Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery!
The reveal of the killer in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is pretty simple, but that's what makes it so good. The sequel to Rian Johnson's acclaimed murder mystery movie Knives Out has received a fair bit of criticism online, with many citing that the overarching mystery of Glass Onion is too basic, and some even saying that the reveal's simplicity actually ruins the film. However, those that levy this criticism at Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery actually don't understand what the film is trying to do, as simplicity is the point.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery sees the return of Daniel Craig's Detective Benoit Blanc, the world's greatest detective that solved the murder of Harlan Thrombey in 2019's Knives Out. This time, Blanc, alongside a caravan of wealthy elites, travels to a massive private island in order to help solve a case set up by the island's owner Miles Bron for his murder mystery party. However, things quickly go awry as real bodies begin to drop, causing Benoit Blanc to investigate the case of several real murders that take place in the titular Glass Onion compound.
Glass Onion's Killer Reveal Is Much Simpler Than Knives Out
Although the killer in Knives Out is the one everyone suspected, Harlan's grandson Hugh, the method by which the killing took place was fairly complicated. As it turns out, Hugh attempted to murder Harlan by poisoning him, and switching Harlan's medications. However, Harlan's nurse, Martia (played by Ana de Armas), accidentally gave Harlan the correct medication. Believing she poisoned him, Harlan commits suicide in an attempt to protect Martia, although unbeknownst to both of them nothing was wrong. Throughout Knives Out, the method by which Harlan was murdered was the real mystery, and it was incredibly complicated.
On the other hand, the mystery in Glass Onion is actually fairly simple. After the murder of Duke Cody takes place, most of the film actually tells the sequence of events that happened leading up to the murder, preparing Blanc to reveal the killer. As it turns out, Miles Bron killed Duke by giving him pineapple juice, which he was allergic to. Also, Bron poisoned another person, Andi, before inviting everyone. Compared to Knives Out, this is a much simpler revelation, as not only is Miles the obvious killer throughout the film, but eagle-eyed viewers can actually see Bron hand Duke the poisoned glass before the murder even happens.
Glass Onion's Mystery Isn't Just About The Killer
Glass Onion's mystery is actually about the characters rather than just the killer, with each guest on Bron's island having a motive and opportunity that has to be uncovered. Throughout the film, Miles is the most obvious killer of both dead bodies that appear, but he can't be proven as the murderer until everyone else is ruled out. This turns a fairly simple murder case into a much more complicated affair, as each character has their own mystery that has to be solved by Blanc.
Much like Helen Brand says when making the motive and opportunity chart, Glass Onion is a lot like a game of Clue. Throughout the film, Blanc (and by proxy, the audience) has to figure out how each character is connected to Miles Bron and why they would want him and/or Andi Brand dead. By the time the killer is revealed at the end of Glass Onion, it may seem pretty obvious, but that's only because loads of smaller mysteries have had big reveals throughout the entire film. By making Glass Onion's murder mystery more about the characters than the killer, the film becomes an experience like nothing else.
Why Glass Onion's Solution Had To Be Simpler Than Knives Out
Glass Onion's mystery solution had to be simpler than Knives Out for several key reasons. Firstly, the sequel didn't want to get caught up in one-upping its predecessor, as each subsequent film would have to then have a bigger, more complex mystery than the one before it. On top of that, Glass Onion (much like Knives Out) is a homage to classic murder mystery stories. Because of this, it uses popular genre tropes like the switching of the twin sisters Helen and Andi, and a simpler mystery is required to make these tropes work. If the mystery of Glass Onion was as complicated as Knives Out, it wouldn't have worked.