Murdaugh: Death in the Family Episode 3 Ending Explained — How Paul’s Guilt and Alex’s Lies Ignite a Deadly Chain Reaction
Murdaugh: Death in the Family hits a breaking point in Episode 3 as another tragedy strikes; with Episodes 1–3 now on Hulu after an October 15 premiere, the series revisits Paul Murdaugh’s fatal boat crash and mounting allegations of a family cover-up.
Hulu dropped the first three episodes of its Murdaugh limited series yesterday, and Episode 3 pushes the family right up to the edge. It is a mix of damage control, guilt, and one last-scene gut punch that pretty much resets the board for the back half of the season.
- Title: Murdaugh: Death in the Family
- Premiere date: October 15, 2025
- Creators: Erin Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller
- Total episodes: 8
- Available now: Episodes 1-3
- Network: Hulu
- Based on: Mandy Matney's Murdaugh Murders Podcast
- Main cast: Jason Clarke (Alex Murdaugh), Patricia Arquette (Maggie Murdaugh), Johnny Berchtold (Paul Murdaugh), Brittany Snow (Mandy Matney), plus Will Harrison and Gerald McRaney
Where Episode 3 picks up
After Mandy Matney blasts their story wide open, Paul finally has to show up in court for the fatal boat crash. Alex introduces him to a lawyer named Dick, who takes the case and gets Paul out on a $50,000 bond. On paper, that looks like a win. In practice, Paul is unraveling.
He confides in Gloria, the family housekeeper who has basically helped raise him, and admits how guilty he feels about the accident. She tries to talk him off the ledge. It helps for about five minutes.
Maggie is spiraling too, worrying her son could be looking at something like 70 years if this goes the wrong way. Alex promises it will never come to that and keeps leaning on her for pills, which, yes, is as messy as it sounds.
Vacation as damage control
Alex books a family escape to the Bahamas, which doubles as a breather from the heat back home. Meanwhile, back in his day job life, he is stewing over delayed settlement money owed to a client named Gabriel Alvarez — money that, as the show frames it, Alex has already rerouted into one of his own schemes. It is one of those blink-and-you-miss-it details that tells you exactly how many fires he is trying to juggle.
On the island, everyone plays pretend: Maggie leans into the luxe distractions — drinks, shopping, spa days — even telling a stranger a fancier version of her life, which says a lot about how checked-out she is. Paul is drowning in flashbacks and self-loathing. He even asks his buddies to rough him up, like maybe pain can cancel out the guilt. It is rough to watch.
Then Alex throws a surprise party for Paul to fix the vibe, and it detonates. Paul snaps. Alex snaps back, accusing him of wrecking everything. In the fight that follows, Paul finally says it out loud: he is responsible for Mallory Beach's death. Alex does not want to hear it. He pivots straight to optics and family image — and, in a particularly odd beat, starts pressing Paul about why he handed Alex the boat keys. The show flags it, and it feels intentionally slippery.
Gloria's day, and the final gut punch
While the Murdaughs play getaway, we check in on Gloria at home with her sons, Tony and Brian. She is praying for the family — especially Paul — and quietly keeping an eye on her blood pressure. Tony points out Maggie was supposed to help cover her medical costs. Gloria defends the Murdaughs anyway: they have a lot going on. It is heartbreaking, because you can see where this is headed.
The family comes home. Alex says Maggie brought Gloria back a gift; she opens a snow globe. Then Alex asks her to grab their luggage. Elsewhere, Alex meets a lawyer named Mark at a restaurant, who represents Mallory Beach's parents. They are suing. Another fuse lit.
Back at the house, Gloria tries to haul the heavy bags up the stairs. She slips, crashes down, and hits her head. Paul hears the thud, looks out, and sees her on the ground in a pool of blood. The episode fades out there — no resolution, just dread — which, if you know this real-life story, tracks.
What the ending sets up
This is the show at its bleakest: Paul is already buckling under what happened on the water, and now the one person who gave him comfort is fighting for her life because she was helping his family. The lawsuit from Mallory's parents is officially on. Alex keeps trying to spin every disaster into a win. And Maggie is maintaining the picture-perfect version of the family while everything inside the frame is cracking.
Episodes 1-3 of Murdaugh: Death in the Family are streaming now on Hulu in the US.