Set against the sunny Italian backdrop, Disclaimer is a tense psychological thriller that unfolds layer by layer as the complex relationship between Jonathan Brigstocke (played by Louis Partridge) and Catherine Ravenscroft (played by Cate Blanchett) turns tragic.
Scattered throughout the flashbacks and broken memories, this leaves the audience questioning what is real in Italy. Jonathan drowns as he tries to save Catherine's young son, Nicholas, from drowning. Here, Catherine narrates details of a distressing encounter that she had with Jonathan, who stalked and r*ped her.
This past puts a mystery over how the man died. This is contrary to the presentation by Nancy Brigstocke, the author, who, as it would appear, accuses Catherine of derailing Jonathan and leaving him for the end. The series plays around truth, perspective, and bias. Disclaimer brings the viewers closer to knowing who was with Jonathan at the end.
Catherine’s memories on Disclaimer: Truths vs lies
In Disclaimer, we find through Catherine's flashbacks a sequence of almost mythological scenes that steadily explain her relation to Jonathan. Almost myth, the initial episodes brightened up scenes representing Catherine and Jonathan's period in Italy.
Screen Rant notes how these scenes are "characters within their own novel," which raises further questions about its legitimacy. In it, the depicted scenarios may all be Nancy's distorted version of reality, given that she wrote The Perfect Stranger from Jonathan's view as the idealist trapped by Catherine.
Still, as Catherine begins revealing her side, a much darker, less Disneyland reality starts to arise. In episode 6, Catherine tells the unconscious body of her son, Nicholas, of some alarming incidents. She confesses that Jonathan is not just a casual love affair she had during a vacation but a menacing threat.
She recounts Jonathan's overtures as unwelcome, characterized by his photographing her without permission and a creepy persistence in following her movements. This version complicates the otherwise clear image Nancy constructed in her novel. So, Jonathan was not a hero but a threat from which Catherine would want to flee.
Was Jonathan's death an accident on Disclaimer?
One of the dramatic points of the show is when Jonathan drowns in the waters in episode 4. He was trying to save Nicholas, who had drifted into deep waters in an inflatable dinghy. This narrative raises immediate questions: Why did Catherine, standing by, say nothing?
Disclaimer suggests that her silence was deliberate. Nancy's version accuses Catherine of letting Jonathan drown to avoid complications upon her return to London, especially if he had any feelings for her. However, in Catherine, we see murkier motives.
She is torn between different emotions and refers to the trauma of the assault by Jonathan and her mixed-up relief at his death. There is a suggestion of a darkly tipped nature when Jonathan cuts himself on the arm, an action that his father Stephen has noted.
This grievance, combined with Catherine's quiet demeanor during this drowning episode, leaves an unclear chronology in which audiences wonder precisely what Jonathan is into and how far Catherine will go to protect her child and herself. With Disclaimer building towards its conclusion, it is most likely that all the truth about her history with Jonathan will be unveiled in Italy.
Her painful memories shadow Nancy's account and show how biased narration can create harm. Disclaimer critiques the vision by showing how deep lies in life can create profound problems with lives vulnerable to manipulation.
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Disclaimer is on Apple TV+, with the finale airing on November 8.
Next: Will the show have a Season 2?
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