Javier Bardem and Amy Adams lead the cast of psychological thriller series Cape Fear.
Based on the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald, the series follows Max Cady, who sets out for revenge against lawyer Anna Bowden after being released from prison.
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The Executioners has previously received two film adaptations; a 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, and Martin Scorsese’s 1991 thriller led by Robert De Niro.
Other cast members in the series include Patrick Wilson, Joe Anders, Lily Collias, CCH Pounder, Malia Pyles, Jamie Hector, Anna Baryshnikov and Juliette Lewis.
All ten episodes of Cape Fear are available to stream on Apple TV.
What happens at the end of Cape Fear?
In the final episode, Max Cady (Javier Bardem) breaks into the Bowden family home and takes everyone hostage, including teenagers Zack (Joe Anders) and Natalie (Lily Collias). He sets up a mock “trial” against lawyer couple Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom (Patrick Wilson), who colluded against him to have him sent to prison for the murder of his pregnant wife, Melissa. A crime, as we discovered earlier, he didn’t commit.
During the “trial”, Anna confesses to colluding against Max, saying she could have had him acquitted, but she wanted to have him locked away to protect her daughter Natalie – who Anna believes is Max’s biological daughter.
Later, Anna drops another revelation. After obtaining evidence at Max’s family’s houseboat, Anna tells him that his sister Crystal (Juliette Lewis) actually killed his wife, and ripped the unborn baby from her body. This young boy, Max’s son, grew up to be Luke (Max Mattern), who Max killed on the houseboat earlier in the episode. In other words, Max, who has been mourning his son Adam throughout the entire series, actually killed his and Melissa’s son.
This revelation sends Max into a spiral, and when Natalie breaks free, a fight ensues in the house. Eventually, Anna and Tom look to drown Max in the swimming pool, but they spare his life, saying, “Let him die in a cage.” We don’t see Max after this point, but it’s assumed he’s arrested and sent to prison for his crimes.
In the final scene, the Bowden family are having a barbecue in their garden – in a scene reminscent of the first episode before Max was released. While they seem happy, there’s a clear paranoia festering among them over what’s happened, and in the final shot, Anna looks over her shoulder in fear, before it switches to a bright-red filter.
Has a season 2 been announced?
Apple has not announced a second season at the time of writing (August 1), but with some plotlines left unresolved like Natalie’s parentage, there’s room to continue the show.
Speaking to Deadline, Juliette Lewis teased there is a plan for more episodes. “Well, we will see,” she said. “I hope to have a second season, because I know a little stuff about the second season.
“But that’s what’s exciting about Nick, the show creator’s writing. It’s always twists and turns. It’s always to get you going in one direction as an audience and then, jaw-dropping. He really had fun creating that as a noir and a thriller. What’s behind this door? And it’s never what you expect.”
