Is ‘A Murder at the End of the World’ Tied to ‘The OA’? Theory Explained
“At four, we might hit a real tipping point.”
Fans were outraged when the cult-classic series The OA was abruptly abandoned on a cliffhanger in season two. According to the LA Times, there were several attempts to grab Netflix’s attention to get the sci-fi drama back in production. They raised over $5,000 within 24 hours on a grass-roots fundraising campaign, organized flash mobs, and held protests at Netflix’s Sunset Boulevard campus. Unfortunately, none of the attempts were enough to make the streaming service reconsider its decision.
However, the hit show’s producers have created a new mini-series to binge-watch: A Murder at the End of the World, producers Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij’s second television project. This psychological thriller drama follows Darby Hart (Emma Corrin), a hacker, amateur detective, and author of the true crime book The Silver Doe. Soon, she discovers that billionaire Andy Ronson (Clive Owens) has invited her on an exclusive retreat to an unknown location. Before long, one of the guests is found dead, believed to be a drug overdose by everyone besides Darby, who sets out to find out who the murderer is.
While these shows have entirely different plots, a few connections can be made. To start, The OA’s lead actress, Brit Marling, is one of the main characters in AMATEOTW. In the 2023 show, she plays Lee Andersen, the billionaire’s wife and a former hacker Darby looks up to. Her husband Andy (Clive Owen) also has traits similar to Hap from The OA, even resembling his appearance. Naturally, fans took note of the similarities and ran with the theory that A Murder at the End of the World is actually the fourth season of The OA in disguise.
Is ‘A Murder at the End of the World’ another dimension in ‘The OA’? Here’s the theory.
The theory suggests that this new series is the fourth season, which would mean skipping over the third season entirely. Because the ending of season two showed Hap and Marling’s character, Nina, returning as a married actor couple (Jason Issacs and Brit Marling), taking on their real-life names, this reality would be the premise for the third installment. One fan suggested that the cancelation was merely a publicity stunt due to the actors waking up essentially as themselves in real life. “We have now truly moved into the third season where the show was canceled due to Brit (OA) being injured and not being able to continue her role as OA,” she suggested. “Due to the show being cancelled Hap has a way to help repress Nina and OA inside of Brit by saying she just misses the character and acting on the show. Jason Isaacs (Hap) is pushing for the show to continue so that he seems like a caring husband, thus adding more doubt to Brit’s mind; the rest remains to be seen.” Perhaps the fan was onto something, and now we’re watching a new dimension where season four is an entirely new show.
As of now, we haven’t seen the seventh episode of AMATEOTW, which will air on 12/19/2023. IMDb lists the cast members for the available six episodes, which possibly hints there may be new characters added to the last episode. Redditors believe other characters from The OA will return to try and jog Lee’s memory, reminding her of who she really is.
Even if the seventh episode doesn’t reveal returning cast members, Redditors have pinpointed some other mysterious aspects. Circling back to Andy’s character, it’s undeniable that he and Hap share similar interests. Both are obsessed with scientific innovation, going so far as to create advanced technology unseen by anyone else. Hap set out to find proof of life after death, leading him to discover parallel universes. Andy gathered a team of geniuses to devise a strategy to allow humanity to survive “the end of the world” due to the climate crisis. Though their motives seem altruistic in each case, they’re controlling men who see everyone in their lives as pawns to fulfill their goals. Even more suspicious is who they’re controlling. Hap took a special interest in Brit Marling’s character, Prairie Johnson, in The OA series. When Hap and Praire wake up in the second season’s finale, the two are married actors. In AMATEOTW, the two are not only married, but we later discover that Lee attempted to leave Andy due to his controlling nature. It’s possible Andy is another version of Hap in the new dimension, and his wife, Marling’s character, remembered that she’s the OA and how dangerous he is.
Additionally, once Darby learns of Lee’s plans to escape Andy, she somewhat takes on a protective role, discussing how she can still make her getaway. In The OA, you may remember the psychic octopus, Old Night, telling Praire that angels will send a spiritual sibling to keep her safe no matter which dimension she’s in. Is it possible that Darby is Marling’s character’s protective sibling in AMATEOTW?
There’s also a very critical number at play here. Through the episodes of The OA, we discover the importance of five members. In this show, the group must make special movements to travel to an alternate dimension. In episode five of AMATEOTW, Ziba (Pegah Ferydoni) says, “At four, we might hit a real tipping point.” When asked for what, she replies, “Revolt.” Soon after their talk of revolution, the group is joined by Oliver (Ryan J. Haddad), making it a team of five.
Hope for ‘The OA’ to Make a Comeback
Assuming that the theory is just that, maybe there’s hope for there to be a revival of the missed television show. With new buzz around A Murder at the End of the World, it’s possible Netflix may see the potential for adding a new season of The OA. Actress and co-creator Brit Marling revealed she’s hopeful the series will make its return, sharing with Vulture, “If the right conditions and circumstances come again, it will grow. I really do think that.” As of now, there is no talk of a third installment, but who knows what the future holds?
Further reading:
- Best Horror Movies on Hulu (December 2023)
- The Best Murder Mystery Movies Ever Made
- 28+ Best Sci-Fi Horror Movies
