Laid Season 1 Ending Explained

While laying the groundwork for an intriguing second season, Peacock's Laid's dramatic cliffhanger finale raises important issues, like as why Ruby's ex-partners are dying. Ruby Yao, played by Stephanie Hsu, learns of the death of Brandon, her college boyfriend, at the beginning of the dark comedy. She leaves with Jeffrey, her other ex-boyfriend and Brandon's best friend, after attending the funeral. Following a brawl, Jeffrey exits the Uber and is struck by a car right away.

Ruby and her closest friend AJ, who is obsessed with true crime, soon learn that all of her past sexual partners are dying in the same sequence that she slept with them, but this could just be a massive coincidence. In order to stop as many fatalities as possible, warn Ruby's ex-boyfriends, and find the source, the two set off. Ruby attempts to determine her position in a love triangle with her ideal client and her unkillable ex at the same time. This results in a startling conclusion that sets up Laid season 2 and conveys a crucial message about trauma.

Why Are Ruby's Exes Dying in Laid Season 1?

What is killing all of Ruby's ex-boyfriends is the main mystery in Laid season 1. From a stalker to a sexually transmitted disease, Ruby, AJ, and Richie alternately offer theories. Sadly, all of these theories fail to hold water. A sexually transmitted disease cannot lead someone to have a foul ball to the temple, and a stalker cannot cause someone to develop cancer. When AJ discovers a video of Brad confessing to putting a hex on Ruby for rejecting him, they believe they have finally figured out the issue.

Brad assists them in locating the woman who cast the hex after exerting pressure, and she provides them with guidance on how to pass it on to another individual. They pass it on to the neighbor upstairs, who irritates Ruby and AJ. But by using the hex as a red herring, Peacock's Laid departs from the Australian program of the same name. They purposefully leaned into the hex and curse beliefs, revealing at the end of the season that the fatalities are due to "intergenerational trauma," co-showrunner Nahnatchka Khan told Variety.

Ruby's father shows up at their flat, despite the fact that they haven't spoken in fifteen years, and reveals that he had gone through what Ruby had gone through. He wishes to assist her with the matter. Sadly, except from Khan's remark, no information is known about the precise cause of the deaths of all of her sexual partners. That information is left until Laid season 2, which as of January 1, 2025, has not been confirmed. There is optimism that Ruby's narrative will continue because Peacock, fortunately, doesn't cancel series after one season nearly as regularly as other streaming services.

Who Does Ruby Pick Between Richie and Isaac?

In the Peacock original series, Ruby is initially unmarried, but she soon finds herself in the middle of a romantic triangle with her cynical ex-boyfriend Richie and her charming party-planning client Isaac. She knows she can't sleep with Isaac since he will die, despite her affections for him. Additionally, the two are mismatched since she sees him as considerate and nice, while he acknowledges that she is messy. However, Richie is her "sex loophole," so she can have as much sex as she wants with him. She also believes that her ex and she are compatible because they are both equally neurotic and defective.

Ruby's choice ultimately has little to do with who is best for her. Both guys have different methods of connecting with her, which highlights various aspects of her personality. There isn't an incorrect option. Rather, it is a matter of choosing between truth and idealization. Ruby yearns for this "perfect" man, Isaac, during the majority of Laid, oblivious to the fact that he is imperfect in his own ways. Additionally, she deliberately ignores the fact that her ex recognizes and accepts the negative aspects of her personality. Despite her conflicted feelings for Richie, Ruby ultimately chooses Isaac to pursue a romantic relationship with.

Was Ruby's mother killed by her father?

Ruby finds it difficult to deal with the passing of her mother and the subsequent desertion of her father throughout Laid. She avoids talking about the losses in therapy and with her loved ones, hardly acknowledging them. But Ruby will be forced to face her history in a way she has never done before due to the cliffhanger finale of Laid season 1. Ruby's father discloses that he experienced the same thing that his daughter is going through. Ruby and her father may become even more resentful as a result of the revelation that changes the plot.

It appears likely that the same hereditary trait that killed Ruby's boyfriend also killed her mother. If accurate, it makes sense why Ruby's father would depart following her passing. Like Ruby in Laid season 1, he would be overcome with guilt for the deaths. Sadly, Ruby's egocentric perspective allows her to blame her father for taking her mother away rather than showing empathy for him. But the real story won't be revealed to viewers until Laid's second season.

How AJ and Ruby Mend Their Friendship

Although romance and sex play a major role in Laid, Ruby and AJ's platonic love is arguably the most significant relationship in the series. Unfortunately, Ruby has sex with AJ's ex-boyfriend immediately after their breakup, which is a huge error she makes early in the series. She conceals the incident rather than owning up to her error. When AJ finds out about the treachery, it is much more terrible because of this. Regretfully, Ruby keeps using the excuse that they were broken up to defend her behavior to herself.

In the end, Aubrey, Ruby's escapee, has to explain out that Ruby needs AJ in order for her to consider the reasons for her bad choice. AJ then notes that she is attempting to solve the issue by moving the hex for self-serving purposes. Together, these two instances strike a chord with Ruby that aids in her transformation. Instead of apologizing for her need for forgiveness, she attempts to mend the rift she created between Zack and AJ.

Ruby makes it appear as though Zack organized everything by setting up a dinner between AJ and her idol, Amanda Knox. With Ruby acknowledging that she would most likely still lose her buddy, the extravagant gesture is meant to bring the two back together. It is the most altruistic thing she has ever done. But only Ruby understands her well enough to set up that surprise, and AJ knows that. Ruby refuses to claim credit, even when they discuss the supper. The two best friends are reunited as a result of this act and the events that follow.

An explanation of Laid Season 1's sex loophole

Ruby calls Richie the "sex loophole" because, despite her warning that he will die, whatever is killing him avoids him. Although Laid season 1 doesn't explain how or why this occurs, Richie's title is still significant. Ruby acts as though relationships will collapse at any moment because of the death of her mother and the desertion of her father. Ruby keeps her companions at a distance and cuts them off rather than allowing them to harm her, instead of allowing them to run their course.

But because Richie is the "sex loophole," she has one person outside of AJ that she knows won't pass away or abandon her. Ruby and Richie are closely linked by their circumstances, and they turn to each other for comfort as they work through the uncertainties. In the end, she needs him to develop personally. She might not have reached a position where she could honestly consider her previous relationships if Richie hadn't been there to provide her with constancy and stability. She would have become even more insecure and self-destructive if she had lost every partner with whom she had sex.

The Real Significance Of Laid Season 1's Resolution (And How It Preps Season 2)

Although the conclusion of Laid season one may seem unexpected, it is entirely consistent with the show's themes. Using gallows humor, the dark comedy TV series examines the effects of previous trauma and relationships. Ruby feels compelled to physically lose everyone she has ever had sex with, including some she loved very much, as opposed to losing her loved ones emotionally.

Laid makes it apparent that Ruby and the audience cannot move on in life without confronting her traumas by forcing her to face her history. All of Ruby's romances were affected by the death of her family, and each romance shaped the one that followed. Ruby was unable to break free from the emotional baggage this generated. Fortunately, there is hope for Laid season two. Hopefully, the second season of Laid will depict Ruby establishing a new foundation of emotional vulnerability and self-awareness as she discovers a means to end the cycle of intergenerational suffering and death, since the first season is about healing old wounds.