Deep Water (2022) ending explained – what happens to Vic and Melinda?

By Ricky Valero
Published: March 18, 2022 (Last updated: September 18, 2023)
1
Hulu film Deep Water (2022) ending explained

This article discusses the ending of the Hulu film Deep Water (2022) so will contain spoilers.

We see that Vic and Melinda are going through some stuff throughout this film. He loves her and she hates him, you know, standard marriage stuff. Their relationship seemed to have highs and lows and just when you thought maybe, just maybe they overcame their issues, something always stands in their way. So what happens to the dynamic duo in Deep Water? Do they stay together? Or do they ultimately reach their demise?

Vic played the guilty party with his quick-wit remarks to people about how he killed so and so, but he played it off as a joke when others were definitely questions whether or not to take it at face value. Vic, of course, allowed Melinda to have extra-martial affairs so that they wouldn’t get a divorce. We begin to feel empathy for Vic because his wife is a bit controlling with their life. She even flaunts her illicit affairs not just in front of him but in front of all their friends.

But as the film progresses, we notice that the control factor really is on both sides of this relationship. Melinda wants to flaunt these relationships in front of Vic, but I am not sure she wants to leave Vic. On the contrary, she enjoys the cat and mouse game she plays with him to the point she is downright manipulative.

Hulu film Deep Water (2022) ending explained

I’ll be completely honest, the ending of this movie is bonkers and makes you rethink EVERYTHING that happened throughout the entire film. We see that one by one, these men that are Melinda’s illicit lovers disappear, whether it by death or by the fear that Vic puts in each of these men. You have this entire thing made up in your mind that Vic is involved or the writing makes it look like he isn’t and something else is going on.

An old boyfriend in Tony (Finn Wittrock) enters the picture and rekindles his relationship with Melinda. For the first time, we finally see the side of Vic they had teased throughout the film when he takes him on a ride and eventually kills him. He puts him in a creek where he leaves him to go down the river. After a heartwarming picnic where it seemed that Vic and Melinda had sparked a little something from their past, Vic sees Tony’s body and panics. Melinda left her scarf back at the picnic and Vic said he would go back and get it.

Lionel (Tracy Letts), who has been suspicious of Vic the entire film, beat him to find the scarf. No shock here, Lionel ends up dead after a bike/car chase scene. As he cleans up his mess, Melinda goes into Vic’s photography room and stumbles across Tony’s wallet. So you are thinking, ‘THIS IS THE END FOR VIC,’ WRONG.

When Vic returns from cleaning up his mess, he is met by Melinda sitting on the steps, and she looks at him and says, ‘I saw Tony.’ Following that, we see a montage of her burning all of Tony’s stuff she had found. Does this mean she was in on it by reeling these men in and he would kill them? Or did she not want to break up the family and protect her husband? There are so many unanswered questions that make you rethink this entire film. Ultimately the couple is still together and maybe stronger than ever?

One last note, stick around the after credits of an absolutely ADORABLE performance of the Bee Gee’s ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ by Grace Jenkins, who played Vic/Melinda’s daughter in the film.

You can watch this film with a subscription to Hulu.

Endings Explained, Hulu, Movies, Movies - Ending Explained, Streaming Service