56 Days Ending, Explained: How The Show Changes The Book’s Climax

Prime Video’s 56 Days is an erotic crime thriller series that follows the tumultuous romance between two individuals hiding dark secrets.

Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s book of the same name, the eight-episode show explores the relationship between Oliver (Avan Jogia) and Ciara (Dove Cameron), who meet in a supermarket.

The couple’s lives become extremely complicated after a highly disfigured corpse is discovered in Oliver’s apartment. While two detectives investigate the homicide in the present day, flashbacks reveal more about Oliver and Ciara’s interconnected past.

What follows is a twisted tale of love and guilt that culminates in a twist ending that even book fans did not see coming.

Spoilers ahead!

56 Days ending: Who is the victim?

Two characters from 56 Days smiling and walking outdoors, each holding a coffee cup in a casual setting.

Image credits: Amazon Prime Video

In the finale, it is revealed that the victim is none other than Dan Troxler (Patch Darragh), Oliver’s greedy and manipulative therapist, who is tied to his past crimes.

Flashbacks reveal how a conflict between childhood friends Oliver, Shane, and Paul led to the latter’s demise at Oliver’s hands. However, Oliver blamed Shane for the crime, and Shane took his own life in prison.

Shane was Ciara’s older brother, and she was targeting Oliver for revenge. However, after falling in love with him and witnessing Oliver’s guilt over the tragedy, she decides to forgive him.

Before the couple can resolve their issues, Troxler tries to blackmail Oliver using evidence he had gathered during their therapy sessions.

Soon, Ciara realizes that Troxler is truly responsible for Shane’s demise and that, without his influence, Oliver would have taken accountability for his crimes. Therefore, she takes Troxler’s life and, with Oliver’s help, burns the body, erasing their connection to the homicide.

In the present, detectives Karl Connolly and Lee Reardon piece together a complete picture of Ciara and Oliver’s relationship. Before they can catch the culprits, a personal conflict drastically affects their investigation.

Do Ciara and Oliver end up together? Do they get away with the crime?

Man with intense expression standing by a glass wall, representing 56 Days ending and book climax changes.

Image credits: Amazon Prime Video

After ending Troxler’s life, Oliver and Ciara prepare to live as fugitives. However, Oliver’s guilt over destroying Ciara’s family prevents him from fleeing with her. Instead, he plans to confess to his crimes and surrender to the police.

While Ciara waits for him at the airport, Oliver drives to the police station but has a change of heart after realizing his past should not affect his future with Ciara. Having already confessed his guilt over Shane’s passing to Ciara, he refuses to let his past trauma dictate his choices.

He shows up at the airport at the last moment and reunites with Ciara. The couple flies to Iceland and eventually relocates to a tropical island, where they are last seen raising a child together.

But how exactly did they get away with the crime?

Two characters from 56 Days ending scene, showing emotions that highlight the show’s changes to the book's climax.

Image credits: Amazon Prime Video

As it turns out, Lee’s relationship with substance dealer Linus reaches a breaking point when she refuses to shield him from law enforcement. After Linus’ botched assassination attempt on their lives, Karl decides to frame him for Troxler’s homicide.

Ultimately, Karl plants evidence linking Linus to the crime scene, while Lee confesses to her relationship with him, removing both herself and Karl from the case. The new detective takes the planted evidence at face value, and the case is closed with Linus’ arrest.

How is the ending different from the novel?

Two characters lying in bed under dim blue lighting, illustrating a scene related to 56 Days ending changes in the book's climax.

Image credits: Amazon Prime Video

The ending is drastically different from Howard’s novel, as much of the final episode is original content. In the book, Oliver comes clean to Ciara, and his fate is left ambiguous. The story ends with Ciara heading out to meet her sister, while the show gives her and Oliver a happy ending.

In the source material, Karl and Lee are simply investigating the case, but the adaptation juxtaposes Lee’s relationship with Linus with that of Oliver and Ciara. The two twisted and tumultuous romances coincide to provide the main characters with an escape route.

Does that mean 56 Days will be renewed for a second season? It is highly unlikely, as it was marketed as a limited series, and Oliver and Ciara’s story was wrapped up without any loose ends.

56 Days is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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