series, based on Liane Moriarty’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, follows the story of the Delaneys, a model family in a suburban Florida community. When the matriarch and patriarch of the clan, Joy (Annette Bening) and Stan (Sam Neill), decide to sell their tennis academy and retire, they take on a houseguest named Savannah (Georgia Flood). Unfortunately, that decision proves to be a detrimental one for not only the couple, but for the entire Delaney family.
As Savannah ingratiates herself with Joy and Stan, the pair's adult children become increasingly suspicious of Savannah and her motives. The more questions the children ask, the more Savannah becomes masterful at dodging them. It's not until the oldest son Troy (Jake Lacy) shares with his parents that he has proof Savannah lied about her backstory that Stan wants Savannah to leave. Joy on the other hand is rather content to ignore the lie and keep Savannah around.
Savannah remains a fixture among the Delaneys until a big blow-up occurs while the family is gathered together preparing to watch a tennis match. It comes to light that Joy is actually the reason that Stan lost his biggest tennis student-turned-Grand Slam champion, not Troy. Among all the arguing, Savannah escapes while most of the family turns on Joy for her decades of deceit.
In the months that follow that fateful day of arguing, Joy continues to sense tension with her husband and children until one day she goes missing. Due to Stan's suspicious behavior and uncanny evidence, his children and police grow to think he murdered Joy and got rid of the body.
With all that being said, here's what happens with Joy and Savannah by the end of Apples Never Fall. Warning, some SPOILERS lie ahead. (By the way, be sure to check out our Apples Never Fall review.)
What happened to Joy?
Shortly after her disappearance, Joy's children leap into action to find her. They repeatedly call her phone only to receive a voicemail. When they ask their dad about where she may be, he initially keeps repeating that she's out at a mall. When Joy's friends at the country club ask Stan where Joy has been, he tells them that she's under the weather.
As one day turns into several, Stan's lies unravel as it becomes clear that Joy hasn't been home in days. When the Delaney kids confront their father, they notice a gash across his face. While he dismisses the injury, he does confess that he and Joy got into a verbal fight and she ran away. It rings odd, however, that she left without her phone, which a family friend finds in a laundry basket in the house.
With each episode comes another damning revelation that makes it appear Stan killed his wife and disposed of her body. This includes a video of Stan dumping a big bag into a marina in the dead of night, an audio recording of Stan arguing with Joy and things being tossed around and a bloody hoodie belonging to Joy found next door.
As Stan is tossed into prison, by the end of the episode titled "Stan," it’s revealed that Joy is not dead at all but with Savannah. Then in the episode titled "Joy" we learn that Joy actually did just run away from home like her husband said. What the rest of her family doesn't know is she received an unmarked letter from Savannah prior to her departure. The letter was an invitation to Joy to meet Savannah in the mountains, and Joy eventually decided to go and enjoy her time away from family.
What happened to Savannah?
With their father a suspect in a murder investigation and mom presumed dead, the Delaney daughters Amy (Alison Brie) and Brooke (Essie Randles) drive to a mysterious woman's house to ask about a tip she had about Joy's disappearance. They don't get much from the woman in the conversation, but later while all the siblings are gathered around looking at old family photos, they spot the woman in a picture next to a young Savannah. Also in the photo is a young Henry Haddad (Parker Little), Stan's previously mentioned tennis student turned Pro.
When the siblings go meet with adult Harry (Giles Matthey) to discuss the image, he confirms that the young girl in the picture is Lindsay, his younger sister and the woman in the photo is his mother. Harry goes on to explain that his mom had her fair share of mental health issues and so did Lindsay. In fact, Lindsay once pulled a gun on Harry and his family, prompting him to get a restraining order against her.
Joy would come to discover Savannah's true identity as well by going through her purse while Savannah stepped out. Unfortunately, Joy didn't do a good job of putting Savannah's purse back exactly how she found out, and Savanah concluded Joy was onto her.
Then while in the car driving, Savannah tells Joy she plans to help Joy reconnect with her family, only Savannah has no intention of doing that. Instead, Savannah puts the pedal to the metal and drives recklessly fast down a highway until the car is hit by a semitruck. Remarkably, Savannah is able to get out of the vehicle and flee the scene before the police can arrive on the scene.
It's not until Joy is in the hospital that she discovers she has been presumed dead and her husband was arrested for her murder. When Joy finally returns home and Stan is released from prison, she relays that Savannah hasn't been arrested and is seemingly off the grid.
All episodes of Apples Never Fall are now streaming on Peacock.
