No Good Deed Ending Explained: Who Died? Who Was the Real Killer?

No Good Deed kept the twists coming throughout its first season — but was every mystery solved by the finale?

Warning: This story contains spoilers about season 1 of No Good Deed.

The comedy series, which premiered on Thursday, December 12, followed three families vying to buy the same house, which they all thought would solve their problems. Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow play a married couple that are selling their home after suspicious circumstances that are slowly revealed throughout the eight-episode season.

No Good Deed confirmed in the series premiere that Paul (Romano) and Lydia’s (Kudrow) son was killed three years before they put the home on sale. The couple waited until they no longer had to disclose the death but the events surrounding their son’s murder affected their marriage. It remained unclear who was responsible for Jacob’s death — only that it involved a gun from their home.

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Eventually, Paul and Lydia admit their daughter, Emily (Chloe East), was the one to pull the trigger. Jacob was involved in several home robberies in their neighborhood and after he returned from his most recent heist, Emily got spooked and shot him because she didn’t realize it was her brother.

The twists, however, kept coming: it turned out that it was actually another gun that was responsible for Jacob’s death. All signs pointed to their neighbor JD (Luke Wilson) but it turned out to be his wife (Linda Cardellini), who was sleeping with Jacob and then shot him when he threatened to expose their affair.

The Morgan family was able to finally move on from the trauma — and even decided on which couple gets their home. But there were still enough questions left unanswered that could pave the way for more seasons of the show.

Romano and Kudrow spoke with Us Weekly exclusively about the surprising on screen turns before the show premiered.

“There’s a main story twist. I think it works and it’s a good payoff,” Romano noted. “But I think the whole show doesn’t rely on that one twist.”

Kudrow weighed in on the overarching plot, adding, “For me, the goal is always that it’s entertaining and that it’s something you look forward to seeing and to keep watching.”

Keep scrolling to find out where each character stands at the end of No Good Deed — and how the story set the show up for more episodes:

Paul Morgan

When No Good Deed started, Paul was focused on selling his and Lydia’s home. He was even more motivated when Mikey (Denis Leary) — who turned out to be his brother — started threatening him for money. The viewers slowly learned that Paul asked for Mikey’s help when he found his son Jacob dead. Mikey covered it up but after going to prison for a different crime, he wanted compensation for the secrets he had been keeping for Paul.

Throughout the season, Paul tried to send Mikey back to jail. He switched gears when Lydia briefly appeared to kill Mikey. But when it turned out Mikey was fine, Paul locked him in a secret room in the home and kept him prisoner. By the end of the season, Paul and Lydia’s marriage was falling apart from the secrets they kept having to keep. They were able to work things out though when Lydia saw Paul speaking with their son about wanting to fix their relationship.

Once Paul and Lydia found out who really killed their son they were able to sell their home and start fresh.

Lydia Morgan

Season 1 focused largely on Lydia’s grief and how guilt from Jacob’s death contributed to her deteriorating mental health. Lydia started to have reservations about selling their home once she noticed the lights flickering on and off in Jacob’s room — something she took as a sign that her son was still sending her messages.

Lydia’s determination led to Mikey’s death that turned out to be a false alarm. She then crossed paths with her neighbor Margo. That brief friendship fell apart once Lydia realized that Margo groomed her teenage son and then killed him. After connecting the pieces, Lydia was able to start playing piano again and reconnected with her daughter.

Margo Starling

No Good Deed introduced Margo as a woman in a loveless marriage looking to move on. Margo was also one of the people interested in the Morgan home, which she tried to manipulate husband JD to buy for them. As the series unraveled, it became clear that Margo spread a lot of lies. She didn’t tell JD that she grew up poor and intentionally stalked him so they could get married and she would have access to his money.

Margo didn’t tell Lydia about her affair with Jacob, which led to his death. The lies caught up to Margo and she nearly died in her home after an accidental fire. In her last scene, Margo was on the run (and half her face was burned beyond recognition) but Mikey’s son, Nate (Kevin Alves), still tracked her down and she was arrested.

Luke Wilson

JD was originally one of the prime suspects because of his confusing behavior. After being a famous soap star, JD was killed off and his mental health caused him to show up to set with a gun. He started the season off broke while leaving beyond his means to please Margo. Their marriage unraveled once he found out about her affair, which then turned out to be multiple affairs.

JD’s gun was the one that killed Jacob but he wasn’t the one holding it when it went off. Before Margo took the blame, JD left her and turned his life around. The season ended with him working on a new project that could potentially be a Taylor Sheridan production based on the horse and cowboy hat he was rocking for the scene.

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Carla and Dennis

One of the potential couples vying for the Morgan property was Carla (Teyonah Parris) and Dennis (O-T Fagbenle). They were weeks away from welcoming their first baby after getting married earlier that year — just months after their first meeting. Carla struggled to adjust to her new normal that involved Dennis’ mother being way too involved in his life.

After Dennis’ mother tried to buy the house with them, Carla put an offer on another home with money from her estranged father. Carla and Dennis eventually reconsidered and were back in the running for the Morgan home but they weren’t the ones who got it. By the end of the season, Carla and Dennis were new parents and she reconciled with her dad off screen. The only issue? Carla didn’t know that her dad sent a huge check to her that Dennis cashed. Instead, Dennis lied that he got it from selling his new book and now Carla’s dad was sending him threatening messages.

Leslie and Sarah

The other couple trying to get the Morgan home was Leslie (Abbi Jacobson) and Sarah (Poppy Liu). After opting out of continuing with IVF, Leslie and Sarah pivoted to finding their forever home. This caused them to dig into the murder that took place in the house and that led to Lydia solving the case. Despite Leslie giving up on expanding their family, Sarah secretly continued the injections and by the finale she was close to giving birth.

Leslie and Sarah were ultimately the people chosen to live in Lydia and Paul’s home.

Mikey

Paul’s brother was originally introduced as a mystery man looking for money. As the season continued, Paul and Mikey’s childhood in their home was told through flashbacks. It explained why Mikey initially helped Paul cover up Jacob’s murder — and why he was now threatening Paul for money. The siblings were able to work out their differences but not before Paul locked Mikey away in a secret room of the house. Eventually Mikey escaped and helped track down Jacob’s real killer and reconnected with his son, Nate.