The Lying Life of Adults ending explained: How did the ending justify the title?

The Lying Life of Adults, based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante, premiered on Netflix on January 4, 2023. The limited series consisted of six episodes and followed the complexities of adolescence through the lens of a youngster, Giovanna (Giordana Marengo), a 12-year-old in the bustling 1990s Naples. The series focused on her growth and eventual estrangement from nearly all the adults around her.

The six-episode series was extremely atmospheric and focused on character development without an extravagant plotline. Vittoria (Valeria Golino) was a central character in Giovanna's journey into adulthood. The ending saw a lot unfolding, including one major decision and some untimely bonds being repaired. It was also extremely poetic, much like the ending of Elena Ferrante's novel.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from Netflix's The Lying Life of Adults.

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The Lying Life of Adults ending explained: Why did Giovanna leave?

The entirety of The Lying Life of Adults was connected by a bracelet, which served as an almost Hitchock-ian hook connecting all the characters. The story began with Giovanna retrieving the bracelet and it ended with Vittoria asking her to keep it. The bracelet's journey was almost the only momentum in the narrative, which took the story forward.

Coming to the individual growth that marked the end of The Lying Life of Adults, it was clear that Giovanna was consistently growing apart and growing tired of the adults around her. This was mainly because of her parents and their ideals. After meeting her aunt Vittoria, she changed considerably, trying to blossom into a new person. As though this wasn't difficult enough, the last nail in the coffin was the religious scholar, Roberto's behavior.

The show began with Giovanna traveling to Milan to visit Roberto along with Roberto's girlfriend. Giovanna was both infatuated and inspired by Roberto. When they were returning, they realized that they had left the bracelet at Roberto's place. This prompted Giovanna to return to Milan on her own and stay with Roberto.

However, in this process, she also realized that Roberto lacked morals like all the adults around her. She also noticed how Vittoria and her father fixed things between themselves but left her with deep emotional scars.

This propelled her to take action. She started by losing her virginity in an abrupt and unplanned way to Rosario (Adriano Pantaleo) and then proceeded to leave once and for all. This was her way of leaving all the "lying adults" behind and starting a journey to explore herself without the lies, restrictions, and binding moral codes of society.

One of the positive things about the end of The Lying Life of Adults was how Giovanna patched things up with Vittoria, who was about to start doing the same with people in her life. As the book said, she and her friend decided to grow up in a way that no one had before.

This is how the show, and the novel, justified the title, The Lying Life of Adults. All the episodes of the series are now streaming on Netflix.