The Woman in Cabin 10 Twist Ending Explained: How Laura Outsmarts the Conspiracy and Exposes the Criminals

Simon Stone turns a luxury cruise from dream to dread in The Woman in Cabin 10, as Keira Knightley’s journalist Laura Blacklock spots a body slipping beneath the waves during a glittering voyage hosted by Richard Bullmer and his ailing wife Anne Lyngstad — and no one else will admit it happened.

Spoilers ahead for The Woman in Cabin 10. It is streaming on Netflix right now, it stars Keira Knightley, and yes, it is exactly the kind of glossy cruise thriller that ends with a microphone drop at a fancy gala. Directed by Simon Stone, it has a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, which feels a little harsh, but your mileage may vary.

The setup: a luxury cruise, an empty cabin, and a body in the water

Keira Knightley plays Laura Blacklock, a journalist boarding a high-end press voyage hosted by wealthy charmer Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce) and his very ill wife, Anne Lyngstad. On night one, Laura hears a struggle, looks out, and sees a body hit the water. When she reports it, the crew tells her nobody is missing. Also, the woman Laura swears she met earlier in Cabin 10? She apparently never existed. That cabin is listed as empty. Nothing like a gaslight at sea.

The swap: the real Anne is dead, and Laura is not letting it go

Laura keeps digging and uncovers the twist: the real Anne Lyngstad is already dead. The woman paraded as Anne is a stand-in named Carrie (Gitte Witt), hired by Richard to impersonate his wife long enough to change Anne's will. Anne had planned to leave her fortune to a cancer foundation. Richard wanted it rerouted to... Richard. Subtle, he is not.

How Anne actually died (and why Laura saw a body)

Richard and Anne's longtime physician, Dr. Robert Mehta (Art Malik), had cooked up a different plan: quietly overdose Anne under the guise of medical treatment. That plan blew up when Anne caught Richard with Carrie, who was literally wearing Anne's clothes. A furious confrontation followed. Richard shoved Anne, she fell, hit her head, and died. In a panic, he dumped her overboard. That splash Laura witnessed? It was Anne.

Who was in on Richard's scheme

• Dr. Robert Mehta (Art Malik): Anne's trusted doctor, previously in professional trouble and beholden to Richard for help. He agreed to the overdose plan and later tried to clean up loose ends when Laura got too close.
• Captain Addis (John Macmillan): A willing collaborator who helps Richard and Mehta hunt Laura when she refuses to shut up and go away.
• Carrie (Gitte Witt): The hired decoy posing as Anne to push through the altered will. She signed on for money to secure a future for her young daughter, then realized just how ugly Richard's plan was after witnessing Anne's death. She eventually flips and helps Laura.
• Collateral damage: Ben Morgan (David Ajala), Laura's ex and a fellow guest, tries to protect her during the late-game chase. He is injected with the poison meant for Laura and dies.

The escape and the gala mic drop

Laura makes it off the yacht and crashes a marquee charity gala, where Richard is showing off his not-actually-wife. In front of the moneyed crowd, Laura lays out the scam. Cornered, Richard admits the woman at the event is an impostor. That confession confirms what Laura has been saying since night one: the body she saw was the real Anne Lyngstad.

Richard tries to bolt by grabbing Carrie as a hostage, but Laura intervenes, and the whole thing unravels publicly. By the end, both Dr. Mehta and Captain Addis are revealed to be facing trial for conspiring with Richard.

Where Carrie ends up

After the dust settles, Carrie sends Laura a video message. She and her daughter are safe, living quietly, and out of Richard's shadow. She even invites Laura to visit, which is the closest this story gets to a warm epilogue.

The basics, if you are catching up

The Woman in Cabin 10 is directed by Simon Stone and stars Keira Knightley as Laura Blacklock with Guy Pearce as Richard Bullmer. You will also see Art Malik, John Macmillan, David Ajala, and Gitte Witt. It is streaming on Netflix right now.

If you watched it, which twist hit harder for you: Carrie being a paid stand-in or the reveal that Laura really did see Anne's body go overboard?