Dan Levy Breaks Down the Unexpected Finale of His Netflix Crime Comedy Big Mistakes

This post contains spoilers for the full season of Big Mistakes.

“There is nothing funnier than a family in crisis,” says Dan Levy. “The craziest times I’ve had with my family have ultimately led to the biggest laughs. I love writing the humanity and humor that is squeezed out of some of our tensest moments as families.” Levy did just that in the internationally beloved Schitt’s Creek, which he co-created with his father, Eugene Levy, and he’s returned to the theme on his latest series, Netflix’s Big Mistakes, which he co-created with Rachel Sennott (I Love LA). 

Big Mistakes is about a brother and sister, pastor Nicky (Dan Levy) and school teacher Morgan (Taylor Ortega), who are plunged into chaos after they steal a necklace from a gift shop for their dying grandmother. It’s a decision that ultimately drags them kicking and screaming into the drug trade, and thrusts them into a world of organized crime.

“The first season of Big Mistakes is an examination of what would happen to two people who were not in any way equipped to handle a life of crime, and also the relationship between two siblings who had a lot of resentment towards each other—similarly to what losing money did to the Rose family in Schitt’s,” Levy says. 

We spoke to Levy about the finale of his new series, including the dramatic reveal that could change everything for Nicky and his family. 

What really happened in Miami

The penultimate episode of Big Mistakes ends with a shootout, in which Nicky and Morgan are the only ones left standing after the Russian and Brazilian cartels take each other out. At the beginning of the finale, a strange sense of calm washes over the siblings. Could it be that they’ve finally woken up from their nightmare time in the drug trade? Can they get back to their normal lives?

Of course not. After they’re back in New Jersey from Miami, the pair is kidnapped and tied up at the home of Yusuf (Boran Kuzum), who disappeared before their trip to Miami (which they were dragged on by the Russian cartel to forge a relationship with the Brazilians) and snitched on his former Russian bosses to the Italian mob, which led to all this bloodshed. Yusuf, now working for the Italian mob, is joined by Italian mobsters who want answers about their time in Miami. Specifically, they want to know what happened when Nicky was in the bathroom at the nightclub with the son of the Brazilian cartel leader, as that’s the only moment they didn’t have eyes on the situation.

To extract that information from Nicky, they point a gun at his head and count down from 10. But Nicky refuses to give in: as a pastor, he has a sworn duty to help people, which is what he was trying to do in that bathroom as the cartel leader’s son was confessing his homosexuality. It’s a powerful moment that speaks to Nicky’s strong sense of morality, but also his inherent need to protect other queer people from trouble. “Because we weren’t in the church much, we had to find moments to reveal Nicky’s commitment to his faith and morality,” says Levy. “Nicky still chooses to protect his own in a way, and to protect the sanctity of that conversation, as absurd as it was. It was a trust he didn’t want to break. His intentions are pure, and I wanted to end the season reminding the audience that Nicky does have a good heart.”

Surprisingly, the mobsters take Nicky at his word that he isn’t hiding anything important, and decide to spare his life. They let Nicky and Morgan go, assuring them that they’ll be hearing from them soon. The two begin to spiral. Nicky, realizing his boyfriend’s life is in danger, breaks up with Tareq (Jacob Gutierrez) to protect him. And Morgan is keen to finally end things with her partner of 17 years, Max (Jack Innanen). Things have gotten progressively worse for them, and in a moment of panic, she accidentally runs him over with their car at the grocery store. Thankfully, he gets off with just minor neck injuries.

Cementing the foundational mother-son bond

There’s some good news for their family, at least: their mother Linda (Laurie Metcalf), has won her race for mayor. There’s a celebration at the home of Annette (Elizabeth Perkins), Linda’s best friend and Max’s mother. Nicky and Morgan arrive, excited for their mother’s victory, but also with an unwavering sense of doom, the interaction with the Italian mob still weighing heavily on their minds. 

A striking moment takes place just as they arrive. Linda, excited to see and celebrate with her kids, welcomes them inside. Nicky rushes to hug her, holding her for a long time, clearly in need of help from his mom. Linda can sense it, but she doesn’t have time for a heart-to-heart; instead, she lovingly asks if everything’s OK before going back to the party. It’s a quick interaction, but one that speaks volumes about their relationship: that even in the most celebratory moment of Linda’s life, she still wants to make time for her kids.

“I love their dynamic with each other,” Levy says of Nicky and Linda. “I love the openness they have. As Nicky is the first child in the family, I do feel like Linda’s developed a different kind of love for him. I think also, because he’s adopted, she’s wanted to almost overcompensate with her love. She’s so warm to her kids and sensitive to their needs, probably to a fault.”

It’s also a vital reminder of the strength of their bond. “The last episode of a season has to serve a lot of purposes. And recalibrating here and reminding an audience of what is really at the core of this family was important,” adds Levy.

The true villain is revealed

It’s at this party where Nicky and Morgan are in for the surprise of their lives, discovering the person who’s been pulling the strings of the drug trade and the Italian mob is someone they’ve known their whole lives: Annette. 

Morgan is invited upstairs by Annette, whose season-long warmth and kindness fade away as she reveals a nastier, more insidious side of herself. She tells Morgan, “You will be marrying my son,” and before Morgan has a chance to speak, she reveals a necklace in her safe. It’s not just any necklace, of course—it’s the necklace that Morgan stole in the first episode, the inciting incident to Morgan and Nicky’s newfound life of crime. 

Annette reveals to Morgan that the only reason she and Nicky survived the shootout in Miami was because of her. “I thought you worked in real estate,” Morgan says in disbelief. “I do. Among other things, obviously. Welcome to the family, Annette says, confirming Morgan’s unwanted place in the mafia. Before they go back to the party, Annette has one final message for Morgan: “If you run over my son again, then I will f-cking kill you myself.”

Annette, it turns out, was in Levy and co-creator Rachel Sennott’s plans from the very beginning. It was even part of their original pitch that she’d be revealed in the final moments of the season. And Levy was especially pleased with how Perkins delivered her character throughout Big Mistakes. “It’s a hard thing to come into a show as a background character, being who Elizabeth Perkins is, and playing in the background for a very particular reason. She was able to calibrate her performance in a way that I hope people aren’t going to see it coming. She’s been a warm support system until now.”

Levy doesn’t see Annette as a pure villain, though he recognizes that she is the “bad guy.” “Annette is a woman that has worked very hard to get where she is. I have a lot of empathy for her character, and what she’s had to do to secure her place in a male-dominated industry”—even if that industry is the mob.

After this shocking discovery, Morgan races down to Nicky, but they hardly have time to process the fact that they’re working for Annette before our newly-revealed baddie calls for a family picture on the stairs. Placing her hands firmly on Nicky and Morgan’s shoulders, she smiles as the photographer takes their photo and the season ends. 

In the final moment, Nicky and Morgan have a lot to process, and Levy has some ideas about what they’re thinking. First, Morgan knows that her love life is not her own. Though she wants to break up with Max and was prepared to do so, she knows that for her survival, she has to marry him. But their problems run even deeper. “I think Nicky and Morgan realize in that moment that any potential to reverse out of their situation is an impossibility now,” says Levy.

“They’re in deep and will never get out of this. It’s a sobering realization for the two of them.”