Disclaimer: Main Differences Between the Original Book and the Alfonso Cuarón Show

On November 8, Disclaimer ended with Episode 7. The plot is based on the novel of the same name by Renée Knight. The adaptation follows the events of the book very closely.

However, there are some differences – for example, Alfonso Cuarón completely changed the fate of an important character.

Catherine and Jonathan's Relationship in Reality and in Stephen's Book

The series takes place in two time periods – the 2000s and the 2020s. According to the plot, in our time, documentary filmmaker Catherine receives the novel The Perfect Stranger from an unknown author. It describes her affair 20 years ago, which ended tragically.

In 2001, Catherine, her husband Robert and their four-year-old son Nicholas were on vacation in Italy. In Renée Knight's novel, the action took place in Spain. Robert cut his vacation short for work and returned to England.

In The Perfect Stranger, it was implied that during the remaining days of the vacation, Catherine began an affair with a young traveler named Jonathan. He even offered to meet her again in London, but Catherine refused. In the book, the lovers did not discuss the possibility of developing a relationship.

After a night with Jonathan, Catherine fell asleep on the beach and did not notice that Nicholas was swept away by strong waves in a dinghy far from the shore. Catherine couldn't come to her son's aid, so Jonathan rushed to the boy's side.

Then two other men swam after Nicholas and brought him back to land. Jonathan, caught in a strong current, drowned.

The author of The Perfect Stranger turned out to be Jonathan's father, Stephen. He completed the manuscript, which he found among the belongings of his wife, Nancy, who died of cancer. She also kept photos of Catherine that Jonathan had taken.

Stephen also sends the novel to Robert, along with photos. Catherine tries to explain to her husband, but he storms out. Then Stephen meets Nicholas on social media and reveals his mother's secret. Shocked, the already stressed man takes strong drugs, leading to an overdose.

Stephen visits Nicholas in the hospital with the intention of killing him by injecting him with chemicals. Catherine arrives in time, so Stephen doesn't have time to carry out his plan. At night, shortly after the assassination attempt, Catherine enters Stephen's house and, fearing for her son's life, tells the old man what really happened in Italy.

There was no romance between Catherine and Jonathan. The man followed Catherine and when her husband left, he burst into the room. Threatening her with a knife, he forced Catherine to pose for photographs and then raped her for three hours.

Catherine complied with all of Jonathan's demands, fearing for the safety of Nicholas, who slept in the next room. The next day, Catherine actually fell asleep on the beach, tired after a terrible night. She did not rush into the water to reach her son because she was a poor swimmer and was afraid of drowning. It was Jonathan who saved the child.

Assassination Attempt on Nicholas

Before talking to Catherine, Stephen put something in her tea, causing her to pass out. He returned to Nicholas and tried to poison him again. Catherine regained consciousness, induced vomiting, and followed the old man.

In the hospital, Stephen changed his mind about killing Nicholas because he believed Catherine. Perhaps Nancy was also unsure of her suspicions, since she told no one about the manuscript.

In the book, Stephen only tried to kill Nicholas once. There was no line with Catherine fainting and Stephen's second attempt to kill Nicholas.

How Stephen Reacted to the Truth About Jonathan

Stephen admitted that Catherine may have been lying. However, he recognized that her version had many plausible details. In addition, Stephen remembered that his son had shown sociopathic tendencies since childhood.

Upon returning home from the hospital, Stephen burned all copies of the book and photographs. In the novel, Stephen's story has a darker ending. He desecrated his son's grave by smearing dog feces on the headstone. Then the old man wept as he cleaned the slab, remembering that his son's last act was a good one – risking his life for the child.

After a trip to the cemetery, Stephen took his own life by throwing himself into the same fire in which he had burned the materials about Jonathan and Catherine's fictitious affair.

Before he died, Stephen left his house and Jonathan's apartment to Catherine. In this way, he wanted to somehow assuage the guilt of what Jonathan and he and Nancy had done, forcing Catherine to experience the pain of the distant past.