Brazen

In the end, Jerald Baxter, a troubled and obsessive teenager, is revealed to be the serial killer targeting webcam girls, believing they all embody the controlled and dominant qualities he despises. His motive is rooted in his dysfunctional family life, especially his strict mother Martha, who treated him like a ward rather than a son. Kathleen, who symbolized a maternal figure that cared for him, became a target because Jerald saw her as a representative of everything his mother wasn’t—empowering, controlling, and dominant. His obsession with exposing and destroying such women led him to hack into the online platform and kill those he believed mirrored Kathleen’s traits.

Throughout the climax, Grace Miller, Kathleen’s sister and a novelist, bravely steps into Kathleen’s online persona, “Desiree,” to lure Jerald out of hiding. His mistake was attacking Rand, which provided the evidence needed to confront him. When Grace finally faces Jerald at Kathleen’s house, he reveals his deep-seated hatred for domineering women and confesses his crimes on a recorded webcam session, which is stored on the platform. As Jerald attacks Grace in a final attempt to silence her, she finds a gun hidden in Kathleen’s house and tries to defend herself. Luckily, Ed Jennings, the detective, arrives just in time and shoots Jerald dead, putting an end to his killing spree.

In the aftermath, Grace and Ed begin a new chapter together, moving in as a couple after Jerald’s death. The ending emphasizes that Jerald’s mental instability and twisted psychology drove him to murder, rather than any personal vendetta against Kathleen herself. The story ultimately resolves with justice served and new beginnings for the survivors, highlighting how a disturbed mind can hide behind a façade of normalcy until it spirals into violence.

Last Updated: June 25, 2025 at 08:58