Peacock's smash hit All Her Fault, which is based on Andrea Mara's bestselling novel of the same name, follows Marissa Irvine (Sarah Snook) through an unnerving premise, but the show's villain isn't exactly who you think. When Marissa arrives to pick her son Milo up from a playdate to find him missing and no recollection of him anywhere, the series quickly escalates into a frantic mystery.
As the story unfolds, the Peacock thriller expands far beyond Milo's shocking disappearance. As the show peels back the layers of secrets living beneath the suburban charm of Marissa and her husband Peter Irvine's (Jake Lacy) lives, the surprises surrounding systemic failures and interpersonal fractures move the story far beyond its initial abduction narrative, delving into larger, more terrifying issues.
The people surrounding Marissa can be duplicitous, some well-meaning, while others are dangerously evasive, and it seems that all of them contribute to the strange web of misdirection that complicates her ability to locate her son. The closer Marissa gets to the truth, the more obvious it becomes that All Her Fault is about the fact that things are rarely what they seem.
All Her Fault Frames Peter As The Show's Biggest Villain
Jake Lacy Plays A Terrifying Character
Although All Her Fault exposes some massive secrets throughout the season with an array of suspicious figures making up the cast, the series ultimately frames Peter as its most visible villain. Peter initially appears as a distressed father desperate to find Milo, but as the narrative sweeps ahead, the series steadily exposes Peter's behavior for what it is, revealing his moral failures and manipulations.
Peter’s The Obvious Villain, But All Her Fault Explores A Hidden Threat
All Her Fault Is Steeped In Societal Danger
In making Peter the clearest antagonist, All Her Fault confronts the audience with a villain who hides in plain sight. However, Peter being the obvious villain doesn't mean he's the ultimate danger in the series. All Her Fault exposes a hidden threat, even with Peter embodying the show's most explicit wrongdoing. The series critiques the broader systems that allow someone like Peter to operate without consequences.
Throughout the investigation, Marissa encounters skepticism from authorities, judgment from peers, and a community more invested in reputational preservation than truth. These failures create an environment where oversight collapses and accountability is optional. All Her Fault uses Peter’s deception to expose how easy it is for institutions and social structures to remain complicit by overlooking red flags when someone appears outwardly respectable.
