Unpacking the Shocking Finale of 'Furious': Emmy Rossum Breaks Down When Justice Fails

Warning: this article contains spoilers. The hit thriller Furious makes it uncomfortably easy to sympathise with Catherine Grace, a serial killer leaving a growing trail of bodies. Played by Lola Petticrew, Catherine was trafficked as a teenager by wealthy men who have spent years beyond the reach of the law. She is now hunting them down one by one, using fentanyl as she searches for the truth about Isabel, a beloved friend she was unable to save.

The eight-part thriller comes from Elizabeth Meriwether, creator of New Girl. Since its July premiere, it has become one of the year’s most acclaimed new dramas, earning a 98 per cent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Hulu has already ordered a second season, with all eight episodes currently streaming on Disney+ in the Middle East.

Emmy Rossum was 18 when her performance in The Phantom of the Opera earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and she later spent nine seasons playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless. In Furious—which she also executive produces—Rossum, 39, plays Alice Black, a former NYPD detective trying to rebuild her career at the FBI after suffering abuse by fellow officer Marshall Connelly (Jake Lacy). In preparing to play an FBI agent, Rossum drew on research, personal experiences, and stories shared by current and former FBI agents, as she tells The National.

On screen, Alice stays late at the office, keeps people at a distance, and withdraws from her family and former colleagues to throw herself into the search for Catherine. Even showering has become difficult since the assault. "Alice starts as somebody who has a lot of secrets," Rossum says. "She’s clearly able to find her way to separate from a lot of her complex PTSD, and she’s able to use her obsessive tendency to her benefit at work."

The finale takes Catherine back to the Connecticut mansion of billionaire Jay Easton (Peter McRobbie), where the memories she spent years suppressing finally return. Jay had beaten Isabel shortly after she gave birth to Elena and left her bleeding without medical help. DNA found under Isabel’s fingernails initially appeared to implicate Jay’s daughter Emma (Hope Davis), but Isabel had actually scratched Emma’s neck while clinging to her before asking her to bring Catherine to the room. Knowing she was dying, Isabel asked Catherine to end her suffering. Catherine gave her a fatal dose of heroin and then buried the memory that she had been the last person beside her. Isabel held Catherine’s hands as she died, explaining the loss of feeling she has carried in her fingertips ever since.

Despite searching for years for Isabel's killer, it was actually Catherine who administered the fatal dose at Isabel's request after Jay left her to die. Alice stays beside Catherine as the memory returns and shields her when the police enter. When she later visits Catherine in prison, she tells her that Isabel can finally be removed from Hart Island, New York City’s public cemetery for unclaimed bodies, and buried under her own name.

After Catherine is taken into custody, Alice finds Jay upstairs. He recognises her from a video recording of her abuse when she was 14 and tells her it was one of his favourites. Jay appears to suffer respiratory failure while Alice calls for medical assistance, but a later flashback reveals her stepping on his breathing tube and holding his mouth closed. When Alice originally reported Marshall, his colleagues protected him, ending her career at the NYPD and prompting her to start fresh at the FBI.

By the time Alice reaches Jay, Emma has destroyed the evidence at the mansion. Senior FBI official Ed George (Danny McCarthy) continues to defend Jay in exchange for information, dismissing Isabel as "just one dead girl," while the NYPD has given Marshall a commendation. "Alice is wondering if justice is really achievable through a system that feels like it’s been failing her and failing others around her," Rossum says.

In Jay’s bedroom, Alice uses her badge to do what Catherine has been doing without one. A copy of Jay’s files survives on a USB drive recovered by Alice’s former NYPD partner Danny Kelly (Scoot McNairy). Alice gives it to her FBI superior Nora Washington (Quincy Tyler Bernstine)—who Rossum describes as one of Alice's manipulators—and admits that one of the videos records her own abuse.

Nora gives her access to the secure room to view the files, where Alice searches for her name, watches the recording, and finds it has been downloaded more than 50,000 times. The episode leaves open whether those downloads can be traced to individuals or what Alice intends to do with the information in season two. During a final prison visit, Catherine asks if Alice enjoyed killing Jay, prompting Alice to smile. "I think there are very few moments in the series where her mask is completely down, and where she’s able to really connect," Rossum says.

Furious season one is now streaming on Disney+ in the Middle East.