Netflix's new mystery thriller Brazen features Alyssa Milano trying to find her sister's killer, resulting in her going to great lengths to catch the killer in the end. One of Netflix's January 2022 movies, Brazen comes from director Monika Mitchell as an adaptation of the novel Brazen Virtue by New York Times best-selling author Nora Roberts. Just a year after Alyssa Milano was cast in the lead role of crime novelist Grace Miller, the twisty murder mystery is now out for all to watch.
Brazen's story follows novelist Grace Miller, who has just wrapped up a successful book tour and returned to Washington D.C. when her sister Kathleen (Emilie Ullerup) calls her in distress. Kathleen is attempting to gain full custody of her son now that she's cleaned up her life following a divorce. However, before she can try to get her young son back, tragedy strikes when Grace finds Kathleen dead in her home. This unravels a secret that Kathleen had been hiding, which is that she had been working as an online dominatrix known as Desiree to make some extra money. Due to her writer's instincts for getting inside the mind of a killer, Grace stops at nothing to put herself in the middle of the ongoing investigation to find who murdered Kathleen.
The Netflix movie revolves around Brazen's two main characters, Grace and detective Ed Jennings (Sam Page), who work together to solve her sister's murder. There are multiple suspects along the way, and the case only becomes more complicated as Grace and Ed's feelings for each other grow and additional webcam girls turn up dead. It all leads to Brazen's suspense-filled ending and the reveal of who was really responsible for Kathleen's murder. Here's a breakdown of Brazen's ending, the killer reveal, and unanswered questions explained.
Who Killed Kathleen? Serial Killer's Identity Revealed
It isn't until the very end of Brazen's story that Kathleen's killer is revealed to be Jerald Baxter (Matthew Finlan). When she is first murdered, the movie only gives viewers a few clues as to who was responsible, similar to Mare of Easttown's elusive murder suspect. The killer, shown as a masked figure in a green hoodie and wearing a shiny gold watch, is shown breaking into her house, and forensics later reveals that the individual had a size 11 shoe on. There are plenty of suspects early on, with Grace especially highlighting Kathleen's ex-husband Jonathan Breezewood (David Lewis), but it is Jerald Baxter who ultimately is responsible. As one of Kathleen's students at the high school where she worked, Jerald developed an obsession with his teacher.
Grace is ultimately the one who traps Jerald and tricks him into confessing to his crimes. She proposes to pose as the new Desiree for Fantasy Inc, knowing that whoever the killer is won't let an imposter take Kathleen's place. She sets up her sister's webcam to lure Jerald to the house a second time and live-stream his confession since the cops left thinking another student was the killer. Jerald does attempt to kill Grace then, but Ed gets to the house just in time to save Grace, shooting Jerald multiple times in the chest. For her part, Grace isn't surprised to see that Jerald is her sister's killer and quickly analyzes his motives. As it turns out, Jerald's mother is a state senator and quite cold to him, so Grace believes he was attracted to Kathleen's nurturing tendencies. This grows into an unhealthy obsession, which leads to Jerald discovering Kathleen's Desiree secret. As Grace suggests, Jerald felt he had to kill her then because Kathleen's Desiree persona was too controlling and ruined the image he'd built up of Kathleen.
Why Jerald Baxter Attacked Two More Dominatrixes
On top of killing Kathleen, Jerald also attacks two other dominatrixes during Brazen. He kills the first woman he attacks after murdering Kathleen. On the video, Jerald calls her Desiree and even positions her body like Kathleen's body was positioned when she died. The second dominatrix that Jerald attacks manages to fend him off for a short time, even cutting his arm, and he is forced to flee when her family gets home. It seems to come out of nowhere, but Brazen's ending provides a quick possible explanation for why Jerald goes from killing Kathleen to becoming a serial killer. He tells Grace that he views all of the dominatrixes as "Desiree" now, implying that he would've continued killing if he hadn't died in Brazen's ending, as he views them all as the persona that destroyed his pure image of Kathleen.
Will Grace & Ed Stay Together?
The final scene in Brazen's ending shows Grace and Ed together in his house and briefly discussing what will come next. They both seem interested in continuing their newly sparked romance, and the movie's credits start rolling before an official answer is given. All indications are that Grace and Ed are going to see where this relationship goes, but it's unclear if they will stay together long term. Grace lived in a different part of the country before her sister's death, so she'd have to permanently relocate to make this work. Since she should inherit Kathleen's house, that could entice her to stay around, especially since she can write novels anywhere. But whether or not their feelings are real or fleeting is something that a potential Brazen sequel would have to answer.
How Did Jerald Send Flowers With Mr. Morgan's Credit Card?
One question that the Brazen ending doesn't answer is the flower arrangement sent to Kathleen's funeral. Grace has a note from some flowers charged to Rand Morgan's father's credit card. However, neither Rand Morgan nor his father sent the flowers or wrote the note. The implication is that Jerald sent the Desiree note, as he previously confirmed that he sent flowers to the funeral. Jerald's flowers were tulips, though, and the note came with roses. Brazen's ending doesn't provide a reasonable explanation for who actually sent the flowers and the note, but it certainly seems to be something Jerald would do. One possible explanation is that the tech-savvy high schooler managed to send the flowers using Mr. Morgan's credit card without them realizing it.
Will Kathleen's Ex-Husband Be Arrested For Fraud Charges?
Brazen's ending also leaves Jonathan's future as Kathleen's ex-husband somewhat up in the air. The Netflix psychological thriller reveals early on that Kathleen's plan to get full custody of her and Jonathan's son is to blackmail her ex with fraud. She had documents that support these claims, which Grace obtained after her sister died. Grace was convinced that the documents were incriminating, even though Jonathan didn't seem worried about them. It's left unclear in the end if there was any legitimacy to Jonathan's fraud charges and if the authorities would arrest him for illegal dealings. Since Brazen's ending doesn't directly answer this question either way, it's best to assume that he's innocent of any crimes and will remain the primary caregiver of his and Kathleen's son.
What Happens to Kathleen's Other Killer Suspects
Even though Brazen's ending concludes with confirming the killer's identity, it doesn't reveal what happens to the other suspects in her murder. Jonathan is presumably left alone to raise his son, but what happened to Rand Morgan next is not shown. He was last seen in the hospital after Jerald attacked him, but Grace learns that he is secretly gay and in a relationship with Fantasy Inc's employee Richie (Jack Armstrong). There's no resolution to whether or not Rand comes out to his father, but that might be a conversation best saved for when he gets out of the hospital.