The sixth episode of Murdaugh: Death in the Family is the point of no return. Everything the series has been building — the empire, the appearances, the tension — converges into one single night. And the title leaves no doubt: “June 7th” is the date that changed everything, the night of the double homicide of Maggie and Paul.

But the episode makes a bold choice. Instead of showing Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke) pulling the trigger, it shows his own version — the “official story” he told in the weeks he claimed innocence. The audience sees what the world saw in 2021: a devastated father, a man seemingly crushed by tragedy, not the killer himself.

A man cornered

The episode opens with Alex confessing to his brother Randy that everything is collapsing: the hearing to open his financial records, Paul’s criminal case, his father’s deteriorating health, and now a grand jury investigation. “The walls are closing in, Randy,” he says, “and I can’t breathe.”

It’s the portrait of a man trapped. Popping pills, dodging questions, and being confronted by the law firm’s CFO over a missing $750,000 check, Alex is already a ticking bomb. The news that patriarch Randolph has been hospitalized gives him a convenient alibi — and maybe a last emotional shield.

Maggie, free and ready to start over

While the men of the Murdaugh empire crumble, Maggie (Patricia Arquette) is coming back to life outside it. Walking along Edisto Beach, she plans to repaint the house, donate clothes, and get rid of old memories — even her wedding dress. On her voicemail, she no longer identifies as “Maggie Murdaugh,” but simply “Margaret.” A small but definitive act.

Her sister reminds her about the divorce lawyer, and Maggie hesitates, murmuring, “Murdaughs don’t get divorced.” Still, she’s ready to be the exception. When she finally calls the attorney’s office, she takes off her rings. She’s a woman learning to breathe again.

Paul and the brief glimpse of redemption

Paul (Johnny Berchtold) also seems to be turning a corner. Sober, working with his uncle John Marvin, he’s humble and hopeful. He makes his own bed, prays with the family, and apologizes to his father: “We’ve got to do better. We can’t let this bury us.” It’s heartbreaking to know that within hours, he’ll literally be buried.

In one symbolic scene, Paul accidentally runs over a dog. Panicked, he rushes it to the vet — and saves it. For once, he causes harm and then fixes it. It feels as though the writers give him a fleeting moment of redemption before the end.

The return to Moselle

As Randolph’s condition worsens, Alex uses the crisis to persuade Maggie to come back “just for a while.” She agrees, maybe for Paul’s sake, maybe out of duty. She arrives home after dark — wearing again those gold sneakers that have become a symbol of her freedom.

Their reunion is cold. Alex tries to hug her; she resists. He promises rehab; she doesn’t believe him. Later, in her farewell to Paul, Maggie confesses, “I don’t regret the marriage, because I got you and Buster. You have what your father lacks.” It’s the last thing she’ll ever say — a perfect epitaph.

The night of June 7th

Alex lies on the couch watching TV before visiting his mother, who barely recognizes him. Eating ice cream, he chats with the nurse — a detail carefully placed to reinforce his alibi.

Meanwhile, Paul and Maggie head to the kennels to check on Cash, the dog belonging to a friend. Paul texts a girl, recommends A Star Is Born. Maggie bends down to smell the flowers. And then — silence.

Paul is shot in the chest, tries to react, and collapses. Maggie is shot in the leg, then in the hand as she tries to shield herself, and twice more once she’s on the ground. It’s fast, brutal, faceless. We never see the shooter — only the sound of gunfire and the horror left behind.

Cut to Alex returning home, calling for them, then driving to the kennels and finding their bodies. He calls 911, sobbing, telling police this must be connected to the boat case and the death threats. For a brief moment, even he seems to believe it.

Between myth and lies

“June 7th” is the coldest, saddest episode of the series, filmed with the almost documentary restraint that Erin Lee Carr demanded. No gratuitous blood, no manipulative score — only the discomfort of inevitability.

By refusing to show Alex as the shooter, the creators hand the power of doubt back to the audience, just as it was in real life. In 2021, many couldn’t believe that a man so “devoted to his family” could have done it. Today, we know better. But the show asks us to sit, once more, in that uncertainty — to feel the weight of belief before the truth settles in. And the worst is yet to come.