The Hunting Wives Ending, Explained: Who Killed Abby Jackson?

The Hunting Wives‘ ending is full of twists and turns.

The show, which premiered on Netflix on July 21, explores the newfound friendship — and attraction — between Boston transplant Sophie O’Neil (Brittany Snow) and Texan socialite Margo Bank (Malin Akerman). Based on the 2021 May Cobb novel of the same name, the two women navigate everything from affairs to high-stakes crime after Sophie is arrested on suspicion of murder of a teenage girl named Abby Jackson (Madison Wolfe).

But even if fans have read Cobb’s novel, they might be surprised by how the series concludes.

“[Showrunner] Rebecca Cutter and May [Cobb] decided to swap a few things from the book so that fans are surprised as well,” Akerman told Town & Country in July 2025. “There’s an element of surprise, and we’ll see how people feel about that.”

So how does The Hunting Wives end? Here’s everything to know about the show’s final episode.

Warning: The Hunting Wives spoilers ahead!

How does The Hunting Wives end?

The Hunting Wives ends with Sophie deciding to run over Margo’s brother Kyle (Michael Aaron Milligan) after he threatens her. In doing so, Sophie — who has been drinking and driving — chooses to repeat the same crime that has haunted her for the past two years when she killed another motorist while intoxicated.

Rather than turning herself in, the show’s final moments show Sophie dragging Kyle to the edge of a cliff. However, she accidentally answers his cell phone while struggling with his body, connecting her to Margo, who warns Kyle to leave Sophie alone.

Sophie ends the call before pushing Kyle’s limp body over the side of the cliff. Margo drops to her knees with the realization that someone has Kyle’s phone — and he might not be coming home.

Who killed Abby Jackson?

The murder of Abby, a young girl in love with the pastor’s son Brad (George Ferrier), is a central plot in the story — particularly since Brad is also having an affair with Margo.

Though Sophie, Brad’s mother Jill (Katie Lowes) and his youth pastor, Pastor Pete (Paul Teal), are all suspects in Abby’s murder, Margo turns out to be the real killer.

Sophie begins to unravel the mystery after she catches Margo in a lie. When they met, the socialite told her that she couldn’t wear tampons; yet, Sophie finds a box of them in Margo’s bathroom drawer. When Sophie asks her about it, Margo pretends not to remember their exchange.

After Sophie discovers that it is not recommended to wear a tampon after ending a pregnancy, she deduces that Margo was pregnant with Brad’s baby and had an abortion.

Brad confirms Sophie’s suspicions, at which point Sophie confronts Margo. The politician’s wife then confesses to shooting Abby with Sophie’s handgun on the night of their lake house party.

“She was jealous of me and she threatened to take everything that I’ve built and burn it to the f—— ground,” a tearful Margo tells Sophie. “I was drunk and I made a … mistake.”

What does Margo’s confession mean for Sophie?

Margo’s confession creates conflicting feelings for Sophie, who has begun her own affair with Margo.

Not only is her lover a killer, she is now also faced with the possibility that Margo framed her for Abby’s murder, since she shot her with Sophie’s handgun.

Margo explains that she only used that gun because she was drunk and that her brother was supposed to throw it in the lake. However, he instead sold it to a man who was later busted using it in a robbery.

Additionally, Margo reveals that she has taken measures to clear Sophie’s name by planting Abby’s phone in Jill’s house.

“It was me. Okay?” she says. “I was the one, because I love you!”

Who else died?

In addition to Abby, several other characters are killed off before season 1 of The Hunting Wives ends.

Pastor Pete, Jill and Abby’s mother Starr (Chrissy Metz) all die before the end of episode 7.

Pete dies by suicide after fleeing from the police, who identify him as missing woman Kaycee Krummel (Emilia Torello)’s kidnapper. Kaycee and Abby’s friend Nina (Abigail Rhyne) are both found alive in the back of Pete’s van.

Starr is the next to die. After finding out that Abby and Brad engaged in premarital sex, she is convinced that Jill killed her daughter in a fit of rage. She knocks on Jill’s door, seeking revenge with a shotgun in hand.

While the viewer doesn’t see the struggle that occurs between the two women, Starr is discovered dead on Jill’s floor by Margo and her ex-lover Callie (Jaime Ray Newman), who has also come to question Jill.

Jill, fearing that Margo and Callie will turn her into the police, turns her gun on Margo. She is shot dead by Callie, who fires after Jill ignores her warnings to lower her weapon.

In the show’s final episode, Margo’s brother Kyle is also presumably killed when he is hit by Sophie’s car and thrown over the edge of a cliff.

Where do Sophie and Margo stand?

It is unclear where Sophie and Margo stand at the end of The Hunting Wives.

The pair’s final confrontation ends with Sophie threatening to turn Margo into the police for Abby’s murder.

However, Sophie later learns that Margo tried to protect her from Kyle. When she’s dragging him towards a cliff, Sophie accidentally answers Kyle’s phone and hears her former friend on the other line, telling him to stay away from her.

In the end, Sophie chooses to send Detective Salazar (Karen Rodriguez) to voicemail rather than picking up her phone.

How does The Hunting Wives‘ ending differ from the book?

The ending of The Hunting Wives novel and the show are vastly different.

In the book, it is Jill — not Margo — who is Abby’s killer. After finding out that Abby became pregnant and refused to get an abortion, Jill murdered her to prevent Abby from “holding Brad back.”

In a major plot twist, Jill also kills Margo for having an affair with her son.

Sophie’s story also ends much differently in the novel. She calls things off with her husband Graham and goes to therapy, rather than adding to the body count.

Will there be a season 2 of The Hunting Wives?

The Hunting Wives has not been confirmed for a season 2. However, the stars have expressed interest in returning.

“I think the nerves come from — for me, it’s really wanting this to go for a second season because I love everybody that I got to work with and it would be a dream come true to go again,” Akerman told Decider in July 2025. “So my nerves are around the fact that I just want and wish for everyone to love it so much that we get another season.”