In the same vein as The Woods and Hold Tight, the third Harlan Coben novel to be adapted for Netflix in Polish is titled Just One Look.
Drawing inspiration from the 2004 novel, this captivating six-episode series follows my journey as a jewelry designer named Greta (portrayed by Maria Debska). While sifting through freshly developed family photos, an enigmatic snapshot of five unfamiliar faces, captured 15 years ago, catches my eye.
On further inspection, however, she realises one of the men looks suspiciously like her husband.
Why does he disappear right away after being shown the photo? Can you identify the woman whose face bears an X mark? Is there any connection between this and the emotional distress Greta has experienced following the arson attack that claimed the lives of 28 concert attendees?
Just as one would anticipate from a Harlan Coben story, the series keeps presenting intriguing and urgent questions along the way. Let’s delve into how these mysteries were resolved in the usual thrilling climax, but be warned: major spoilers follow.
Just One Look ending explained
Who was Jacek really?
Following a hospital visit to her injured spouse, Jacek (Cezary Lukaszewicz), who looked surprisingly like a wounded kangaroo, Greta comes home to discover an enigmatic USB stick on her doorstep.
The image clearly depicts that the bearded drummer from the enigmatic rock band picture is indeed her spouse, as he awkwardly tried to disguise himself with a fake wig to appear 15 years younger.
Later, Greta returns to the residence of Mrs. Adamiuk, the woman who earlier asserted she didn’t know Jacek, even though they were once in a band together with her supposed son, Szymon (whom she now states resides abroad).
Upon learning that he’s battling for survival, she invites Greta over to her house, a surprising discovery as it’s filled with pictures of their two kids, herself, and Jacek.
Yes, as Diane puts it in The Traitors, Szymon isn’t actually Mrs. Adamiuk’s biological son, but rather Jacek is, to some extent.
At the hospital, Mrs. Adamiuk confides that following the unfortunate fire/crowd incident where the genuine Jacek perished, her son Szymon took on his persona, and we’ll soon understand why.
The story becomes even more intriguing as Greta plans to cross paths with the sinister singer, Jimmy (Piotr Stramowski), at a local watering hole.
As the discussion grows more intense, she gradually remembers the events of that critical night, and a brief recollection is supplemented by another flashback to provide further clarity.
What happened on the night of the fire?
It’s worth noting that the very same night when numerous concert-goers tragically lost their lives in a stampede trying to flee the fire, another fatality occurred at the Steelworks venue as well.
Angry because Jimmy had stolen and succeeded with his own composition titled Just One Look, Jacek challenged the lead singer backstage, resulting in a fight that ended tragically when Jacek was fatally stabbed.
Fuming over Jimmy’s theft and success of the song Just One Look, Jacek confronted the frontman backstage. After a physical altercation, Jacek suffered a fatal stab wound.
Both sentences convey the same information in an easy-to-understand manner.
In an unfortunate turn of events, I found myself in a situation where Greta strolled into the dressing room right as I was, a moment that left me quite flustered. Luckily, the shock of the recent fire/crowd chaos seemed to have erased from her memory anything that transpired just before and after our unexpected encounter.
Since his deceit has been exposed, Greta alleges that Jimmy orchestrated attacks against anyone aware that Jacek was the real composer of the songs, an accusation he vehemently refutes.
His prompt death in what appears to be a calculated hit-and-run indicates that he might have been speaking the truth.
Who ordered all the hits?
In the process of conducting a bit more sleuth-like investigation, Greta notices that the lady responsible for recording old band performances bears a striking resemblance to her husband’s supposed sister, Sandra (Monika Krzywkowska).
During her final visit, she learns from Jacek that the supposed family tie was false as well.
In a flashback following another heart-wrenching event, I find myself extending an extraordinary proposition to Jacek – one that seems as implausible in Harlan Coben’s world as a shooting star. The idea: step into the shoes of my late brother to claim the songwriting royalties that Jimmy, consumed by guilt, had forfeited to our estranged father. As a movie lover, this kind of twist keeps me on the edge of my seat!
In return, he’ll get a cut which will help pay for his mother’s life-saving surgery.
Jacek acknowledges that their chance encounter in France wasn’t purely by luck, but instead, he had been attempting to find Greta for quite some time after already being smitten with her prior to the fire.
Sadly, this proves to be his final words, as soon after he becomes the drama’s latest fatality.
Equipped with fresh revelations, Greta proceeds to Sandra’s office to bring forth additional grave accusations, supported by additional recollections.
After the reappearance of the band’s photo, a distressed ‘Jacek’ confided in his supposed sister that he felt compelled to confess the truth. However, rather than facing the consequences, Sandra arranged for someone to kidnap and brutally assault Jacek to keep him quiet.
As a passionate cinephile, I too had taken steps to silence two key figures who were threatening to reveal the truth behind that devastating blaze. The musician-turned-journalist, Sylwia, was one of them, on the brink of exposing the facts. And let’s not forget Alex, the first member of the band to perish – their lives had become entangled with my own.
She arrived first at the crime scene when Jimmy murdered his actual sibling, and leveraged her legal profession to aid in concealing the deceased’s death.
Additionally, she played a role in Greta’s kidnapping as well; Greta narrowly managed to free herself, barely escaping with her life.
Despite Sandra’s initial self-assurance that no proof exists for these theories, she later finds herself being taken into custody.
The final showdown
However, further disclosures are yet to come. Towards the end, Alex’s father, Borys (played by Miroslaw Zbrojewicz), appears with his deceased daughter’s diary in hand, visiting Greta.
It seems that he had been aware of the Jacek imposter situation from the start. To try and uncover the truth behind Alex’s demise, he decided to provoke him by asking the photo lab worker to include a picture of the rock band in Alex’s order as evidence.
Greta is justifiably angry because Borys brought up old issues without giving any reason, which indirectly led to more deaths afterwards.
Greta is rightfully upset since Borys resurrected past events without providing an explanation, thereby causing additional fatalities to occur.
However, her speech is quickly halted upon being queried, “Haven’t you ever pondered about the person who captured that photo 15 years back?
At the unexpected climax of the series, it’s disclosed that the woman operating the camera was none other than Greta herself!
Read More
- ZK PREDICTION. ZK cryptocurrency
- Invincible Season 4: What We Know About Release Date and Plot Speculation!
- INJ PREDICTION. INJ cryptocurrency
- NYM PREDICTION. NYM cryptocurrency
- ONT PREDICTION. ONT cryptocurrency
- HBAR PREDICTION. HBAR cryptocurrency
- TRB PREDICTION. TRB cryptocurrency
- EUR INR PREDICTION
- COW PREDICTION. COW cryptocurrency
- DGB PREDICTION. DGB cryptocurrency
2025-03-12 15:35