Stella Sandell has had possibly the worst several years of her life. When she was 15, her parents convinced her to not report a serious crime. Four years later, she’s been suspected of murdering her boyfriend. Her parents, too, are not doing well: Both workaholics, their marriage is falling apart, and they seem unable to connect with each other or their teen daughter. The drama series A Nearly Normal Family (En Helt Vanlig Familj) — based on the novel of the same name by M.T. Edvardsson — follows the Sandells as they become targets in a murder investigation. Read on to find out how the series ends and get answers to your burning questions. 

Who’s in A Nearly Normal Family?

The series features Björn Bengtsson as Adam, Christian Fandango Sundgren as Christoffer (aka Chris), Christoffer Willén as Robin, Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors as Stella, Lo Kauppi as Ulrika, Håkan Bengtsson as Mikael, Moa Gammel as Jenny, Melisa Ferhatovic as Amina, and Emilia Roosmann as Linda. To read more about the cast and characters, check out this guide. 

Håkan Bengtsson as Mikael Blomberg and Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors as Stella in A Nearly Normal Family

Ida Borg

How does A Nearly Normal Family end? 

When 19-year-old murder suspect Stella is brought to trial, the case against her appears strong: A witness who lives in Chris’ apartment building spotted her the night of the murder and heard pained cries. Police identified a shoe print belonging to Stella outside the building. Stella’s priest dad, Adam, lied to investigators about texts from the night of the murder — texts he sent Stella asking where she was, after he alleged she was already at home. He also seemingly obstructed the investigation by confronting the prosecutor, Jenny, and Chris’ ex-girlfriend, Linda. And Stella’s best friend, Amina, who’s set to take the witness stand, has told investigators next to nothing… so far. 

Now it’s up to defense attorney Mikael, with whom Stella’s lawyer mom, Ulrika, has been having an affair, to poke holes in the prosecution. For one, no murder weapon was found. (Amina told Ulrika where it was, and Ulrika got rid of it.) There’s also scant DNA evidence — Ulrika found and burned Stella’s bloody clothes — and Stella’s phone was never found. (Ulrika threw it in a lake.) 

At the trial hearing, Stella’s recounting of the night in question is all true — to a point. Stella did go home after going to Chris’ apartment to see if he was there, but not right after she tried his front door. Stella also vehemently denies that she was jealous of Amina possibly having a relationship with Chris. But it’s Amina’s testimony that shocks everyone: Chris drugged Amina the night of his death, then took her to his apartment and sexually assaulted her. (Ulrika had told Amina to withhold this information until the trial, to better Stella’s chances of being acquitted and not introduce an alternate culprit.) Amina also reveals that Chris had assaulted his ex, Linda, and talks about Stella being raped years ago at camp. She explains that each of them had not reported it, for fear of not being believed. Amina then says she went home after Chris raped her, but lies and says she didn’t find out about his death until the next day. 

At the conclusion of the trial, the court sides with the defense: It hasn’t been proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Stella killed Chris. She’s found not guilty.  

Who killed Christoffer Olsen?

Through flashbacks recounting the night Chris was killed, we see the full story: Stella was running late to meet up with Amina at a bar called Indigo. By the time Stella arrived, Amina was gone, but someone at the bar said Amina was there earlier — and had been really drunk. As Stella’s phone ran out of battery, she desperately tried to track Amina down at their local haunts. Then, one of Chris’ friends told Stella she’d seen Chris outside Indigo earlier that night. 

Stella had told Chris where she was meeting Amina that night, then Chris approached Amina at the bar pretending he was there by coincidence. There, Amina rebuffed his advances, and he bought her a drink as an apology for acting untoward. Soon, Amina was inebriated and stumbling outside the bar. Chris — who drugged her drink — insisted on giving her a ride home despite her inability to consent, then took her to his place. He texted Stella from Amina’s phone, pretending to be Amina, and said she had a headache and had gone home.   

Concerned about Amina’s well-being and not buying that Amina was the one texting her, Stella headed to Chris’ house, pepper spray in hand — she’d had it with her since hopping in his car earlier that day after being warned by his ex, Linda, about how controlling he was. (Linda had previously cautioned Stella that Chris had a habit of drugging and assaulting women.) When he didn’t answer the door, Stella climbed up to his balcony and entered the apartment to find him assaulting Amina and threatening her with a kitchen knife. Stella sprayed the pepper spray in his eyes, then hit him in the head with a pepper grinder. As Stella and Amina fled, Chris chased after them with the knife. Once outside, Chris tripped and fell, dropping the knife. The two women started to leave, but Stella hesitated, grabbed the knife, then stabbed Chris as he lunged toward her. Amina picked up the knife and consoled Stella, then the two headed home. 

What happens to the Sandell family? 

Stella, whose relationship with her parents has been on the rocks since they told her not to go to the police about her sexual assault four years ago, has witnessed the lengths to which her family will go to protect her — lying, hiding evidence, sneaking into offices and bedrooms to find evidence, cornering people to get to the truth. We see that, while they weren’t there for her when she was vulnerable before, they are now. Her mom’s even called it quits with her lover, Mikael, and begun attending Alcoholics Anonymous. And Adam’s resigned as priest to spend more time at home. Stella, having been released from police custody, is finally embarking on the travels she’s been saving up for for months. It’s time for the Sandells to start picking up the pieces. 

Where is Lund? 

Lund, where A Nearly Normal Family takes place, is a town in southern Sweden. It’s just outside of Malmö, Sweden, and about an hour’s drive from Copenhagen, Denmark, where Stella and Chris spend a night in the series. 

Will there be a second season of A Nearly Normal Family?

Nope, not at this point. The six-episode series is a complete retelling of the novel, and so far there are no plans to further Stella’s storyline. 

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