Missing You ending explained: Kills, chaos & catfishing

Missing You is the latest Harlan Coben adaptation for Netflix, meaning there are more twists than you can shake a stick at. Don’t fret, we’ve got your back with a breakdown of what happens at the end.

Following on from last year’s Fool Me Once, Missing You brings Coben’s best-selling novel of the same name to our screens. The story centers around Detective Kat Donovan, whose ex-fiancé Josh ghosted her more than a decade ago. 

You can imagine her surprise when she sees his face show up on a new dating app. As she digs deeper into the mystery, she’s forced to confront buried secrets while uncovering a wider plot that has terrifying consequences. 

Much like its predecessor, Missing You has landed on Netflix on New Year’s Day, making it the perfect hungover binge-watch. But if you’re left scratching your head at the finale, be sure to check out our breakdown of the ending. Warning: major spoilers ahead!

What happens at the end of Missing You?

In the final scene of Missing You, Josh finally admits why he ghosted Kat all those years ago: he was the one who murdered her father Clint Donovan. But it was to save their friend, Aqua. 

Earlier on in the Netflix series, we find out that a criminal named Monte Leburne confessed to killing Clint – who was also a detective. But there’s a slight issue: Monte’s dying in prison. 

Kat’s desperate to know why her dad was killed, and so she pays him a visit, against the advice of her boss, Sergeant Ellis Stagger.

With a little help from the nurse and some extra-strength opioids, she gets the truth out of him. Monte wasn’t paid to murder Clint, he was paid to take the fall. It was around this time that Josh disappeared, but Kat never knew these two events were connected. 

For some time, it seemed like everyone in Kat’s life was involved. Aqua had seen Josh six months ago but didn’t say anything until now, while Stagger kept trying to throw her off the scent of what happened to her dad. 

As she continues to dig into the past, she discovers that her father had been having a yearslong affair and had been working for Calligan, Monte Leburne’s criminal boss. The news is devastating to Kat, who was always close with her father. 

Netflix

But it turns out he wasn’t one of the bad guys, after all. With the help of Calligan of all people, she tracks down Clint’s affair partner Parker, only to discover that they’re a man. 

Kat finds out that the only reason Clint worked for the criminal network is because he was being blackmailed, with Calligan threatening to out him for his affair and his sexuality. 

Parker explains that Clint couldn’t take it anymore; he told Calligan it was done and he broke things off with Parker. 

Oh, you thought the twists were done? Far from it. You see, eventually, Josh and Kat rekindle their relationship. All is going well, except when Kat gets a call from her colleague Charlie. He’s managed to find a match for the fingerprints on her father’s murder weapon: it’s Josh. 

We then cut to a flashback, where we find out what really happened on the night of Clint’s death. He went back to Parker to try and rekindle their relationship, but while walking home, Kat’s friend Aqua accidentally stumbled upon them. 

She tried to ignore it and walk the other way, but it left Clint terrified. He abandoned Parker and rang Stagger, asking for Aqua’s address. After giving it to him, Stagger questioned why he needed it but Clint had already hung up. 

Clint went to her house and confronted her. Aqua tried to explain that he deserved to be free and come out but he grew increasingly paranoid. Things came to a head when Kat called Aqua, causing Clint to lash out and attack her. 

Netflix

Just as it looked like he was going in for the kill, Josh ran in, grabbed the knife, and stabbed Clint to stop him. Stagger ran in soon after, with Clint using his dying words to tell them not to tell Kat or the police what really happened. 

So, all three of them agreed to keep it quiet, getting Monte to take the fall. And this was the real reason Josh disappeared – he just couldn’t deal with the guilt. 

At the very end of Missing You, once all of the secrets are out, Josh and Kat sit at the edge of the bed with tears in their eyes as they take it all in. But even so, Kat’s hand moves over to touch Josh’s, who gives a smile, indicating they’ll still be able to work things out together. 

Josh was never really on the dating app

Netflix

But you might still be wondering: how did Kat find Josh on the dating app? Well, it wasn’t really him: it was a catfish account made by a criminal organization who exploited and murdered people for their money. 

In Missing You Episode 1, Kat swipes through the profiles and is shocked to see photos of Josh. After a mental back-and-forth, she decides to reach out, sharing their song ‘Missing You’ by John Waite. But she’s quickly shut down, with Josh saying it’s best if they don’t talk. 

If you didn’t think she already had enough on her plate, Kat’s work is anything but quiet. Alongside working on an appeal for missing man Rishi Magari, she’s approached by a young lad named Brendan, who’s concerned his mom Dana Fells has gone missing. 

The plot thickens when it’s revealed that both Rishi and Dana had been using the same dating app Kat signed up to before they went missing. 

As the viewer, we find out what’s really going on. The real villain of Missing You is Titus Monroe, whose puppy rearing estate is secretly being used for far more nefarious purposes. 

Netflix

Titus and his team steal the identities of random individuals, create fake profiles on the dating app, and entice people to chosen locations. They’re then kidnapped and held captive at the farm, where the gang steal their bank details and assets. 

Once they’ve been bled dry, Titus orders for them to be killed and incinerated on site. In the present timeline, both Dana and Rishi are imprisoned at the estate, awaiting their horrifying fate. 

Kat and Charlie work together to investigate the situation, discovering that all of the people the victims had been speaking to on the dating app have had their identities stolen – including Josh.

Titus eventually catches wind of the fact that they’re being investigated by the police after his Swiss bank account is frozen. Determined to find out what Kat knows, he stealthily parks outside of her flat, only to spot Brendan outside. 

At the same time, he finds out Brendan’s mom Dana has managed to escape from her farmyard cell. Titus gives Brendan a call and instructs him to come to the van or else his mom dies. 

Dana overhears their plan at the farm and secretly uses a nearby phone to call her son. She tells him to stay away from the van but it’s too late, and he gets pulled into the back.

Kat also arrives on the scene and sees Brendan being kidnapped, but again, it’s too late, and the van drives off. 

Titus gets back to the estate and, knowing the police will be there soon, tells his right-hand man Reynaldo to burn it all down – including the seven “assets” (prisoners). 

But Dana has grabbed an axe and is able to free them all before it’s too late. Together, they charge Reynaldo and kill him. 

Things come to a head when Titus lures Dana out by threatening to kill Brendan. All three of them are in a standoff, until Kat and her team show up. 

Kat shoots Titus as the estate goes up in flames, saving Dana and Brendan in the process. The surviving perpetrators are arrested while their victims are taken to hospital, putting an end to the criminal organization for good.

Missing You is streaming on Netflix now. You can find more TV shows to get excited about in 2025, true crime to dive into this month, and the best series of 2024.