Saint X is a new psychological thriller series that just debuted on Hulu to much fanfare - and for understandable reasons.
Based on the eponymous novel by Alexis Schaitkin, the series is absolutely addicting.
Three of eight episodes dropped on the streaming platform earlier this week, with a new one scheduled to be released every Wednesday through May 31, but fans already have loads of questions (and theories!) about the plot.
Alexis herself executive produced the series, which was developed about three years after the author's original book dropped back in 2020.
Although a work of fiction, the novel was actually inspired by the disappearance of one Natalee Holloway in Aruba back in 2005.
WHAT IS SAINT X ON HULU ABOUT?
The limited series Saint X follows the Thomases on a vacation to Saint X, a fictional Caribbean island based on Aruba. The family is made up of Bill (Michael Park), his wife Mia (Betsy Brandt), their teenage daughter Alison (West Duchovny, the daughter of renowned actors David Duchovny and Téa Leoni) and her younger sister Claire (Kenlee Anaya Townsend).
Although the story is told via different timelines that are set 20 years apart, audience members quickly realize that Alison never really makes it home and is, in fact, found dead on the island before the end of the family vacation.
Immediately, authorities begin suspecting two of the employees at the resort where the Thomases were staying in - Gogo (Josh Bonzie) and Edwin (Jayden Elijah), who were actually the last two people that the victim was publicly seen with.
In the forward-flashing timeline, fans get to know an older Claire who now goes by the name Emily (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and lives as a documentary editor in Brooklyn, New York. Still traumatized by her sister's untimely passing and plagued by what really happened, she eventually happens to meet an older Gogo (who now also goes by a different name, Clive) and begins piecing together the events preceding Alison’s passing.
WHO KILLED ALISON IN SAINT X?
Although only three of eight episodes of Saint X are currently available for streaming on Hulu, fans already have a question in mind: who killed Alison in Saint X?
Of course, unless you've already read the book that the limited series is based on (and assuming that the storyline hasn't changed in the two iterations), you will not know the answer to that important question until the finale of the show airs at the end of May. However, there are plenty of suspects to keep your eyes on, including Gogo and Edwin.
Fans of the book, however, do have a bit more information about the unfolding of events - beware of spoilers moving forward!
In the novel, readers are heartened by the fact that Clive is actually proven innocent. However, in the written work, Claire never really finds out what exactly happened to Alison - an intentional plot point on behalf of the author.
"The first chapter sets up the mystery of Alison Thomas’ death, but I hope the reader will quickly figure out that the novel is ultimately less interested in the answer to that mystery than in its fallout for all of these characters," Alexis, the writer, said back in 2020 to the American Booksellers Association.
Although fans probably hope for the TV adaptation to offer a more satisfying ending, showrunner Leila Gerstein has gone on the record about her devotion to the original material, a fact that leads us to believe that no murderer will be identified on the screen iteration of the story.
"The novel has textured characters, a multi-layered world, surprises, and themes that intrigue me as a writer and I was so excited to expand on what Alexis had set up," Leila said to Elle recently. "Like the book, the show deals with very real issues like grief, class, race, and culture’s obsession with dead white girls while set in a beautiful location with a great mystery propelling us to the end."
Either way, we won’t stop (actually, can’t stop!) watching.
