The Ending of ‘I Will Find You’ Explained: Was Matthew Alive?

Sam Worthington plays a wrongly imprisoned father in Netflix’s I Will Find You .

Based on the novel by Harlan Coben, the series follows innocent father David Burroughs who is imprisoned for the murder of his son Matthew. After he receives information that his son may still be alive, he looks to break out of prison to find the truth.

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Worthington leads the show’s cast, alongside Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Erin Richards, Jonathan Tucker, Madeleine Stowe, Clancy Brown, Logan Browning and Chi McBride.

All eight episodes of I Will Find You are available on Netflix.

What happened to Matthew in I Will Find You ?

As we learn towards the show’s end, Matthew (Ashton Cressman) isn’t dead and he’s been alive the entire time.

Matthew’s murder was faked by Hayden Payne (Milo Ventimiglia), who believed he was his father and his ex-girlfriend Rachel (Britt Lower) was his mother. However, in the finale, Rachel tells Hayden that Matthew is actually David’s son, because she never went to the fertility clinic, but Cheryl (Erin Richards), who was already pregnant with Matthew, did.

This lie was compounded by Hayden’s mother Gertrude (Madeleine Stowe), who faked a paternity test to make her son believe he was Matthew’s father. In the finale, this revelation leads to Hayden shooting and killing his mother.

Earlier in the episode, we learn Hayden murdered a terminally ill child from a Swiss orphanage to fake Matthew’s death. When a Swiss detective (Tom Morton) comes to ask questions about the missing child, Hayden kills him in order to tie up every loose end.

What happens at the end of I Will Find You ?

The discovery that Matthew has been held captive by Hayden this entire time, leads David and Rachel to storm the Payne estate. Hayden, along with Matthew (who he calls Theo), makes a run for it into the woods.

As Hayden searches for Matthew between the trees, David tackles him to the ground. In the scrap, Hayden shoots David. When the FBI arrives, along with Rachel, Hayden reaches for his gun but he’s shot by FBI agent Sarah Greer (Logan Browning).

The show jumps forward eight months later, and while everyone is dressed for a funeral, it isn’t for David. We learn David survived the bullet wound, but his father Lenny (Hugh Thompson) has passed away. However, he did manage to spend six months with his grandson Matthew.

Through voiceover, we learn that David’s conviction was overturned. Rachel, meanwhile, published a book about the whole incident. Cheryl also gave birth to a baby girl and she forgave her husband Ronald (Aaron Ashmore) for his past lies.

In the final shot, David and Rachel are seen watching everyone together at the funeral, before they hold hands.

The post The ending of ‘I Will Find You’ explained: is Matthew alive? appeared first on NME .

_Originally reported by [NME](https://www.nme.com/news/tv/i-will-find-you-ending-explained-is-matthew-alive-3952654?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=i-will-find-you-ending-explained-is-matthew-alive)._