The Woman in Cabin 10 brings Laura “Lo” Blacklock’s (Keira Knightley) quest for the truth to a surprisingly happy ending, following the twist that the plot hinges on being revealed. Based on Ruth Ware’s novel of the same name, Netflix’s new thriller follows Lo, an award-winning Guardian journalist, taking on what she believes will be an easy assignment covering a charity venture on a luxury yacht.

Billionaire Richard Blummer (Guy Pearce) is hosting to raise funds for cancer research, due to his wife Anne’s (Lisa Loven Kongsli) diagnosis. Lo briefly meets Anne, who reveals that she is planning to donate all her assets upon her death. That night, Lo witnesses the woman in the neighboring cabin being tossed overboard, but no one believes her when all passengers are accounted for.

“It’s not an unreliable-narrator story,” director Simone Stone says in an interview with Netflix. “The audience doesn’t at any point question whether or not this person saw what they saw. You do agree completely with her, and you take it as fact. It’s her struggle against a conspiracy.“

Who Was The Woman In Cabin 10 & Who Killed Her, Explained

When Laura revisits Anne the next day, she brushes her off, and there are some inconsistencies in her behavior. Through a dangerous investigation, Lo discovers that the woman thrown overboard was Anne herself. Carrie (Gitte Witt), whom Lo briefly ran into before the murder, is a look-alike hired by Richard to stand in for his wife after he killed her, to regain control of the fortune.

“I thought the conversation about the patriarchal assumption of being able to just replace women, dispensable, that you can dispose of them and move on, that’s at the core of the movie,” says Stone. While Carrie initially tries to convince Lo to stop looking for answers, Lo forces her to reconsider when she points out that Carrie will never be safe from Blummer, as his plan hinges on her silence.

Laura’s ex-boyfriend Ben (David Ajala), a photographer also covering the cruise, is tragically killed helping her escape to the gala back on land, so she can expose Blummer. When Carrie confirms the story, Lo manages to prevent Blummer from escaping with help from Sigrid (Amanda Collin), the cruise’s chief of security. Anne’s fortune is donated per her wishes.

Lo returns to The Guardian and writes a version of the story with a hopeful spin, emphasizing that some good was done by Anne and those who helped Lo escape; Lo and Carrie seem to remain friends. “Once Lo knows that something’s going on, she doesn’t take no for an answer,” says Knightley (also to Netflix). “She just goes for it and goes for it and goes for it.“

The Woman in Cabin 10 is partially about Lo, a journalist who is starting to become disillusioned with her work, being reminded of the good in people. She is traumatized because (before the events of the movie) a woman who had agreed to speak with her as a witness to human trafficking was killed to prevent this. Lo then finds herself fighting for her life to uncover the truth.

The Woman in Cabin 10 debuted with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score, but it has still become a worldwide hit on Netflix. The Woman in Cabin 10 offers a unique approach to the whodunit genre, with stylish visuals and an unsurprisingly great performance by Knightley, and its conclusion illustrates the clear vision the production had for the story’s themes.