Warning! This article contains spoilers for A Murder At The End Of The World.
A Murder at the End of the World may not be The OA‘s season 3, but it does draw some subtle references to Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij’s Netflix series. Netflix’s The OA was initially planned for a five-season run by creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. Unfortunately, the streaming giant canceled The OA before its storyline could reach its natural closure. Owing to this, the show’s passionate followers could not help but hope that the series would return with a third installment someday.
While that wish has not yet come true, FX’s new murder mystery, A Murder at the End of the World, could be the perfect replacement for Netflix’s The OA. Although A Murder at the End of the World does not have the same genre as Netflix’s The OA, it shares a few narrative elements with the Brit Marling series. Zal Batmanglij, too, confirmed (via Reddit) that The OA and A Murder at the End of the World are not explicitly connected but share some fascinating parallels.
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10 A Murder At The End Of The World & The OA’s Protagonists
A Murder at the End of the World’s Darby & The OA’s Prairie have a lot in common
The main characters of A Murder at the End of the World and The OA are both misfits in the world they live in. While The OA‘s Prairie Johnson, born Nina Azarova, is a Russian immigrant whose overprotective parents confuse her instincts for a mental health condition and try sedating her with medicines, A Murder at the End of the World‘s Darby is an amateur sleuth who believes the dead speak to her but gets looked down upon for being too young. Both characters ultimately find themselves in dire situations where they prove that their appearances do not define them and stand tall in the face of extreme peril.
9 Dr. Hap & Andy Ronson’s Appearance
The OA’s Dr. Hap and A Murder At The End Of The World’s Andy Ronson look similar
Clive Owen’s Andy Ronson in A Murder at the End of the World uncannily resembles Jason Isaacs’ Dr. Hap from The OA, especially because of his glasses. Brit Marling explained in an interview (via Vulture) that as similar as the two characters may seem in appearance, they never intended it to be that way. She revealed that Clive Owen suggested that he was thinking of wearing his own glasses for the role. When he put them on, he strangely looked like Hap. Marling confirmed that this was one of those things in A Murder at the End of the World that “eerily lined up” with The OA.
8 A Murder At The End Of The World Repeats An OA Quote
Marta’s dialogue in A Murder at the End of the World is reminiscent of a crucial The OA moment
In A Murder at the End of the World‘s episode 3, Darby and Bill visit Marta, the only surviving victim of the serial killer they were trying to find. Marta initially seems apprehensive about letting them in and even questions how they would solve the mystery of the murders. However, when Bill shows her how they and their fellow detectives can solve crimes online, she feels grateful that she opened the door for them. The “open you door” phrase holds immense significance in The OA as well because Prairie asks the five participants of her group meeting in season 1 to leave their front doors open. In both shows, “opening doors” serves as an allegory for opening one’s heart and mind to connect and listen without prior judgments.
7 A Murder At The End Of The World & The OA Share Similar Timelines & Settings
Rohan and Nina’s timelines intersect
When Darby asks Ray about Rohan’s past in A Murder at the End of the World‘s episode 3, Ray reveals that Rohan was arrested in Moscow in 1987. Coincidentally, The OA‘s Nina was also born in Moscow, Russia, in 1987. While this intersection between the two shows’ timelines likely means nothing, it is an interesting through-line.
6 Lee’s A Murder At The End Of The World Quote Sums Up The OA’s Storyline
One Lee Andersen scene in A Murder at the End of the World captures Prairie’s purpose in The OA
After all the guests in A Murder at the End of the World gather at the dinner table on their first night, Brit Marling’s Lee Andersen raises her glass and says, “To finding a way out.” On paper, this perfectly sums up what happens in The OA season 1. Dr. Hap imprisons five people who have experienced NDE, and Brit Marling’s Prairie happens to be one of his prisoners. Her past timeline in The OA primarily revolves around her and the other prisoners finding a way out of Hap’s basement, and her present timeline is about her finding a way out of her dimension to save the other prisoners.
5 A Murder At The End Of The World & The OA Have A Brit Marling Parallel
Brit Marling’s characters in the two shows share one uncanny similarity
When it comes to their respective storylines, Brit Marling’s Lee Andersen and Prairie Johnson/ Nina have almost nothing in common. However, there is a scene in A Murder at the End of the World where Emma Corrin’s Darby uncovers an old picture of Lee. In the picture, Lee has short pink hair and looks exactly like Dimension 3’s Brit from The OA. This parallel, too, likely means nothing, but it is good to see how a few visuals from The OA universe have traversed to A Murder at the End of the World.
4 A Murder At The End of The World Has An OA Book Reference
A Murder at the End of the World and The OA feature the works of a renowned writer
In a scene from A Murder at the End of the World, Ray lists everything Andy Ronson has introduced him to. In his list, he also mentions the “collected works of Borges.” The sixth episode in The OA‘s season 1 is named after Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, The Garden of Forking Paths. In the episode, Hap also tries to explain his findings to a fellow doctor by asking him to imagine “a garden of forking paths.“
3 The OA & Murder At The End Of The World Draw References To Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining
Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij draw inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s movies
In an early scene from The OA, Jesse’s sister describes someone to Jesse and claims that “she’s a big fan of Kubrick.” Even the opening shot of Prairie’s childhood flashback that gives a glimpse of how Nina lost her sight is very similar to the opening shot in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Like The Shining, A Murder at the End of the World is also set in a remote hotel and dabbles with themes of isolation and familial bonds. Andy Ronson and Lee’s son, Zoomer, also seems to be inspired by Danny’s characterization in The Shining.
2 A Murder At The End Of The World Shares A Sound Design Similarity With The OA
The sound from the rings of Saturn is featured in both shows
The sound from the rings of Saturn holds immense significance in The OA because Haop hears it during Darby’s NDEs. In A Murder at the End of the World, Martin plays an AI generated movie for the guests, which has the Saturn ring sound as its initial background score. The Saturn rings sound can also be heard distantly when Darby puts on Zoomer’s augmented reality helmet in A Murder at the End of the World‘s episode 3.
1 A Murder At The End Of The World Repeats An OA Romantic Scene
A Murder At The End Of The World recreates a Prairie and Homer moment from The OA
Prairie and Homer fall in love while being held captive in Hap’s basement. They crave touching each other and often glide their palms over the glass wall that separates them. In A Murder at the End of the World episode 1’s ending, Darby and Bill have a similar moment as The OA‘s Homer and Prairie when they try to touch each other’s hand through a glass wall before Bill dies.
Sources: Reddit, Vulture
