Netflix’s The Perfect Couple is one of the most popular shows of the season. This series follows the messy and rich Winbury family. It is based on a novel by Elin Hilderbrand and has many strong points.
The show has an interesting mystery and well-developed characters. In its six-episode season, The Perfect Couple offers many memorable scenes that show the tone of the series and the relationships between its characters. Among all these scenes, one scene stands out.
In Episode 4, called “Someone Could Get Hurt,” Billy Howle’s Benji Winbury and Jack Reynor’s Thomas Winbury have a fight.
This happens because Thomas wants to eat the wedding cake that Benji and Amelia (Eve Hewson) had for their wedding, even though Benji does not want him to.
This scene is funny and enjoyable to watch, but its timing and importance become clear as the mystery unfolds. This moment captures the whole essence of the Netflix mystery series. It also shows why The Perfect Couple has become very popular, with over 3 billion minutes watched.
The Perfect Couple gives many hints that lead to the final reveal that Dakota Fanning’s Abby Winbury is the murderer of Meghann Fahy’s Merritt Monaco.
Merritt is Amelia’s best friend and maid of honor. Upon rewatching, these hints show how showrunner Jenna Lamia and director Susanne Bier have made a tightly woven mystery that allows the audience to join the detectives Chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach) and Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) in solving the case.
The wedding cake scene includes Benji and Thomas, as well as Thomas’s pregnant wife Abby. It shows Benji and Thomas fighting over Thomas and Abby trying to eat the wedding cake, even though the wedding was called off. This upsets Benji.
After the wedding cancellation, Benji is emotionally vulnerable and does not go along with Thomas and Abby’s game. He pushes Thomas’s face into the cake. The situation escalates into a struggle between the two brothers, and Abby steps in to stop the fight, even telling Thomas that he started it.
This scene is very important for many reasons. Its timing and the character dynamics it reveals are key. Most importantly, Abby’s role in this scene becomes even more significant once we learn about her connection to Merritt’s murder.
Throughout the season, Thomas shows himself to be the family troublemaker who enjoys stirring up issues with his relatives.
Earlier, he reveals Tag’s (Liev Schreiber) affair with his brother Will’s (Sam Nivola) French tutor during dinner, knowing it will hurt Tag’s relationship with Will. He also has an affair with Isabelle Adjani’s Isabel Nallet, a family friend.
At first glance, it seems that Thomas only wants to satisfy his and his pregnant wife’s hunger. However, knowing how cruelly the Winbury family treats each other, we can see that Thomas and Abby’s actions might be meant to annoy Benji. The Winbury family appears to be united but secretly they act with hostility toward one another.
As seen throughout the season, each character pursues their own interests. The family seems unbalanced by Merritt’s death on Benji’s wedding day and does not support him emotionally, revealing their flaws.
The scene between Benji and Thomas is also important because it is one of the few times Benji stands up to his family.
Benji seems to live a distant life, which is shown by his choice to marry Amelia, who comes from a different social class. Marrying someone from another class is rare in such families, which explains why they do not take the wedding cancellation as seriously as they should.
Abby’s presence in the scene makes Thomas’s actions look suspicious, as we learn later that he usually acts on Abby’s wishes.
In the Season 1 finale, it is revealed that Thomas tried to kill Merritt after Abby told him to do it. When he did not succeed, Abby decided to do it herself.
In the cake scene, Abby can be seen encouraging Thomas and playing along with the situation, pushing the argument further.
Although she starts the chaos and enjoys the fight, Abby also plays the savior role. She calls out Thomas even though she is just as guilty in the whole situation.
As we discover later, Abby had a good reason to be happy about the otherwise sad occasion because she saved herself from financial ruin by killing Merritt
If Tag’s child had been born through Merritt, Abby would have had to wait 18 more years to get the Winbury trust fund money and the apartment she wanted.
Knowing Abby’s role in Merritt’s murder shows that she knows when to stay in the background and when to act. Earlier in the season, she even tells Amelia to keep to the sidelines in the Winbury family. This is a strategy she often uses.
Abby usually prefers Thomas to do her dirty work while she stays out of sight. It seems that Abby understands how important it is to remain unnoticed by Greer (Nicole Kidman), who would quickly remove Abby if she ever posed a threat to the family.
Abby wants to be part of the Winbury family because of their influence and wealth, which she admits several times.
While the cake scene seems like fun banter between brothers that goes wrong, it highlights the family dynamics involved. The jokes in the scene hint at the larger mystery surrounding Merritt’s death.
Dakota Fanning’s cunning presence in the scene enhances what appears to be a random moment in the story, especially given its absurd nature.
The five-tier wedding cake that Thomas carries seems too heavy for someone to hold casually, even considering Reynor’s impressive physique.
In the grand picture of The Perfect Couple, the cake scene in Episode 4 is a carefully crafted part of the puzzle. It shows how the Netflix series balances comedy and mystery, which explains its massive success since its release.
