Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for Dead Ringers.Throughout much of the series, Prime Video’sDead Ringersmake the audience believe that Elliot (Rachel Weisz) is the emotionally drained and suffering character who resorts to drugs and sex to move over from the trauma of losing her sibling to the love of another human. Much of the run-time focuses on Elliot’s struggle fueled by her own morally corrupt actions. But the post-credit scene reveals that Beverly’s choice of ending her life was years in the making. She, in fact, went beyond her means to create the entire backdrop for Elliot’s disappearance, establishing that she was suffering more than it was ever shown in the series. TheDead Ringerspost-credit scene lends more depth to the shocking climax as it is revealed to Elliot that Beverly had been working on setting up a cover-up for Elliot’s death for years.
While it initially appears to be the story of Elliot’s trauma and eventual downfall,Dead Ringersmakes it clear through the twist in the end that sometimes trauma is more internal in nature. Moreover, it is hidden, as was the case with Beverly. With the post-credit scene, Beverly redeems herself as it becomes clear that even her choice to alienate herself from her sister Elliot publicly was not driven by the compulsion put by Rebecca Parker (Jennifer Ehle), her billionaire boss who preferred Elliot initially until the bad PR for Elliot was too much to handle. In fact, it was an opportunity that fell into her lap to set up the perfect story for Elliot’s eventual departure (which means her own, in this case). While extending greater context for Beverly’s shocking decision to pull off the ultimate “twin swap” at the end, the post-credit scene drops a veil on the relationship between the Mantle sisters as it can be questioned whether Beverly meant for Ellie (the real one) to survive under her presumed identity or whether a more sinister alternative was ever the option - the death of Elliot.
RELATED:Before ‘Dead Ringers,’ Rachel Weisz Wowed Alongside Another Rachel in This Film
First impressions suggest that Elliot has always been the more conniving one among the brilliant Mantle sisters. Elliot used her manipulative techniques to seduce women for her shy and timid sister, Beverly. The two would often swap places at work anyway without the knowledge of others. The dependency of Beverly on Elliot to ensure she herself has a romantic life whatsoever reflectsthe unhealthy side of the relationship that the twin sisters shared. While Beverly knowingly allowed Elliot to seduce women for her, she ended up playing a part in ensuring that the two sisters furthered their parasitically symbiotic sisterhood. The fact that Beverly had to depend on her sister to kindle her dating life only contributed to her dependency on Elliot to find happiness. On the other hand, the whole situation contributed to Elliot’s sense of ownership of Beverly - which eventually led to her intolerance of Genevieve’s (Britne Oldford) presence in Beverly’s life.
However, Elliot’s ability to turn difficult situations in favor of Beverly did not make everything easy for the latter. Beverly always had her own battles to fight, particularly with her history of miscarriages. The doctor in her persisted despite repeated failures, but each time she suffered, the trauma found a way into her life. Beverly’s empathetic outlook was fed by her own sufferings as a woman and a mother. Although Beverly had enough of her own struggles,Dead Ringerstry to deceive the audience through the portrayal of her character as an optimistic medico who believes in the power of persistence. Beverly’s optimism stands in contrast with Elliot’s unwavering pessimism - another tool of deception as it helps divert the attention from Beverly’s sufferings and focuses on Elliot’s tragic downfall.
Elliot’s spiraling descent into chaos seemed natural for her character driven from the control she had over her sister’s life. With Genevieve establishing her presence in Beverly’s life more strongly, Elliot’s choices seemed to make sense for a person sharing a complex relationship as that shared by the Mantle sisters. The jealousy and hatred that sprouted within Elliot was evidence that the unhealthy dependence was not one-way. As Beverly keeps moving ahead in her life with Genevieve, the distance between her and Elliot is shown to expand.
By the timeBeverly chooses to announce her estrangement from her sisterin front of the public, the dots as to why she would choose to do so starts connecting. For one, Beverly was never the one to make courageous choices. The fear of facing public criticism and falling into Rebecca’s bad books would be enough reasons for Beverly to denounce her relationship with her loved sister, Elliot. Moreover, her prospering relationship with Genevieve, a public figure who has much to lose in the case Elliot’s actions became public knowledge, would suggest that Beverly would want to lead with caution.Dead Ringersshows Beverly as a character willing to devote herself to her weaknesses and embrace them as she had been all her life. But as the post-credit scene reveals, Beverly’s final move was a move towards achieving a kind of freedom that she had never experienced in her life, as a result of being tethered to her sister who defended her at every juncture - something Tom (Michael Chernus) reiterates at the award ceremony in the final episode.
Throughout the episodes, one of the Beverly sisters is shown attending grief sessions in which she talks of losing her sister to an accident. Now, without the post-credit scene, it would make complete sense for Elliot (who had assumed the identity of Beverly) to be the one attending these grief sessions. But as revealed in the post-credit scene, Beverly was the one attending the grief sessions in a bit to propagate the idea that Elliot had passed away in an accident years ago. Moreover, the post-credit scene helps connect the dots and suggests that the grief sessions occur while Beverly was alive, much before the events of the hysteric climax, clearly establishing that Beverly was busy creating the backstory for Elliot’s eventual disappearance. The momentary impulsiveness of Beverly to suggest andexecute the ultimate twin swapin the climax is converted to a well-laid-out plan at work through the revelation made to Elliot by a stranger.
Undoubtedly, the first impression created by the post-credit scene and the tragic climax before it would lead to the belief that Beverly’s decision to end her life was part of a long-drawn plan as her motives to do so became clearly visible at this point. Beverly’s confession to Elliot that she is incapable of happiness strengthens the possibility that Beverly had accepted her dire mental state way earlier than the events of the climax. It would mean that Beverly, knowing she has to create the perfect setting for Elliot’s eventual transition into Beverly’s identity and Elliot’s eventual disappearance, worked hard over the years to weave a convincing story that would yield enough witnesses.
Beverly’s decision to comply with Rebecca Parker’s directions and call out her sister publicly also aligns with this possibility as the situation provided the perfect opportunity for Elliot’s identity to be dismissed. However, this version of Beverly’s story leaves out the question of what were Beverly’s original plans had Elliot not pulled off the debacle which she eventually did. If Beverly always planned for Elliot to assume her own identity, it necessitated that Beverly needed to have a plan in place for the same to convincingly happen even if Elliot did not create the ideal situation for her removal from the public eye. Was it that Beverly had the perfect plan in place but decided to deviate from it when the situation played in her favor anyway? Or was Beverly’s decision to make the twin swap never part of the original plan? The latter question results in a possible situation in which Beverly only intended for Elliot to be removed from her life but ended up deciding that she should go away for good. With Beverly gone, no one would ever know unless Elliot decides to dig further into Beverly’s actions before her death.
Regardless of what were Beverly’s original intentions, the post-credit scene expands on the character of Beverly as well as the complex relationship shared by the Mantle sisters. The post-credit scene ofDead Ringersbuilds onDavid Cronenberg’s 1998 film of the same nameto take the story beyond that of two tragedy-struck siblings. The post-credit scene, while changing the ending completely, adds a pinch of mystery to the whole affair with more answers to seek if a potential Season 2 is ever green-lit.
