The final episode of Amazon Prime Video’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith left me with more questions than answers. The journey through the lives of two spies who are forced into a marriage takes several comedic turns, but in episode 8, things fall apart.
Jane (Maya Erskine) and John (Donald Glover) Smith, who have been struggling with their relationship, finally decide to call it quits. It’s understandable, given the constant fighting and lack of communication between them. But they break the cardinal rule of any dangerous situation: never separate!
When love and espionage collide (Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Smith/New Regency Productions and 20th Century Fox)Both John and Jane know better, but their emotions take over. While this is frustrating to watch, their breakup serves a purpose. It shows their human side, and their poor choices make Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith more relatable and real (and more interesting than the 2005 film).
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie set the standard in 2005, but a two-hour movie barely scratches the surface of marriage, especially one that’s tested by the chaos of a shady spy organization.
Still, Amazon’s adaptation, crafted by Francesca Sloane and Glover, gives us a deeper look into John and Jane’s characters, making the finale all the more shocking. Before everything falls apart, the Smiths make a genuine attempt to fix their marriage.
They visit a therapist, played by the hilarious Sarah Paulson, and begin to understand each other better. Jane realizes her anxiety makes her overstep, while John acknowledges his playful nature stems from feeling emasculated.
Just as they seem to make progress, their therapist asks them to listen to recordings of their session. But there’s a twist. Jane and John are spies, not ordinary “software engineers,” as their therapist believes. To cover their tracks, Jane sets the therapist’s house on fire, destroying any evidence of their visit.
So much for progress!
The Result of Their Separation
Things get more complicated. Episode 7 ends with the Smiths fleeing the scene of the house fire, and episode 8 picks up with them living apart. As expected, strange things start happening once they separate.
Jane’s cat is shot during an assassination attempt, and John’s mother, Denise (played by Donald Glover’s actual mother, Beverly), nearly dies when her apartment is rigged with explosives.
Both John and Jane suspect the other is behind the attacks, but when John’s mother is in danger, he reaches out to Jane. They meet at The Whitney Museum, and their argument intensifies. John wants to talk, while Jane is ready to fight.
In the chaos, Jane tries to kill John, but he escapes and chases after her. The back-and-forth continues until Jane returns to their apartment, where she finds John’s mother sitting in the kitchen after breaking in with the spare key.
Denise speaks to Jane and tells her to rethink her decision to divorce John. Using his real name, she says, “Michael just needs to know you love him. What I’ve learned about him is that he needs to feel safe. Once he does, he’ll be Michael again.
But if not, he’ll become whoever you want him to be. So before you end things, make sure you know which Michael you’re leaving.” While Beverly and Jane have this heart-to-heart, John (a.k.a Michael) is trying to break into the apartment.
He heads to a neighbor’s house, hoping to cross into his backyard, but instead finds disturbing photos of him and Jane pinned up in the basement—like something from a serial killer’s collection. It turns out their neighbor works for a real estate agency and has been investigating the Smiths’ finances.
“All this on the salary of two software engineers? Doesn’t add up,” he says. John finally gets inside their apartment and confronts Jane, leading to another explosive fight. They shoot almost all their ammunition, yet neither can deal the final blow.
John then injects both himself and Jane with a truth serum, hoping to calm them down so they can talk. Surprisingly, it works. They confess their feelings for each other, but their reunion is interrupted by two old friends.
The Explosive Final Moments
The “finalizers,” who work for their spy network, are dispatched to eliminate the Smiths. John and Jane fight to survive, but during a shootout, John is shot in the abdomen. Jane (the one we root for) rushes him to their safe room, locking them inside as the other Jane (the one we don’t like) lurks behind the door.
The spy life isn’t as glamorous as it seems (Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Smith/New Regency Productions and 20th Century Fox)As John bleeds out, Jane comforts him by discussing their future. In his last moments, John asks her for her real name (it’s Alana). Then, with only one bullet left, Jane faces their enemy. On the count of three, she opens the door. Three shots ring out. It’s unclear who is shot.
The episode ends with their neighbor entering their apartment the next morning. After surveying the mess, he assumes the Smiths were having a lover’s quarrel and calls his boss. “I think they might be ready to sell.” The cliffhanger leaves plenty of unanswered questions.
Did good Jane kill bad Jane? Did John survive? Did they manage to escape or get “finalized”? And what about their boss, HiHi? Were they ever on the Smiths’ side or secretly plotting against them? Was this the price they paid for failing three missions? Finally, will there be a season 2?
Like any compelling story, much is left up to interpretation. Honestly, I hoped this was the outcome. When Mr. & Mrs. Smith was announced, I feared it would try (and fail) to recreate the movie.
Instead, the show built on the concept, taking what could’ve been a simple three-part story and turning it into something more complex with real emotions. In the movie, the Smiths presumably live happily ever after. The TV series, however, offers a more intricate story.
A show about married spies can’t have a simple ending—it would be boring. The Smiths are anything but boring. You can watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Netflix.
