Warning! This article contains spoilers for Your Friends and Neighbors’ season 1.
This article contains mentions of suicide and murder.
Your Friends and Neighbors season 1’s finale finally resolves the mystery surrounding Paul’s death before walking through one of Andrew Cooper’s most questionable decisions. Starring Jon Hamm, Your Friends and Neighbors has been a mixed bag of a series. While some of its performances and the mystery elements in its overarching story have been incredible, many of its story beats have felt a little underwhelming so far. Despite its flaws, the original Apple TV+ show ends its first season’s run with a solid finale that concludes many story arcs while setting up season 2.
Before Your Friends and Neighbors season 1’s final credits start rolling, Andrew Cooper finally manages to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Paul’s death. As a result, he saves himself from a long prison sentence. Surprisingly, however, instead of seeing his “near miss” as an opportunity to start living a new and crime-free life with his family, Cooper sets out to steal again — that, too, from his boss. Cooper’s ending decision in Your Friends and Neighbors‘ season 1 is both confusing and fascinating, perfectly paving the way for another season.
Why Andrew Cooper Starts Stealing Again In Your Friends & Neighbors Season 1’s Ending
Cooper Finds Joy And A Sense Of Control In The Act Of Stealing
Everything starts falling into place for Andrew Cooper in Your Friends and Neighbors season 1’s ending moments. He gets his family back, his former employers ask him to return, and the legal charges against him are completely dropped. Yet, instead of catching a private jet with his boss to a meeting with a client, Cooper chooses to stay behind and steal. This indicates that Cooper has already dipped his feet so far into the morally complex world of criminality that he cannot step back anymore.
After almost losing everything from his job to his family, from his wealth to his integrity, Cooper almost feels liberated from the expectations that once confined him.
Like Walter White from Breaking Bad, Cooper initially steals to be able to stay afloat and support his family in times of extreme financial crisis. His actions are purely driven by his desperation to keep his head above the water. However, like White, he soon finds pleasure in his criminal endeavors before he even realizes what is happening to him. He finds joy in knowing that, even though there is a lot of risk involved in his stealing ventures, it gives him a strong sense of control and autonomy over his life.
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Your Friends & Neighbors Cast & Character Guide
Apart from walking through the double life of its main character, Andrew Cooper, Your Friends & Neighbors also features many memorable performances.
After almost losing everything from his job to his family, from his wealth to his integrity, Cooper almost feels liberated from the expectations that once confined him. For once, he starts embracing the uncertainty ahead, allowing him to channel his inner outlaw. Owing to this, instead of attempting to return to his old life, where he felt trapped and lost, he chooses to tread a new path. The new path is undoubtedly riddled with risks and may even lead to his moral decline, but that actually adds to its appeal.
Paul’s Death Explained: Was He Murdered?
Paul Was Not Killed By Anyone
When Cooper’s lawyer shows him Sam’s call logs from the day of Paul’s murder, he notices that there are no records of his number. This leads him to realize that Sam was using a burner phone to call and text him. For obvious reasons, this makes him and his lawyer suspicious of Sam. Unfortunately, to their dismay, the police officers involved with the case refuse to do anything about this information when they tell them about it.
Determined to prove his innocence, Cooper breaks into Sam’s home with Elena and looks for her burner phone. Elena eventually finds a note in one of the drawers in Sam’s room which confirms that Paul was not murdered by anyone — he died by suicide. This revelation not only proves Andrew Cooper’s innocence but also confirms that Sam was trying to frame him for Paul’s death.
Why Sam Shot Paul Twice After He Was Dead
She Wanted Paul’s Insurance Money
Moments before Cooper and Elena find Paul’s note, the police detectives receive Paul’s post-mortem report. It reveals that Paul was shot twice after he died. Turns out that Paul was on a video call with Sam before he took his life. Sam realized that if Paul’s death was ruled a suicide, she would likely not get millions in insurance and would be forced to head back to her life of poverty and struggles.
Therefore, to be able to secure the insurance money, she headed back home and shot Paul twice, explaining the detail from the post-mortem report. Before leaving home, she even broke the glass on the back door of her home to make it look like someone had broken in to kill Paul. Things eventually fell into place for her after Cooper’s DNA was found at the crime scene.
Your Friends & Neighbors Cast & Characters | |
Actor | Role |
Jon Hamm | Andrew Cooper |
Amanda Peet | Mel Cooper |
Olivia Munn | Sam Levitt |
Hoon Lee | Barney Choi |
Mark Tallman | Nick Brandes |
Lena Hall | Allison “Ali” Cooper |
Isabel Gravitt | Tori Cooper |
Randy Danson | Lu |
Donovan Colan | Hunter Cooper |
Sam, too, tried to play along, explaining why she even asked Mel to consider that Andrew could be a killer. To her dismay, Cooper manages to stay one step ahead of her and finds the truth. Since Sam did not claim her husband’s insurance, she saved herself from facing serious criminal consequences. However, her plan fell apart and her scheme to get rich quickly failed.
Why Sam Tried To Frame Cooper For Paul’s Murder
Cooper Became An Easy Scapegoat For Her
Image via Apple TV+
It seems like Sam was not initially trying to frame Cooper for Paul’s death. However, as Cooper’s terrible luck would have it, he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, spreading his DNA all over the crime scene. His affair with Sam gave the investigators another solid reason to suspect he might have killed Paul.
Sam also seemingly held a grudge against Cooper and other rich men like him because they reminded her of her previous life.
Sam eventually played along and did not try to protect Cooper because she realized the stacking evidence against him could favor her. If Cooper was convicted of Paul’s murder, Sam would also be able to claim the millions of insurance money she wanted. Sam also seemingly held a grudge against Cooper and other rich men like him because they reminded her of her previous life.
When Cooper rejected her and refused to take their relationship seriously, he reminded her of how she had to sleep with Paul to be able to get out of her previously poor financial conditions. Little does she realize that Cooper is no different from her. Like her, he, too, is struggling to sustain the false image of being wealthy, secure, and content.
Why Cooper’s Ex-Boss Hires Him Again
He Realizes Cooper Was A Valuable Asset For The Company
All ends well for Cooper when his former employer, Bailey Russell, asks him to rejoin his company again. He reveals that since Cooper’s exit, the company has been struggling to hold on to many clients who preferred interacting with Cooper. Realizing that Bailey needs him more than he needs him, Cooper ensures his boss agrees to his terms before he can accept his apology and offer.
Cooper’s Threat To Jules Explained
His Threat Shows He Strives To Take Full Control Over His Life
Image via Apple TV+
In Your Friends and Neighbors‘ opening moments, Cooper was portrayed as a timid man who struggled to hold onto anything. His children despised him, his wife cheated on him, and his boss outsmarted him by finding an excuse to fire him. Towards the end of the show, however, Cooper is a changed man.
He stands up not only for himself when he confronts his former employers but also defends his daughter by threatening to expose all the shady methods Jules used to get her daughter into Princeton. When Jules’ daughter takes the university seat that his daughter was working hard for, Cooper does not hold himself back from showing Jules that she is not the one who calls the shots.
Like Walter White in Breaking Bad, Andrew Cooper seemingly realizes that he is “the danger” and he is “the one who knocks.“ Moving forward, he will likely cross many moral boundaries and lock horns with many influential folks, like Jules, to remain in control of his life.
How Your Friends & Neighbors Season 1’s Ending Sets Up Season 2
Cooper’s Moral Decline Has Only Begun
Even though Your Friends and Neighbors season 1’s ending resolves the overarching murder mystery plot, it only scratches the surface of Cooper’s moral decline. After getting his family and old job back, the Jon Hamm character could have lived happily ever after. However, that is not what Your Friends and Neighbors intends to show.
It seems to be in tandem with shows like Breaking Bad and Ozark in which characters walk down the criminal path long enough to become villains. While only time will tell how Cooper’s moral descent will unfold, season 1’s ending confirms that he has no intentions of stepping away from the criminal world soon.
It would be interesting to see how Jon Hamm’s Andrew Cooper would gradually turn into Walter White, Marty Byrde, or even Don Draper in the Apple TV+ show’s next installment.
Interestingly, Apple TV+ renewed Your Friends and Neighbors for season 2 even before its season 1 premiere. It would be interesting to see how Jon Hamm’s Andrew Cooper would gradually turn into Walter White, Marty Byrde, or even Don Draper in the Apple TV+ show’s next installment.
