Warning! Spoilers for Netflix's No Good Deed ahead!

The Morgans attempt to sell their house in No Good Deed to escape the truth of what happened to their son Jacob—but even they didn't know the half of it. This Netflix dark comedy series explores the kinds of secrets that homes can hold, especially those placed in a competitive market. No Good Deed follows Paul and Lydia Morgan (Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow), whose highly-saught-after listing gathers the attention of three couples: Leslie and Sarah (Abbi Jacobson and Poppy Liu), Dennis and Carla (O-T Fagbenle and Teyonah Parris), and JD and Margo (Luke Wilson and Linda Cardellini).

It quickly becomes apparent in Netflix's dark comedy tragically unveiled the secret that their daughter, Emily (Chloe East), had been the one to shoot at Jacob, thinking he was a burglar. Still, it wasn't actually Emily who killed the boy after all.

Who Really Killed Jacob In No Good Deed

The Extra Bullet Casing Revealed The Truth

Linda Cardellini as Margo standing confidently in the house in No Good Deed

The ending of No Good Deed reveals that unbeknownst to the Morgans, there were two bullet casings recovered at the scene the night Jacob was killed. Paul had gathered up one, while his brother Mikey (Denis Leary) had hidden another one away. Since Emily had only fired once, and the casings were clearly different from one another, it quickly became clear that something wasn't quite right. Desperate to learn more, Lydia took a look at the autopsy record for her son and discovered that a .40 caliber pistol killed him, while the gun Emily shot was a 9 mm.

It was a huge relief that Emily hadn't really killed her brother, but this still left a lot of questions. Prospective home-buyer and lawyer Leslie learned that celebrity neighbor JD Campbell owned a .40 caliber pistol, and this man seemed to have motive since it was later revealed that his wife, Margo Starling, was having an affair with Jacob Morgan. However, Lydia realized the truth of it. Margo herself was the one who killed Jacob in No Good Deed.

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Flashbacks in No Good Deed revealed that Jacob had been stealing from the neighbors to dote on Margo with expensive gifts. However, when the much older woman ended things, Jacob broke into her house and began to steal the items back. He told Margo he would tell JD the truth about their relationship and began returning to his house. The gold-digger grabbed her husband's .40 caliber and chased Jacob, shooting the boy at the exact same time that Emily shot (but missed) her masked brother. The Morgans covered the whole thing up to protect Emily, and Margo got away with her crime for years.

Margo Starling’s True Identity & Fate Explained

Margo Starling Is Actually "Luann"

Margo with a burned face in No Good Deed

Linda Cardellini's character Margo was difficult to like from the moment she appeared on screen in No Good Deed—long before it was revealed that she had murdered her teenage lover. Lydia Morgan despised the woman, who seemed to love nothing but expensive clothes and ringing her celebrity husband dry. However, Margo managed to win Lydia over momentarily when the two women had a heart-to-heart, during which it was revealed that Margo had once lost a brother to a house fire that she herself had accidentally caused. It was very nearly a touching moment, but like everything Margo said, it was mostly a lie.

The ending of No Good Deed saw JD discover that Margo's brother, Bobby, wasn't dead after all, and that his wife's real name was Luann. She and Bobby were poor con artists who had manipulated everything to ensure that Luann married a wealthy celebrity. All she had to do was wait out the of the prenup, and "Margo" would walk away from her marriage with millions. However, what she didn't realize was that she had already spent all of JD's money. The only thing she could hope to claim was the expensive house, but JD had a different idea.

Though the villain's arrest is never seen on screen, it's assumed that she finally faced justice for Jacob's murder.

One of the final scenes of the Netflix dark comedy saw Margo/Luann sitting in the bathtub while the house around her goes up in flames. The fact that JD is then seen happily driving away implies that the man himself had burned the house down, intending for his con-artist wife to go down with it. However, a later scene in No Good Deed's final episode sees a heavily scarred Margo flirting with a man at a bar, who turns out to be Nate Morgan, Paul, and Lydia's police officer nephew. Though the villain's arrest is never seen on screen, it's assumed that she finally faced justice for Jacob's murder.

Who Ended Up Buying The Morgan House

The Bidding War Came To An End

The Morgan house in No Good Deed

Along with the mystery of Jacob's death, the big question of No Good Deed was who would end up with the Morgans' beautiful home. At one point or another, it seemed that each of the three couples, desperate to have their offer accepted would claim it. Paul and Lydia accepted JD and Margo's offer, but it fell through since the soap opera star couldn't produce proof of funds. Then, the Morgans accepted Dennis and Carla's offer, but the newlywed pulled out when Sarah sneakily revealed that Jacob Morgan had been murdered in the house.

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This left Leslie and Sarah, who had previously been disqualified when the former was caught snooping around the home at night. As a DA, Leslie was initially a threat to Paul and Lydia since she could potentially discover the truth about Jacob. However, it was because of precisely this that the Morgans wound up learning that Margo, not Sarah, killed their son. This earned Leslie and Sarah some additional points, and their offer was ultimately accepted at the end of No Good Deed. They even respected Lydia's wishes about the property's beautiful mandarin orange tree.

The Fate Of JD Cambell’s House Explained

Fagbenle touching his wife's belly in No Good Deed

The last JD Cambell's house was seen in No Good Deed, it was up in flames while Margo was trapped in side. Of course, the fact that Margo was later seen alive reveals that she had somehow escaped (though not without significant burns). Still, it seems that the house itself didn't fare so well. The final clip of Dennis and Carla sees them celebrating their anticipated move to Los Feliz—specifically, Derby Drive. However, it's quickly clear that they don't mean the Morgan house. Instead, Dennis and Carla are building a new home on JD's old plot, revealing that the previous house was burned down entirely.

What Dennis Did With The Money Carla's Dad Sent

Dennis Still Has A Big Secret At The End Of No Good Deed

Dennis in No Good Deed

Dennis and Carla's final scene in No Good Deed revealed a happy ending for the duo since the former had finally managed to publish another book, and the latter would get to build the home of her dreams in Los Feliz. However, this wasn't the end of the couple's secrets. Carla mentions that they are building their home with the massive advance on Dennis' third book, but the look on her husband's face makes it clear that this isn't entirely true. Dennis' text messages from Carla's dad confirm this. The new house would be built from the $5 million the man had sent, and Carla doesn't know a thing about it.

No Good Deed is available to stream on Netflix.

Why Lydia Was Finally Able To Play Piano Again In No Good Deed’s Ending

Lydia's Tremor Finally Went Away

Throughout No Good Deed, Lydia made it clear that she hadn't been able to play the piano since her son's death. She had once been a professional pianist, but Jacob's murder during one of her concerts caused a terrible tremor in Lydia's hands that she just couldn't overcome. However, the Netflix series' final episode sees Lydia finally play, and not just any song, either. Lydia and her daughter Emily perform a song together that Jacob himself wrote before his death.

Playing piano was not only a source of enjoyment for Lydia, but it was a talent and art that she and Jacob shared.

Lydia's inability to play piano until the end of No Good Deed was really just a self-inflicted punishment. She had decided to buy a gun to protect the house since a known burglar was terrorizing the neighborhood. Of course, Lydia had no idea that the burglar was Jacob, and her guilt over setting her daughter up to kill her son was simply too much to handle. Playing piano was not only a source of enjoyment for Lydia, but it was a talent and art that she and Jacob shared. As penance, she psychosomatically caused her own tremor. But when the truth was revealed, the tremor went away.

The Flickering Lamp In No Good Deed’s Ending Explained

Jacob Truly Was Communicating With His Family

Ray Romano as Paul in No Good Deed

Among the Morgan house's secrets in No Good Deed was the flickering light in Jacob's old room. Paul believed this was owed simply to bad wiring, while Lydia believed wholeheartedly that her son would use the light to communicate and send her signs. Throughout the majority of No Good Deed, it wasn't clear who was right. However, during the final scene of the Netflix series, the lamp on Paul's table begins to flicker while Emily and Lydia perform together at the bar. Since this is outside the home, and none of the other tables' lights flicker, it's implied that Jacob truly was reaching out to his family after all.

The True Meaning Of No Good Deed’s Ending

No Good Deed Uses Quirky Methods To Explore Impactful Concepts

Ray Romano's Paul and Lisa Kudrow's Lydia looking shocked and Luke Wilson's JD looking suspicious in No Good Deed
Custom Image by Grant Hermanns

No Good Deed is a dark comedy through and through, and that added touch of mystery certainly adds to the intrigue. Still, the most unique aspect of this Netflix series is the emotional heart behind it all. The Morgan home is beautiful inside and out, but it hides some ugly secrets, and its time on the market inspired other characters of No Good Deed to create even more damaging deceptions. This parallels with the Morgans' marriage. At the beginning of No Good Deed, they appear to be a tight-knit couple with a great sense of humor. However, their relationship was in shambles.

Characters frequently said that they had "always wanted to see the inside" of the Morgan house in No Good Deed, and just as this literally applied to the property, it figuratively worked for the family's own secrets.

The ending of No Good Deed sees the Morgan house's secrets come to light and be resolved. Similarly, the secrets Paul and Lydia had been keeping—their resentment and hatred for one another following Jacob's death—come to the surface and are resolved as well. Additionally, the conflicted relationship between Lydia and her daughter and Paul and his son also served a role here. Characters frequently said that they had "always wanted to see the inside" of the Morgan house in No Good Deed, and just as this literally applied to the property, it figuratively worked for the family's own secrets.

No Good Dead TV Series Poster

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No Good Deed
Not Yet Rated
Comedy
Release Date
2024 - 2023
Network
Netflix
Directors
Silver Tree
  • Headshot Of Lisa Kudrow In The NBC's 'Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love' Birthday Special
    Margo Starling
  • Headshot Of Linda Cardellini In The Step Up's Annual Inspiration Awards 2023
    Linda Cardellini
    Lydia Morgan

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

No Good Deed is a dark comedy series created by Liz Feldman for Netflix and stars Ray Romano as Paul Morgan in the lead role. Out of money and at the end of his rope, Paul considers selling his beautiful villa so he can pay his debts off and leave Los Angeles, but as he and two other families soon discover, the past is difficult to outrun.

Writers
Liz Feldman
Creator(s)
Liz Feldman
Producers
Liz Feldman, Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum
Seasons
1
Streaming Service(s)
Netflix