Creator reveals real reason she had to change the book’s ending for All Her Fault TV show

If you’ve finished all eight episodes of Peacock’s dark and twisty series All Her Fault, you’ll know it ends with a massive shock. Peter Irvine dies in a way that’s both awful and, strangely, a bit satisfying. But here’s what many people don’t realise, in Andrea Mara’s original book, Peter’s death is barely shown at all. Readers only find out through a small newspaper clipping at the very end.

The show, however, spends its whole run building Peter into something much bigger. At first, he seems like a distant, slightly off husband. But as the episodes go on, he becomes the centre of every big disaster, the terrible car crash from years ago, the messy kidnapping, and all the long-buried family lies.

According to showrunner Megan Gallagher, she loved digging into a male character who makes terrible choices because he’s needy and desperate for love, a trait we usually only see given to female villains on TV.

“He just can’t function without being needed,” Gallagher said in an interview with Variety. “All of his bad decisions come from wanting love and control. It made sense that he’d be behind so much chaos, and that his downfall would be huge.”

So, why did the creator change the book’s ending for All Her Fault TV show?

via Peacock

Well, Gallagher said it was all about letting the audience experience the moment through Marissa’s eyes.

“In the book, the newspaper clipping works really well,” she explained. “But in a TV series, you want to be with the character. It’s too big of a moment to leave off-screen. We wanted viewers to feel it and to see her make that impossible choice.”

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That choice comes when Marissa quietly uses Peter’s soy allergy during a family gathering. She triggers a reaction, and this time she doesn’t save him. Gallagher said that showing this on screen makes the whole thing feel more real. You stay with Marissa as she decides what she has to do, even though it feels totally “bananas”.

“You know she’s not evil,” Gallagher says. “She’s just completely backed into a corner. There isn’t really another option. We wanted people to feel her thinking it through.”

So, while the book mentions Peter’s death in a quick, subtle way, the show turns it into a bold, emotional, unforgettable moment. And it definitely works.

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