Based on a True Story Season 1 ending explained: Why was Ruby killed?

The dark comedy thriller, Based on a True Story Season 1 ended with a cliffhanger in June 2023, leaving the fans hanging with questions about the fate of their favorite trio: Ava, Nathan, and Matt. The second season premiered with eight episodes on November 21, 2024, on Peacock, carrying the story forward.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for Based on a True Story season 1. Reader discretion is advised.

Based on a True Story Season 1 stars Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina as Ava and Nathan Bartlett, a married couple struggling to make ends meet. The show picks pace when Ava, a true-crime enthusiast discovers that their plumber, Matt (Tom Bateman), is the notorious Westside Ripper, a serial killer active in Los Angeles.

However, instead of going to the police, she convinces her husband to start a podcast with Matt, hoping to capitalize on the true-crime craze. What follows is a dark yet hilarious turn of events, testing how far the couple can go to balance their new 'partnership' with Matt.

Based on a True Story season 1 finale showed Ava's friend Ruby Gale getting murdered, and her body was dumped at Ava and Nathan's Malibu home doorstep. They confronted Matt, who confessed to killing Ruby, and told them she would have exposed the trio if he did not murder her. Matt's claim was confirmed when Ava discovered Ruby's correspondence with the police on her phone.

Read along to learn more about the ending of Based on a True Story Season 1.

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Why did Matt murder Ruby in Based on a True Story Season 1?

After Ava and Nathan decide to start the podcast with Matt, a series of events unfold that make them tangled in a world of murder, morals, confusion, and humor. After Matt murdered Chloe Lake in the first episode, another woman named Dahlia Stone, who falsely claimed to be a survivor of the Westside Ripper's attack, gets murdered.

The third murder that happened in season 1 was of Ruby Gale, Ava's affluent friend. Ruby found out about Ava's connection to Matt and questioned Ava, and Ava lied that Matt was only pretending to be the killer. Ruby then blackmailed Ava, asking to be let in on the podcast. Ava refused her, and they fought.

In the finale, while Ava and Nathan were at the Malibu house, Ruby's body was dumped on their doorstep. They called Matt, and he told them she was going to the police to expose all three of them, and that is why he killed her. He also told them that they had to dispose of the body on their own.

Ava and Nathan put her body in the trunk and went to their place, where they were surprised by Matt, Tory, and other guests for their anniversary. They left her body in the trunk and barely escaped being found by Simon when Ruby's phone started ringing.

Later, Ava got a confirmation that Ruby was indeed talking to the police, through a voice note on Ruby's phone from a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.

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Simon catches Ava and Nathan red-handed

After burying Ruby's body on the under-construction tennis court at Nathan's work, Ava and Nathan briefly talked about their relationship. They later went back to the house to clean up the blood, and while they were doing that, Ruby's husband, Simon, turned up on their doorstep. He opened the door and saw them cleaning the blood, and the last dialogue of the season was Simon saying, "Whose blood is that?"

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Matt and Tory's risky relationship

Premiere For Peacock Originals Based On A True Story (Image via Getty)

The finale also shed light on Matt and Tory's relationship, as the couple was seen getting intimate at the end of the season. In season 2, fans can see how their relationship has progressed, and Ava and Nathan's apprehension with the whole situation.

In season 2, Tory also claims that Matt is a changed man, and fans get to see many new storylines like their relationship arc, Ava and Nathan's baby, and the rise of a new Westside Ripper.

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Based on a True Story season 1 is now streaming on Peacock.