Harlan Coben’s Lazarus Ending Explained: What Really Happened to Dr. L?

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I’m completely hooked on this show! It really gets inside the heads of everyone involved – the psychologists, the criminals, even just people who witnessed things. It’s the perfect series if you love crime dramas, but want something a little different than a straight-up true crime story, with a fascinating supernatural twist. The main character, Laz, played by Sam Claflin, is a forensic psychologist dealing with his father’s recent suicide. As he grieves, a decades-old mystery resurfaces – the murder of his twin sister, Sutton, and some unsettling connections to his father’s patients.

Still grieving his father’s death, Laz starts communicating with the spirits of his father’s former patients, hoping to understand what happened. However, the series ultimately suggests that these conversations weren’t supernatural at all. Laz had actually been listening to recordings of his father’s therapy sessions while struggling with his own mental health. While anything is possible, the show implies there were no actual ghosts. This ambiguity is intentional, leaving some questions unanswered and allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions about what happens next.

Dr. L Died With Blood on His Hands

The story reaches a critical point as Laz uncovers the truth surrounding his father’s death and the people responsible. He comes face-to-face with Arlo Jones, a former patient and dangerous criminal, who reveals he believes he was wrongly accused of murdering Imogen Carswood by Detective Chief Inspector Alison Brown. Investigating further, Laz discovers a disturbing connection: Alison appears to be involved in the deaths of all the ghosts he’s been communicating with in his father’s office – Imogen Carswood, Cassandra Rhodes, and Harry Nash.

Laz believes Alison was using Dr. L’s medical practice to kill patients she deemed unfit for society. However, when Laz and his friend Seth confront her, she violently attacks them and flees. She’s tragically killed when a bus hits her during the chase. Before she dies, Alison gives Laz a recording of a conversation she had with Dr. L shortly before his death. Laz discovers that Dr. L secretly recorded all his office conversations, and this recording is one of them. It reveals that Dr. L and Alison had been working together for years, falsely imprisoning criminals – including rapists, murderers, and pedophiles – by framing them for murders they didn’t commit. In reality, Dr. L was the one committing the murders, targeting the patients he believed were likely to harm others or themselves.

Alison fully trusted Dr. L’s guidance, but when she learned the truth, she angrily told him to kill himself, wanting his secrets to die with him. Dr. L did take his own life, as reported, but someone else played a role in it. Laz confronted his father about his actions, rejecting the idea that Dr. L was trying to relieve suffering or protect the world. Ironically, Dr. L ended his own life in the same way he had harmed others – a self-imposed punishment, it seemed.

Laz Discovers the Truth Behind His Sister’s Death

Throughout the series, Laz investigated three connected mysteries: his father’s death, the deaths of his father’s patients, and the murder of his twin sister, Sutton. Twenty-five years prior, Sutton was found dead in her bedroom after a school dance, even though she had returned home alone. While Olsen was initially the main suspect, he was never formally charged due to a lack of proof, becoming an outcast in the community. Laz long believed Olsen was responsible, but after a conversation with him, Laz began to question his long-held suspicions and ultimately cleared Olsen as a suspect.

Laz made a mistake by trusting Olsen. New evidence shows Olsen was in Sutton’s bedroom the night she was killed. Olsen had claimed Sutton gave him a childhood toy, but Laz discovers it was still with Sutton on the night of the dance. Before Laz can tell the police – who are already skeptical because of his focus on his father’s death – Aidan disappears. Laz and the police search for Aidan and quickly learn he’s been seen with Olsen.

Laz discovers Olsen and Aidan together, leading to a final confrontation. Olsen confesses to killing Sutton, but his recollection of events is distorted. He reveals he had been secretly stalking Sutton and breaking into her room for years, and he was doing the same on the night of the dance. However, Sutton returned home unexpectedly and caught him. While Olsen claims she initiated a mutual encounter, the truth is he attacked her, and she fought back. Fearing she would expose his crimes, he killed her when he heard Laz returning. It’s revealed that Olsen was the one leaving fairy lights at Sutton’s grave, deluding himself into thinking he was caring for her while Laz was away. With Olsen finally imprisoned, the mystery is solved.

Another Murderer in the Lazarus Family Emerges

Olsen finally admitted to the murder everyone suspected him of committing, and it’s been confirmed that Dr. L died by suicide. However, this doesn’t solve the mystery of Margot’s sudden death – she was a dedicated employee of Dr. L. Laz initially believed that if Olsen killed Sutton, he likely also killed Margot, since he was near where her body was discovered. But it seems another killer was operating secretly, unnoticed while Laz focused his suspicions elsewhere. This new murderer is surprisingly close to Laz, and might actually prove that Dr. L’s final words held some truth.

Speaking with the medical examiner, Seth discovers Margot was killed with a curved blade illegally brought in from Brazil. This same type of weapon was used by a London gang in a 2016 murder, and a shipment of these blades was confiscated just before the events of the series. However, the person who wielded the weapon – Aidan – wasn’t connected to the gang or that shipment. Aidan, who becomes close to Laz throughout the series, is revealed to be the one who killed Margot and attacked Laura. This shocking twist is reminiscent of another similar ending. It turns out Aidan had previously seen Dr. L for undisclosed issues stemming from feelings of isolation, and both Aidan’s mother and Laz’s sister had confided in someone about this. Aidan likely targeted Margot and Laura because he’d shared his troubling thoughts with them, but asked them not to report anything to the authorities.

The episode abruptly ends just as Aidan tries to explain what happened, leaving viewers with a chilling image: Aidan standing in the doorway, holding the bloody weapon, and offering a cold, insincere apology to Laz. This scene echoes a previous conversation between Laz and the ghost of Dr. L, where Dr. L said, “Time doesn’t move in a straight line; it repeats itself. Sons often become like their fathers, Joel. It’s a part of who they are.” Laz initially dismissed his father’s bleak view that violence is passed down through families. Now, however, he’s forced to consider if it was true. Faced with this unsettling proof of his father’s words, the audience is left to question what the future holds for Laz and his relationship with his son.

All six episodes of Harlan Coben’s Lazarus are available to stream on Prime Video.

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2025-10-22 10:07