Are more twists better? Deconstructing the controversial ending of Never Lie
Freida McFadden’s Never Lie, with its Snowstorm Manor-style closed space and layered reversal narrative techniques, has made countless readers hold their breath late at night. However, when the last page was closed, controversy followed: some people applauded the shocking reversal of the ending, while others questioned whether the reversal has become a routine? Today, we will explore the gains and losses of the reversal design of Never Lie from th
ree dimensions: logical rationality, comparison with similar works, and reader psychology.（The Psychology Behind Why We Love a Good Plot Twist）
Dismantling the key reversal: Is the logical chain self-consistent?
The truth behind Dr. Hale’s disappearance: subversion from victim to perpetrator
In the first half of the novel, Dr. Hale is portrayed as a mysteriously missing psychiatrist, and her manor contains tapes of her meetings with patients. As Tricia investigates, the truth gradually comes to light: Dr. Hale is not missing innocently, but has forced the patient into a desperate situation through psychological manipulation, and may even be involved in illegal experiments.
Points of dispute:
Reasonableness: The dialogue in the tape hints at Dr. Hale’s desire for manipulation, but some readers believe that the transition from disappearance to harm lacks direct evidence and relies more on Tricia’s speculation.
Emotional impact: This reversal subverts the reader’s sympathy for the missing person, but if the foreshadowing is insufficient, it will be abrupt.
Tricia’s identity: awakening from bystander to insider
As a newlywed wife, Tricia was originally an innocent participant, but as the content of the tape echoes her own experience, readers discover that she may also be one of Dr. Hale’s “experiments”, and even her relationship with her husband Ethan is fraught with crisis.
Points of dispute:
Reasonableness: Tricia’s sensitive reaction to the content of the recording and her familiarity with the manor foreshadow her identity reversal, but some readers believe that the “double reversal” weakens credibility.
Emotional impact: This reversal ties the personal identity crisis to the mystery of the manor, but if the foreshadowing is not obscure enough, it is easy for readers to guess it in advance.
Conclusion:
McFadden uses fragmented information. She also limits the reader’s perspective. These create suspense and mystery. But some plot points lack full explanation. Readers have to fill in the blanks themselves. This brings both surprise and distance. The twist feels clever, yet not always complete.
Reversal Fatigue: When reversal Becomes Expected
Comparison with Gone Girl: How to grasp the degree of reversal?
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn starts with a perfect marriage. At least, that’s what it looks like. But things aren’t as they seem. The wife fakes her own kidnapping. The husband hides a dark past. Each twist reveals the cracks in their relationship. Slowly, the story exposes the hypocrisy of human nature. Its success lies in:
Reversal serves the theme: the power game in marriage, the dialectical relationship between lies and truth, always runs through the reversal.
Emotional progression: Each reversal deepens the complexity of the character, rather than simply creating an accident.
The reversal of Never Lie focuses more on the instantaneous stimulation of the mystery is revealed. Some readers think:
The reversal is too dense: the multiple reversals such as Dr. Hale’s disappearance, Tricia’s identity, and the secrets of the manor are superimposed, which easily makes readers feel tired of reversing for the sake of reversal.
Weakened theme: Compared with the criticism of the marriage system in Gone Girl, the reversal of Never Lie is more like a puzzle game and lacks deep social metaphors.
Reader psychology: What kind of reversal do we really need?
Unexpected but reasonable: such as the ending of Witness for the Prosecution, which subverts cognition and conforms to the foreshadowing in the early stage.
Completely subvert cognition: such as the ending of The Sixth Sense , but it needs to be based on a solid emotional foundation in the early stage.
Never Lie tries to take both into account, but due to the imbalance of rhythm, some reversals are “not reasonable enough” and some reversals are overly subversive.
What is your preference?
🔹 A: Thinking the reversal of “unexpected but reasonable”, and strict logic is the first priority.
🔹 B: I prefer the reversal of “completely subverting cognition”, even if it sacrifices some rationality, I still pursue shock.
🔹 C: It doesn’t matter if it’s a reversal, as long as the story is attractive enough.
You can learn more information of Never Lie on https://neverliefreidamcfadden.com.
The “double-edged sword” of reversal: How to balance surprise and routine?
Avoid reversal addiction:
Reversal should serve the growth of characters or the deepening of the theme, rather than simply creating gimmicks.
For example, the reversal of Parasite is progressive, and ultimately points to class contradictions, rather than reversal for reversal.
The art of blank space and hint:
An excellent reversal needs to lay enough clues in the early stage. So that readers can have a sense of epiphany of “so that’s it” at the end.
Take Murder on the Orient Express, for example.
The ending reveals a shocking truth.
But the clues were there all along.
Every passenger’s testimony gave subtle hints.
The truth was hidden in plain sight.
Emotional resonance takes precedence over logic:
There may be loopholes in the plot twist. But if it makes readers reflect on human nature and morality, it still counts as a success.
For example, the ending of “Joker” is controversial, but it deeply explores the despair of marginalized people in society.
What is the ultimate goal of the reversal?
The controversy of Never Lie is essentially an eternal game between “genre fiction” and “literariness”. As a thriller, it successfully created a tense atmosphere. But the flaws in the reversal design also exposed the difficulty of having both “sense” and “depth”. Reversals don’t need to happen many times. That’s not what makes them powerful. What truly matters is what happens after the story ends. Can readers still feel awe for human nature and truth? If yes, then the reversal has done its job.