Who Killed Sara? finale explained: what happened in the last episode of season one?

Confused about the final episode of Netflix’s Who Killed Sara? If you need some help, we've broken down the Who Killed Sara? finale.

The show focuses on Sara’s brother, Álex (Manolo Cardona), who took the fall for his sister's murder for his best friend and Sara’s boyfriend, Rodolfo Lazcano (Alejandro Nones), and ends up spending 18 years in prison. The show starts eighteen years later when Álex is being released from prison and ready to avenge his mother, Lucía (Mar Carrera), and sister by going up against the Lazcano family.  

• Who Killed Sara? cast: the lowdown on all the new Netflix stars

The Mexican mystery thriller Who Killed Sara? Is a mixture of a classic telenovela with a whodunit storyline, which keeps you on the edge of your seat. No wonder it became the biggest foreign language show in the US after it premiered...

Throughout season one there have been a lot of shocking twists and that’s why it's no surprise that by the end of the first season of Netflix’s new show we actually still don’t know for certain who killed Sara as it ends on a cliffhanger, setting the perfect scene for Who Killed Sara? season 2.

Before that though let's break down all the major things that happened in the final episode of Who Killed Sara? 

Who Killed Sara? finale explained

In the season finale, “Two Graves,” we continue to follow Álex Guzmán on his quest for revenge against the Lazcano family and whoever is responsible for the death of his sister, Sara. But a lot has changed, and while we have learned a lot, we also have a lot more questions.

Álex has made allies in Rodolfo and Elisa Lazcano, the latter becoming his lover. Both siblings basically disowned their parents and promised to help Álex find out the truth no matter where it takes them. We also meet Sara’s best friend, Marifer but after seeing the tape which Sara gave to her, of Flor being tortured, she claims to want no part in the search. 

By the end of Who Killed Sara?'s final episode, the trio of amateur investigators have discovered the truth about César Lazcano and his underground brothel at the casino, where for many years he has forced illegal immigrants into sex work, keeping their passports and other documentation so they can never leave. While it is believed for the majority of the season that César is the most likely murder suspect in Sara’s murder, the last few scenes of the season finale change everything as we see Álex call Elisa after discovering Sara’s hidden diary and saying that everything they thought they knew was wrong.

• Who Killed Sara? season 2 ending explained: what happened in the final episode?

So who actually killed Sara?

No idea… well that’s not 100% true but we don’t know anything for certain. 

At the end of season one, we found out that Mariana Lazcano, who found out that Sara was pregnant with her husband Cesar's baby, had got her lackey Elroy to tamper with the parasailing parachute and then ensure Sara was the first one to use it. We don't actually get to see Elroy cut the parachute cords, but we do see him tell Mariana "I couldn't do it." So whether or not he did it is unclear but Sara does fall from the parachute—whether Mariana ends up doing it herself or someone else completely is yet to be revealed. 

What’s the situation with Mariana and Elroy? 

Mariana treats Elroy like her adopted son/lackey. She gets him to do all her dirty work as she knows all his secrets. There are flashbacks in the finale of a young Elroy riding his bicycle into a ladder while his mom is on it, causing her to fall to her death. We also see him walking away after setting the fire that killed his dad. 

Mariana manipulates Elroy with this information as she tries and persuades Elroy to cut the parachute straps saying: “You depend on me, Elroy. I’ve kept your crimes a secret because you’ve done me so many favors... you know I’m good at keeping skeletons buried. But I’m also good at digging them up. Do what you have to do. And don’t disappoint me.” 

Who is Diana the Huntress?

Throughout the first season, there is a mystery person who refers to themselves as Diana the Huntress that has been providing Álex with important information regarding Sara's death. Operating under the moniker of the Roman goddess of wild animals and the hunt, towards the middle of the finale, the secretive character is revealed to be Sara's best friend, Marifer. The same best friend who on the day of Sara's death, was in tears, begging Sara to come to her house. 

If Marifer is “Diana the Huntress,” this leaves us with more questions than before as it's unclear how Marifer has gained all this information, and why she lied about not wanting to be involved in the search after seeing that video of Flor? Also, why was Marifer so upset on the day of Sara’s death? Was she there at the lake? And does that mean Marifer could somehow be involved in Sara's fall? 

What’s in Sara’s second diary?

Álex discovers a second diary belonging to Sara hidden inside the wall of his house. Written at the top of the first page is Sara's name and a single sentence: “Very few of us are what we seem.” This takes the audience back to the very beginning, as the show opens with this quote from Agatha Christie’s The Man In The Mist—a story involving false perception and mistaken identities. 

Inside the diary are a lot of Sara's rough sketches, and drawings that suggest that she was a troubled soul and that she may have been struggling with her mental health in the months leading up to her death. In the diary, Sara repeatedly writes about needing help. At one point she writes: “What if I’m crazy like him?” The “him” she’s referring to is another unanswered question in the series but with the announcement of new cast members for the second season, we’ll hopefully get to meet this “him”.

As Alex flips through the pages of Sara’s diary, he stops on a picture of a man who viewers haven't seen before, and underneath him is the word doctor. Could this be the same doctor introduced in the season 2 trailer? Giménez Cacho has been announced as a new character in Who Killed Sara? season 2, and the trailer suggests he’s a psychiatrist who may have treated Sara before she died. It also suggests that Sara may have spent some time at an inpatient mental health care facility before her death. 

Whose skull did Álex dig up?

Once again, we’re left with no clue on whose skull is in Álex’s backyard. 

A lot of fans have been speculating on the skull's owner. One fan on a Reddit thread suggests that Sara and Álex do not have the same father and that Sara’s father struggled with psychological issues that she experienced too, hence all the suicidal drawings in her journal. In her secret journal, Sara wonders if she is “crazy” like her father. This also suggests that it might be Sara's father who’s choking her in the flashback, and César shoots him because, beneath his terrifying facade, he truly cares for Sara. 

Other fans have been speculating that it could belong to a sex worker or even someone else we don’t know about and while all of these are good theories, we can’t know for certain until season 2.