“Secrets We Keep” Ending, Explained: What Did the Police Discover About Ruby’s Disappearance?

Netflix’s dark Danish thriller, which debuted on May 15, left viewers wanting more

Courtesy of Netflix ©2024 Marie Bach Hansen as Cecile Mike Vinter-Jensen in ‘Secrets We Keep’.

Secrets We Keep is full of twists and turns.

The Danish limited series, created by Ingeborg Topsøe, follows the residents of an upper-class neighborhood in Copenhagen’s suburbs as they deal with a shocking murder in their community. Most of the wealthy families have au pairs from the Philippines, including Cecilie (Bach Hansen) and Mike (Simon Sears), a married couple who employ Angel (Excel Busano) as their housekeeper.

Meanwhile, Angel’s friend, Ruby (Donna Levkovski), is the au pair for Cecile and Mike’s neighbors and friends, Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) and Katarina (Danica Curcic). One morning, Ruby suddenly goes missing, and as suspicions run high, Cecilie decides to solve the mystery, eventually collaborating with police officer Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore).

“I’ve always been fascinated by the power structures within a family,” creator Topsøe told Tudum about the show’s inspiration. “Denmark is often portrayed as a very egalitarian society, and I’ve never seen homes like these portrayed on TV.”

“Au pairs are ‘part of the family,’ while being employed, and parents are well-meaning, while absent. It’s these cold, hard facts — hidden beneath a soft layer of niceness — that intrigues me,” she explained.

So what happened to Ruby? Here’s everything to know about the ending of Secrets We Keep.

Warning: Secrets We Keep spoilers ahead!

What happens at the end of Secrets We Keep?

Courtesy of Netflix ©2024 Marie Bach Hansen as Cecile Mike Vinter-Jensen and Danica Curcic as Katarina Hoffmann in ‘Secrets We Keep’.

After discovering a pregnancy test box in the trash, Cecilie suspects Ruby was pregnant, and the list of suspects grows to include her own husband, Mike; Katarina’s husband, Rasmus; and their teenage son, Oscar (Frode Bilde Rønsholt).

To appease the police, Rasmus agrees to take a DNA test to prove he is not involved with Ruby’s murder. The results show that Rasmus has tested positive for paternity — but the match is only 24.1%. This revelation confirms that Rasmus is not the father of Ruby’s baby, but he is related to the father, his son, Oscar.

The fallout of Ruby’s death continues: Cecilie fires Angel and buys her a plane ticket back to the Philippines.

To add to the intrigue, Oscar tells Cecilie that he heard Katarina and Ruby arguing the night before she disappeared. At the end of the final episode, Cecilie confronts Katarina on the pier by their house and asks her if she killed Ruby.

Katarina doesn’t confess to the murder, but says, “Those men, they think everything sorts itself out,” referring to their husbands.

Kartina leaves Cecilie alone on the pier as she wonders if her friend could have murdered Ruby. The camera flies out over the water, and neither Cecilie nor the audience gets a definitive answer, with the series coming to an ambiguous and unsettling end.

Did Ruby die?

Courtesy of Netflix ©2024 Donna Levkovski as Ruby in ‘Secrets We Keep’.

Yes, Ruby died. At the end of episode 4, her body is found floating facedown in the marina. In the following episode, her body is identified, with suicide eventually being listed as the official cause of death.

It is also revealed that Ruby was pregnant, between five and eight weeks along. By the time they discovered her body, she had been dead “a couple of days or a week,” according to the coroner.

What happened to Oscar?

Courtesy of Netflix ©2024 Lukas Zuperka as Viggo and Frode Bilde Rønsholt as Oscar in ‘Secrets We Keep’.

Oscar raped Ruby, and there was video evidence, captured by a hidden nanny cam.

After Cecilie’s son, Viggo (Lukas Zuperka), sees the incriminating clip of Oscar, he tells his mom. In response, Cecilie reported Oscar to the police for showing her son a video depicting sexual abuse.

The authorities then arrive at Katarina’s house to seize Oscar’s devices, but they find nothing because Katarina has already destroyed the evidence.

Secrets We Keep ends with Oscar not being punished, and it is revealed that he is going off to boarding school.

What has the creator said about the ending of Secrets We Keep?

Courtesy of Netflix ©2024 Sara Fanta Traore as Aicha Petersen in ‘Secrets We Keep’.

Topsøe hasn’t shared further insight about the show’s ambiguous ending, which left viewers questioning who killed Ruby.

When the trailer was released in April, Topsøe teased that she enjoyed “experimenting with the genre because it requires the audience’s full attention, and placing a crime story in this particular setting is especially compelling.”

She continued, “What happens when care and intimacy within the home are outsourced to an au pair? What does that stir in us — and in those closest to us? Does it reveal the best in us, or the worst?”

Will there be a season 2 of Secrets We Keep?

Courtesy of Netflix ©2024 Nilda Galola Aclon as Ona, Excel Busano as Angel Reyes, Isabelita Reyes as Darna and Gel Andersen as Kim in ‘Secrets We Keep’.

Secrets We Keep is a limited series on Netflix, meaning the streamer intended the show only to have a set number of episodes. So a season 2 of Secrets We Keep might not be in the cards.