As if moms don’t have enough to deal with, Peacock just turned a mom’s worst nightmare into a hit TV show. The good news is, All Her Fault, if not high-key terrifying, is incredibly entertaining with top-tier performances from the whole damn cast. No, seriously, between Sarah Snook and Jake Lacy verbally bitch-slapping their family, I’m not sure who to hand the Emmy to. But in between scenes of true sisterhood, this true crime thriller may have missed just a few moments of clarity across eight action-packed episodes that TV nerds can’t stop geeking out over (starting with the fact that all grown Marissas know the natural nickname is Riss, not Marr!). If, like the rest of the internet, you’re obsessing over All Her Fault, here are the plot holes and unanswered questions left behind to scratch the itch in your brain.
Warning: spoilers from All Her Fault ahead!
How did Milo get picked up by Carrie Finch?
Even though Peter blames his wife for not double-checking the fake phone number (meanwhile, he didn’t know his son’s teacher’s name), the real problem starts with the fact that this school somehow let Milo go home with someone who wasn’t his mother or his nanny. Some fans assumed that Marissa told the school that Jenny’s nanny, Carrie (AKA Josie), could pick up her son that day for the playdate, but that couldn’t be true; otherwise, Carrie would’ve been the police’s first call when Milo went missing, and Marissa would’ve known who Carrie was.
Instead, it appears Marissa assumed that Jenny was picking up Milo directly… so why didn’t Marissa have to call the school to give Jenny permission to do so? And if she did, why would the school let anyone other than Jenny herself take Milo? As an auntie who has a special pin and ID verification to grab her niece from pre-K, pickup permission is not transferable!
If you noticed the show implied that Carrie/Josie forged permission when she helped Ana (Milo’s nanny) fill out paperwork, I still have to ask: What was on the paperwork Marissa filled out at orientation, then? It’s far more likely that Marissa, the parent, would be the one to list the permitted pickup people, and Ana’s paperwork would simply be additional contact details.
Finally, you’re telling me that no one at this gossipy school, especially nosey PTA mama bear Sarah, noticed Carrie (Jenny’s nanny of three months) leave with Milo once the police started calling around? Especially since Sarah would’ve been especially confused to see Carrie there, considering she was the one picking up Jenny’s son Jacob that day?? Uh, yeah, math not totally mathing there.
How did the detectives find Milo in All Her Fault?
Michael Pena’s Detective Alcaras was pretty much the only decent dad in the series, and I guess that afforded him a good amount of lucky karma when it came to detective work! They narrowed down the drywall operation where Josie’s mom worked and the lake rental where Josie was holding Milo with some pretty quick guesswork on Google Maps. Also, Ana was able to remember what Josie’s boyfriend was wearing weeks ago, even though it was a “small” interaction in a “loud, distracting,” marathon crowd.
Most kismet of all, Alcaras learns of synesthesia (the rare condition Josie and Milo share) from his son’s teacher, by total chance. Alcaras is then able to determine Milo has it because he’d seen Milo’s “creative,” colorful drawings (a lot of five-year-olds are pretty surrealist in the art, no?). From there, he manages to deduce that if Josie had synesthia too, then voila, she is Milo’s mother. Conveniently, Josie’s guidance counselor from five plus years ago is able to confirm those exact details, after presumably working with hundreds to thousands of students since Josie graduated. That’s a Jessica Fletcher level of expertise re: jumping to the right conclusions!
Where did Marissa go to pick up Milo?
1800 Crescent Hollow Road is where Marissa finds a sweet old lady instead of her son. But why would Josie (a scheming queen who was so skilled she somehow managed to fake multiple “raving” phone call references to get hired) agree to use her boyfriend’s foster mom’s address, leaving the police a way to connect the dots, when she could’ve pulled a random address out of a hat? The address wasn’t any more believable to Marissa just because Kyle knew of someone living there, come on, lovebirds!!
What was Jenny’s job in All Her Fault?
Jenny was an upcoming marketing specialist in publishing (who really needed to learn the power of silencing a phone). Both she and her big flop husband said that Jenny was still very much in the hustling phase of her career. So how in the world did they afford that stunning, 10/10, no notes mini Chicago mansion when Richie (again, let me say: FLOP!) was a school teacher? If they had family money, Richie surely would’ve dropped several insufferable digs about it. Yes, this is a nitpicky plot hole, but as a Capricorn, I must nitpick everything I love, duh!
Why did Josie have to kidnap Milo?
Listen, I’m not totally blaming Josie — with everyone in her life calling her crazy for years, when she was right the entire time, ofc she felt backed into a corner. It also must have been pretty wild when she randomly located her long-lost son tagging along with her dad for a con job. But instead of going on the run with Milo, why not use her nanny access to do a sneaky DNA test (like with a straw from their secret milkshake meetups) for proof? Better yet, why didn’t Josie insist on testing the remains of the child the hospital insisted were her son’s, since she heard her son crying after the accident? Josie’s awful support system had her judgment down bad!
Why did Detective Alcaraz break the law?
Our hero detective with a heart of gold wasn’t faultless, since Alcaraz buried evidence to get his son, Sam, into the advanced school without a scholarship. Heartwarming AF until you think about the fact that police detectives make on average $88K a year, but in Chicago specifically, according to CHPD, more like between $96 and $145K. Babe, that’s not low-income scholarship material in the first place! Plus, why did I have a little trouble believing our resident Sherlock Holmes probs wouldn’t confirm his criminal activity over text?
Milo’s Birthday Cake
Last we heard about Milo’s “green mall cake,” Dakota Fanning had intercepted a call from Tammy’s Sweet Shack, telling her now wasn’t a good time to chat. Then the cake just shows up anyway because Marissa “forgot to cancel it.” But when did they ever confirm what to bake?!
How did Peter make sure Milo got found?
Despite the fact that when Peter’s mouth is moving, he’s lying, he does eventually admit to Marissa that he snuck Milo out of the motel, drove him to a parking lot, and then left him to be discovered by the cops. As if that isn’t unhinged enough, you also have to think about how Peter could’ve possibly transported his own son without being recognized. I mean, Peter says he covered Milo’s eyes, but how did he manage to corral a five-year-old out of that bathroom into the trunk of a car without speaking or Milo trying to peek, even once? Kids know how their parents sound, smell, and feel, especially Milo with his heightened senses, but okay!
How did Peter die in All Her Fault?
I support women’s rights and wrongs, so I fully support Marissa “accidentally” killing Peter by kissing him with soy allergens all over her lips, and making sure Peter had an expired EPI-Pen to boot. Now this is partially on me for watching this scene so many times (I <3 poetic justice), but would an ambulance really take eight minutes to get to the rich people part of Chicago? IDK.
How did the babies get switched in All Her Fault?
And, finally, the biggest wait a damn minute moment that has fans torn: how TF did Marissa not realize she woke up to a totally different baby after the accident? I know, I know, she was unconscious for some time, but I also know that mom instinct stretches beyond basic boundaries. Eventually, a new mom would be able to look into the face of a newborn and realize it’s not the same kid she spent hours pushing out, right?? I’d totally buy if Marissa had tried expressing those feelings, but her no-good hubby made her dismiss them as postpartum delusion, but that was never hinted at in All Her Fault.
I’d also normally flag that a husband letting his traumatized wife do the majority of the labor for their newborn after almost tragically dying was too unbelievable, but honestly, that’s just the kind of narcissistic secondary parent Peter was! SMH.
