The carnage of Wai Huna has ended (for now) with betrayals, death, and a wolf emerging from their sheep's clothing. No one knew how the mystery would be solved on I Know What You Did Last Summer Season 1 Episode 8.
"Your Next Life Could Be So Much Happier" ended on a tense note with surprises that kept us on our toes.
We got the chance to chat with Sara Goodman, the showrunner and executive producer of I Know What You Did Last Summer, to discuss the season finale. Topics like the killer reveal, the hidden clues, Allison's journey, and some surprises to come were all on the table.
Check it out below!
TV Fanatic: What drew you to pick Margot as the killer?
Sara Goodman: I always knew it was Margot. We went into the season knowing it was Margot and that they killed the girl she loved.
Allison killed Lennon! So, she couldn't live with that. She felt they needed to pay the price.
It's a love story, Justin! [Laughs]
TVF: When you were brainstorming ideas, was there another character you considered the killer instead of Margot?
Sara: What we did the whole way through, and if you watch all of it back, you could see that it could've been Bruce and Allison together. And, it could've been Dylan.
We made sure to keep all of those options open so that we could make it work if we changed our minds for some reason. Also, to leave everyone guessing the whole time. But we never in the writer's room had anyone say, "Maybe we should change it?"
The only time I will say is Bill [Heck] thought he was the killer. And he wouldn't believe me when I told him he wasn't. [Laughs]
So, I thought maybe we did too good of a job there.
TVF: I guessed Margot and Kyle, but one of my top suspects was Margot's mom because she was always in the mix. Do you think she knew about Margot's killing spree?
Sara: Oh yes! She tells her, and I don't know if you watched that final part where Margot tells how she did it.
It's the end of I Know What You Did Last Summer Season 1 Episode 5 when Margot comes in, and her mom has discovered her doing the mukbang in the bathroom. And then, off-screen, Margot has told her everything.
Mei has stepped in to frame Clara and do all of those steps. So yes, it was a whole family effort.
TVF: Speaking of clues and planning, what was your favorite easter egg you dropped to tip that it was Margot?
Sara: At the end of Episode 5, there were a couple. Margot says several times why people kill people, which is exactly why she had done it.
In her dialogue, she literally is telling the other kids why she killed who she killed. So, there's a phrase like, "Love. People always kill for Love."
You know, things like what she says that are easter eggs.
Again, at the end of Episode 5, she's not wearing her shoes. You saw that the killer had these boots on.
And the whole thing with her mom where she said she hit something in the road, so there are some clues in there too.
Yeah, there's a bunch of easter eggs! [Laughs]
If you listen to her dialogue, she tells you why she's done everything.
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TVF: We saw that Allison chose Margot over Dylan, and there were some teases for consequences to come. Why do you think Allison jumped in to help Margot, knowing it would hurt Dylan?
Sara: I think it was self-preservation. Choosing to be Lennon and feeling like that was the way to keep herself safe at that moment.
And that I don't think she knows whether it's self-preservation or Love. She's not fully aware of what's driving that decision.
But she knows she couldn't look Dylan in the eye, so Margot was a better choice.
TVF: If you took yourself out of it and watched as a fan rooting them out, did Allison make the wrong call choosing Margot?
Sara: It hurts my heart every time I watch that scene. [Laughs]
And at the same time, I get it. I don't know; I'm so deep in it. It's hard for me to know how I would feel.
What do you think?
TVF: I'm a mystery buff. I'm always like, "You know she's going to turn against you! Choose the option. You just survived a killing spree; it's only so long until the next time."
Sara: [Laughs] That's right! I can see it both ways.
There's a part of me that wanted her to do the right thing. But I don't think that was the right thing for her at that moment. She chose to be Lennon and not be herself.
She felt betrayed by Dylan, and she was not ready to tell the truth.
TVF: So with the truth, we saw it became a big topic between Lyla and the investigation. It seemed the mystery was put to rest and them believing she was Lennon. Do you feel the "Lennon lie" will haunt Allison and Bruce for the rest of their lives?
Sara: It will haunt Allison. She made this decision, and that will haunt her for the rest of her life.
I think even more so than hitting her sister, whether that was on purpose or by accident.
Living this life, I'm not sure she can do it without huge consequences.
TVF: Flashbacks were teasing that Allison may have purposely hit Lennon that night. Do you fall in the camp that she knew she was running over her sister or that it was an accident?
Sara: Well, I can't fall into either one. She's not sure.
I think that's the thing that haunts her. It's the thing that haunts all of us about those kinds of incidences. Is there something we could've done to stop it?
I don't know if you've ever wished anyone dead, but it's like you're so mad at someone. You hate them so much, and then something bad happens. Did you want it to happen? Did you make it happen?
I don't know that she knows if she did it on purpose, and I don't think we should know. She fears that she's so broken that she did it, that she saw her and could've stopped. But I don't know if that's the truth.
TVF: What was your favorite death scene?
Sara: Courtney. There's a tractor, there's razor wire, and her phone was hanging out.
What more could you ask for?!
And I love Courtney! [Laughs]
TVF: Dylan and the cult: what moment was a clear sign that he moved over to the cult?
Sara: When he showed up at the house after when he escaped the lava tubes. He said, "It's over."
And I think at the memorial on I Know What You Did Last Summer Season 1 Episode 7. When he said, "I'll do better next time, and at least they're free."
There's a couple of moments in there in which he says things that allude to that.
TVF: My last question is about the big cliffhanger: Riley opens up her eyes at the end! For I Know What You Did Last Summer Season 2, are you hoping to explore more supernatural elements in the show?
Sara: I'm hoping to use Riley to bring us into what the cult believes. What the cult has done, and what that means for if Riley is or is not alive.
Honey is very restorative.
Honey has many magical powers. [Laughs]
I Know What You Did Last Summer Season 1 is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video.