The Netflix original romantic mystery movie In Love and Deep Water tells the unlikely romantic tale of one devoted cruise ship butler and his quirky love interest. The two find themselves playing detectives after a murder takes place on the ship, but all the witnesses seem to have developed a case of instant amnesia. While for most of the runtime, it seems that the victim’s daughter-in-law was responsible for killing him, the ending throws an unexpected spanner in the works.
Let’s dive into what happened during the final act and find out who committed the crime and, more importantly, whether Ubukata and Chizuru ended up together.
In Love and Deep Water Ending Explained
After he succeeds in finding and destroying his father’s will, Dr. Kuruma Jr. finally announces the older man’s untimely passing. The crew has no choice but to stop the ship in Hong Kong to unload the body before continuing their journey.
While both Chizuru and Ubukata know there’s something suspicious about the death, she decides to give up on the clandestine investigation and leave the boat in Hong Kong. It turns out her boyfriend didn’t go through with his cheating plans and has called her to apologize. Ubukata’s girlfriend also calls him trying to mend their relationship.
Why does Chizuru stay on the boat?
After hearing a heartfelt announcement Ubukata made over the speakers, Chizuru changes her mind about going back to her almost-cheating boyfriend.
At the bar, runaway mobster’s daughter Shiori finds out that her star-crossed lover, Ryuki, was texting another girl. In light of the betrayal, she wants to head back home to her father in Japan.
At the same time, the wannabe actor and Cannes enthusiast gets an audition for the type of artistic film he wants to star in and decides to leave Aina and her bad money-making productions behind. It’s 2023, so of course our actor caught the murder on video and he’s now willing to go forward as a witness.
After the two heroes, the captain, and the four witnesses confront Dr. Kuruma Jr. with the video footage of the murder, he immediately turns on his wife. As it turns out, the good doctor had captured the exact moment his wife pushed the old man into the pool.
Who is the real killer?
But of course, the two videos don’t exactly match. And to everyone’s surprise, none other than Edward, the magician, is revealed to be the actual killer.
We learn that the old man survived his daughter-in-law’s attempt. Edward then found him and pulled him out of the pool before using his electric walking stick to kill him.
Years earlier, Edward’s wife agreed to be an organ donor for one of Dr. Kuruma Sr’s patients. While the operation was a success for the receiver, Edward’s wife wasn’t so lucky and died shortly after.
Do Chizuru and Ubukata end up together?
With Edward tucked away in the cruiseliner’s holding cell, Chizuru and Ubukata finally confess their feelings for one another before sharing their first romantic kiss.
While the two couples are heading back to Japan separated, it seems Shiori and the actor like each other, and producer Aina offers Ryuki a part in her next star-studded feature.
We also see the two kids enjoying some quality time dancing on the deck. But it remains unclear if Dr. Kuruma Jr. will ever face any sort of consequences for destroying his father’s will or for the attempted murder of his housekeeper. He probably won’t as no one seems to care about that part of the story, not even the writers.
What did you think of the ending of In Love and Deep Water? Comment below.
