In anticipation of a second season that never happened, ‘Ringer’ left a few loose ends. Here I try my hand at tying them off.
The 2011 thriller, Ringer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as identical twins, told a convoluted tale of love, revenge, deceit and betrayal, but the series was axed after its first 22-episode season, leaving the story unresolved. Its ending left me needing more, but when I thought about it, I realized it only needed one more episode to bring the story to a conclusion.
So, if you have watched Ringer and wondered how it might have been resolved, here is my effort at bringing Bridget and Siobhan’s story to a satisfactory conclusion.
If you need a recap of the series, here’s what you need to remember to make sense of my finale. (For more detail go toWikipedia.)
Warning: Spoiler alert
On the run from Wyoming drug lord Bodaway Macawi, recovering drug addict, Bridget Kelly, escapes from the witness protection program and turns to her identical twin Siobhan for help. Bridget and Siobhan have been estranged for many years. Siobhan has always resented that she has had to be the responsible sister, often rescuing Bridget from crises of her own making. She also unfairly blames Bridget for the death of her son, Sean, in a car accident, after Bridget went against Siobhan’s instructions and let her ex-husband Dylan take Sean out. Meanwhile, Bridget believes her sister has an ideal life, living in luxury in New York with her rich and handsome stockbroker husband, Andrew Martin.
When Siobhan mysteriously disappears, Bridget takes on her sister’s identity, only to discover that Siobhan’s life is far from perfect. Siobhan is no longer intimate with Andrew, her teenage stepdaughter, Juliet, hates her and she is having an affair with Henry, her best friend’s husband. It also transpires that Andrew is running a Ponzi scheme, and Juliet is not above committing fraud and blackmail to get her own way. To top it all off, it seems that someone is trying to kill Siobhan.
Over time, Bridget wins the hearts of Andrew and Juliet, and befriends Siobhan’s archrival, Greer Sheridan. When the FBI agent who recruited Bridget, Vic Machado, arrives in New York, as Siobhan, Bridget helps him in his search for Macawi. Meanwhile, Bridget hires Solomon to act as her bodyguard and investigate who would want Siobhan dead. To stay off the drugs, Bridget continues to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings where she is able to confide in her sponsor Malcolm about her double life. However, this brings him into mortal danger as he gets entangled in Bridget’s affairs. What Bridget doesn’t know is that Siobhan is alive and well and it is she who engineered the whole situation and is trying to kill her.
In the final episode of the season, Malcolm’s murdered body has been discovered, Andrew and Juliet are devastated to learn the truth about Bridget, and Siobhan gives birth to twins. In the final showdown, Macawi, believing her to be Bridget, attacks Siobhan when she returns to Andrew’s apartment. Bridget comes to the rescue and manages to kill Macawi while Siobhan escapes.
Ringer
Finale — Season 1, Episode 23 — Everyone deserves a second chance.
1. Martin Penthouse — Day 1 — early morning
The lift doors open and an exhausted and devastated Bridget enters. As she passes through the mess in the living areas we see flashbacks to her fight to the death with Macawi. She goes into the bedroom and finds an overnight bag. As she does so we see a flashback to Andrew telling her she has to leave the apartment. She sits on the bed to take off her shoes and we see a flashback to her line ‘Siobhan wants me dead?’ Overcome with emotion she draws herself up on the bed in the foetal position and closes her eyes.
2. Beach House, East Hampton — Day 1 — morning
Andrew and Juliet are having breakfast, obviously very downhearted. They are having a desultory discussion over whether or not to fly to the Caribbean as originally planned when the phone rings. It is FBI Agent Vic Machado informing them of what happened in their apartment the previous night. Both Andrew and Juliet are horrified and, despite themselves, worried about Bridget. Juliet suggests they return to New York to see Bridget. Andrew agrees but says his concern is the state of the apartment.
3. Hospital — Day 1 — morning
Social workers are speaking to the nurses in the maternity ward. They have tried to talk to ‘Rebecca Sheldrake’ (actually Siobhan) but she would not speak to them. In response to their questions, the nurses tell them she came in the previous night saying she had nowhere to go and looking as though she had been beaten. They tell them how the purported father, Henry Butler, knows he is not the twins’ biological father so they suspect he beat her and threw her out of the house. They cannot send her back to him. The social workers decide to interview Henry to find out more about ‘Rebecca’.
4. Martin Penthouse — Day 1 — morning
Bridget is hurriedly packing the overnight bag and speaking to Solomon on the phone. She tells him that since she can no longer pay him she has to call off the investigation. She tells him she has had a long talk with Henry and now knows everything she needs to know about Siobhan, including that she is in New York and that it was she who was trying to have her killed. Solomon is concerned about her and she tells him she will be staying with Greer Sheridan for a few days.
5. Henry’s House — Day 1 — morning
The social workers are with Henry. He denies beating Siobhan but does admit to throwing her out of the house. He tells them they can never understand how much of a bitch she is, or how resourceful. He gives them ‘Rebecca’s’ real name as well as Andrew’s name and address and goes on to tell them he expects to take his sons and move to Chicago soon.
6. Martin Penthouse — Day 1 — morning
Bridget is finishing off her packing when she hears the lift doors open and freezes. Andrew and Juliet enter and are aghast to see the devastation. Bridget comes out tentatively, apologises for still being there and asks if it is all right that she has taken a few essentials to see her through. Impulsively Juliet hugs her. Andrew stays aloof although he does seem relieved to see her. Talking nervously, Bridget says that she has only taken a few things Siobhan would not miss and if there is anything of value taken Siobhan might have taken it last night. Since Andrew and Juliet believe Siobhan is dead, they are shocked. Bridget realises she needs to tell them everything, so despite the awkwardness they sit down and talk.
7. Martin Penthouse — Day 1 — morning
We see a collage under dramatic music of Bridget telling all to Andrew and Juliet and their shocked reactions, interspersed with flashbacks to salient points in the narrative. When she is finished Bridget gets up to go, saying she is expected at the police station that morning to make a formal statement and that she intends telling the police everything she has told them.
Andrew questions her as to why she was in the apartment the previous night and she tells them she was hoping to speak to Juliet when she saw the dead security guard and was worried about them. We can see Andrew is touched by this but stays aloof.
8. Martin Penthouse — Day 1 — day
Bridget is about to leave when the social workers arrive. They are surprised to see Bridget and Andrew introduces her as his sister-in-law. When they tell Andrew they are there about his wife, he asks where she is and they tell her she is at the hospital. Andrew and Bridget silently agree that she should tell the police this and she leaves. The social workers sit down with Andrew and tell him about the twins and that they are his legal responsibility. They ask if they and their mother can come back to the penthouse. Andrew agrees to take the twins and their mother, though we can tell he is lying about taking Siobhan back. He sees off the social workers, telling them he will come to the hospital as soon as he has made suitable arrangements for the twins.
9. Martin Penthouse — Day 1 — day
Left alone and overwhelmed by what they have learnt, Juliet tells Andrew that after what Siobhan has been up to, Bridget does not seem so bad after all. Andrew is still angry that Bridget lied about her identity, but Juliet reminds him that both of them have lied and with less reason. Bridget has never lied about loving them both. After all, she did face a ruthless killer to protect them when she could easily have just run away again. Andrew does not disagree but says he has to think about the twins first. He gets onto the phone to his lawyers.
10. Police Precinct — Day 1 — day
Bridget is greeted as Mrs Martin by Agent Machado, but she replies that she is Bridget and has been all along. Vic is amazed and has a flashback to how Bridget looked the day he persuaded her to testify against Macawi. She tells Vic she has a lot to tell him and asks if they can talk. Vic tells her he has a lot to tell her, too, and has a flashback to being told about the discovery of Malcolm’s body. Vic calls an NYPD officer to join them and ushers her into an interview room.
11. Hospital — Day 1 — day
The social workers are speaking to Siobhan. They tell her that they know her true identity and have made arrangements for her husband to come and pick her up. Trying to find out what relations are between Andrew and Bridget, Siobhan asks if her sister was with Andrew. They tell her that Andrew introduced them to her twin Bridget and remark on how alike they are. Siobhan says she is nothing like her sister. She is the good twin, but we can see from her expression that she is beginning to think she can go back to Andrew and her old life. Meanwhile a representative of Andrew’s lawyers is speaking to the nurses. He/she tells them Siobhan is dangerous and that she must not be allowed to take the twins as their father has taken an injunction out against her for their custody.
12. Police Precinct — Day 1 — day
Bridget is taking her leave of Agent Machado. He tells her he is returning to Wyoming that afternoon, but will probably ask for a transfer now that Macawi has been dealt with. He asks what she is going to do. She tells him she is staying with Greer for a few days. After that she presumes she will have to find a job and a place to stay. In answer to his question she tells him Greer knows who she is and does not mind as she detested Siobhan. She gives Vic a hug and a kiss on the cheek in thanks as they part. We can tell from the way he looks at her as she walks away that he is only just realising how fond of her he has grown.
13. Hospital/New York exteriors — Day 1 — day
Siobhan sneaks past the nurses’ station and leaves the hospital. We see her coming out of a pawnshop with cash in her hand. We see her go down a dark alley and purchase a gun.
14. Hospital — Day 1 — day
Andrew is speaking to the nurses and the social workers when Bridget arrives. She overhears him tell them he has decided against a paternity test. The nurses are surprised to see Bridget but Andrew introduces her as his sister-in-law and the twins’ aunt. He offers to take her to see the twins. On the way, in response to her question, he tells her he has decided not to have a paternity test because whatever the result, the twins are his responsibility. The doctors have confirmed that they were definitely conceived before Siobhan left him and if Henry is not the father it must be him. They join Juliet who is looking adoringly at the twins. Bridget talks about what it is like to be a twin and have someone who knows you and loves you completely. Overwhelmed by her loss, she begins to cry. Andrew puts an arm around her shoulders and Juliet takes her hand. Siobhan is watching through a glass panelled door. She has a flashback to Henry telling her that the family is doing so much better without her. She withdraws.
15. Hospital Ladies’ Room — Day 1 — day
Siobhan is taking down her hair and covering her scratches with make-up to make herself look more like Bridget. She is muttering to herself that she will not let Bridget take her life away, that she will get her old life back. She has a flashback to slapping Bridget at Sean’s funeral. When she is finished she checks her gun and returns it to her handbag. She then puts on sunglasses and a scarf and exits.
16. Hospital — Day 1 — day
Two NYPD detectives enter and ask the nurses about Siobhan. No one has seen her since early that morning, but they can tell them where to find Andrew and Bridget. In response to the detective’s questioning, Andrew and Bridget tell them they have not seen Siobhan and have no idea where she might have gone. They accept cards from the detectives and undertake to call them the moment they see Siobhan.
17. Hospital exterior — Day 1 — day
Siobhan is hovering around the hospital exit and sees Andrew, Bridget and Juliet come out. Andrew has a car waiting. She overhears Andrew offer to drop Bridget off at Greer’s. Siobhan calls Greer pretending to be Bridget and asks her to join her at a coffee shop.
18. Sheridan apartment — Day 1 — day
Greer is on the phone accepting ‘Bridget’s’ invitation. She says it has to be quick as she has a lot of errands to run as well. As she leaves the apartment she tries to tell her teenage daughter she is meeting Bridget. The daughter has her earplugs in and only pretends to have heard.
19. Sheridan apartment building exterior — Day 1 — day
We see Greer leave the building, then Andrew’s car pull up. Juliet gives Bridget a hug before she gets out. Andrew smiles but is still aloof. Bridget stands in the street sadly watching the car pull away. She turns and enters the apartment building.
20. Sheridan apartment — Day 1 — day
After several rings of the doorbell, Greer’s daughter finally opens the door and shrugs at Bridget. She points out Bridget’s room and then goes back to her own room. Bridget sinks onto the bed wearily and has a flashback to her interview with Vic and his telling her that Malcolm’s body has been found. He assures her that it is all over and that she is safe now that Macawi is dead. She sinks on to the bed, sobbing.
21. Coffee shop — Day 1 — day
Greer and Siobhan are having coffee. Siobhan is being super friendly and asking Greer’s advice about how she should approach her new situation with Andrew, thus pumping her for the state of Bridget’s relationship with him. Greer tells her that she had never seen Andrew so happy until the previous evening. She assures ‘Bridget’ that deep down Andrew loves her and given time will realise how much happier he was with Bridget than Siobhan. She believes he was so angry because he had loved Bridget so much. She also tells her how much Juliet loves Bridget and guesses she would be even more amenable to Bridget than Andrew. She says a few unpleasant things about Siobhan who finds it hard to keep smiling and cuts Greer short by saying Siobhan is still her sister after all.
22. Martin Penthouse/building foyer — Day 1 — day
Siobhan approaches the security guard who greets her as Mrs Martin. In response to her questions he tells her Andrew and Juliet are home. She calls Juliet as ‘Bridget’ and begs her to come down and see her in the foyer. Juliet is on the verge of going out so readily agrees. ‘Bridget’ tells her she is really sorry for what she has done and begs Juliet to intervene with Andrew on her behalf. Juliet assures her that Andrew loves her and if she went to him right then and there she believes he would take her back. She gives her a big hug. As Juliet leaves the building, Siobhan goes to the Penthouse lift and pretends to push the button, but backs off the moment Juliet is out of sight. She goes out telling the security guard she has forgotten something she needs to do.
23. Sheridan apartment — Day 1 — evening
Greer enters clutching shopping bags. She finds Bridget looking subdued and having a cup of coffee. Greer chats about her day and mentions meeting ‘Bridget’ for coffee. Bridget denies it was her and they realise it must have been Siobhan. Spooked, Bridget finds the card given to her by the NYPD detective and tells him what has happened. She then calls Andrew to warn him. They talk about the twins. They are due to leave hospital the next day and Andrew has hastily organised nursery furniture and a nurse with the assistance of his PA, Claudine. He tells her he has applied for full custody as Siobhan is an unfit mother. Without prompting, he invites Bridget to come by the following afternoon to see the twins. Bridget is pleased to accept.
24. Hospital — Day 1 — evening
Siobhan is trying to see the twins while nurses try to hold her back. One nurse calls the police while the others tell her Andrew has taken out an injunction preventing her from approaching the twins. They call security but, before they arrive, Siobhan has fled.
25. Cheap hotel room — Day 1 — night
Siobhan is in front of a mirror staring at her own face as ‘Bridget’. We see flashbacks to Siobhan having to rescue a drunken Bridget. We see her forbidding her to let Dylan see Sean. We see the car crash in which Sean was killed. Bridget holds the gun in two hands and points it at her own reflection.
26. Sheridan apartment building exterior/New York streets — Day 2 — day
Wearing sunglasses and a scarf, Siobhan is hovering around the entrance to the building. Finally she sees Greer and Bridget come out. They part and Siobhan follows Bridget as she walks along the street. Bridget’s phone rings. It is Juliet. She tells her what is happening with the arrival of the twins and the nurse. However, her real reason for calling is to ask Bridget why she did not go up to see Andrew the previous evening after all they talked about. Bridget realises it was Siobhan Juliet was talking to, but so as not to frighten her pretends it was her and says she chickened out. After hanging up with Juliet, Bridget calls Solomon. She knows she has no right to ask him to act as her bodyguard anymore, but she tells him she fears that Siobhan is stalking her. He is on his way back from a call-out at the moment, but promises to be at the Martin penthouse as soon as he can make it.
27. Martin Penthouse — Day 2 — day
Bridget is with Andrew and Juliet happily interacting with the twins, their nurse hovering about. Bridget has one of the twins in her arms when Siobhan appears pointing a gun at Bridget. Bridget tries to talk her down, making the most of her reluctance to harm the baby. She hands the baby to the nurse and pulls away from the others to draw Siobhan away while Andrew takes the twins to safety. A prolonged confrontation ensues as Bridget tries to draw Siobhan’s attention onto herself and away from the others. Rather than placate her, her pent up anger gets the better of her and she tells Siobhan a few home truths. She tells her that Sean’s death was neither her fault nor Dylan’s. Yes, she let Dylan take Sean out. Yes, Dylan was driving, but he was not driving recklessly. The other driver fell asleep at the wheel. It was an accident that could just as easily have happened while she was walking Sean to school. When Siobhan changes tack and accuses her of stealing her family, Bridget tells her Siobhan gave her her family. She was doing exactly what Siobhan had wanted her to do. She had only acted as she expected a wife and mother should act. It was not her fault that Siobhan had made their lives such a misery that even a loser like her was an improvement.
28. Martin Penthouse/building foyer/stair well — Day 2 — day
Solomon enters the foyer and finds out out from the security guard that Mrs Martin has gone up twice in the previous half-hour without coming down. Solomon makes his way up to the penthouse using the other lift and the stairs. Just as Siobhan is finally about to shoot, Solomon grabs her from behind and the bullet slams into the wall close to Bridget’s head.
29. Martin Penthouse — Day 2 — day
The police have handcuffed Siobhan and are taking her away. A NYPD detective is telling Andrew, Bridget and Juliet that if what Bridget has told them checks out, Siobhan will be spending the rest of her life in jail. As the police leave, Juliet quips that that is two mothers she has seen off. Maybe third time lucky. Andrew and Bridget look sheepishly at each other. Juliet picks up the vibe and goes to look in on the twins. Andrew tries to say something but does not know where to begin. Bridget takes this to mean he has nothing to say so begins to make her farewells. As she turns to go, Andrew reminds her of her saying only a few days earlier that everyone deserves a second chance. He asks if she will give him a second chance. Bridget walks into his outstretched arms. Juliet can be seen grinning in the background with a baby in her arms.
© Pauline Montagna 2016