‘The Watcher’ ending explained: How to interpret the Netflix show’s finale

All seven episodes of Netflix’s “The Watcher” were released on Thursday, Oct. 13.

The true crime miniseries follows a mysterious series of events that occurred at a New Jersey home. It is loosely based on a true story and adapted from Reeves Wiedeman’s New York magazine story “The Watcher.”

Naomi Watts and New Jersey’s own Bobby Cannavale star as husband and wife Dean and Nora Brannock, along with their children Ellie (Isabel Gravitt) and Carter (Luke David Blumm).

What is “The Watcher” on Netflix about?

In an attempt to escape the hustle and bustle of New York, the family moves into their dream home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield.

After moving into the house, the Brannock family begins receiving frighteningly creepy letters from “The Watcher,” and the dream home quickly turns into a nightmare.

Dean and Nora began to spiral as they become obsessed with finding out who The Watcher is. Their marriage is in jeopardy, Dean slightly loses his mind and his job, and Nora grows angry and wants to sell the house.

The culmination of eerie events forces the family to ultimately accept defeat and move back to New York. Dean and Nora are left with a void of emptiness as they never find out who is truly watching them.

“The Watcher” ending explained: Who is “The Watcher” in the Netflix series?

The Netflix series never reveals The Watcher’s true identity.

However, an ominous creep-stare from John Graff (played by Joe Mantello) in the series finale can lead viewers to believe he is The Watcher.

Dean suspects John to be The Watcher early on. An unexpected meeting, where John acts as a local building inspector, leads Dean to find out that there is no such inspector named John Graff.

“No inspector named John. Not in Westfield,” a contractor told Dean, immediately raising his suspicion.

Was it a ghost Dean spoke to? Was it a dream? Was Dean hallucinating?

John Graff’s story is eventually revealed to the Brannocks by their private investigator, Theodora.

The story is: Graff and his family moved into the house years before the Brannocks. John shot and killed his entire family and flees the area, never to be seen again.

“I met him. John Graff. He was at my house,” Dean explained to the private investigator.

The audience is able to infer John Graff is The Watcher.

Unlike Dean and Nora, viewers can see John Graff scurrying through the underground tunnel that leads to the Brannocks’ house, hiding from Dean in neighbor Pearl’s house and eerily staring out of the the window at 657 Boulevard in the series finale.

Although Graff is never pinned as The Watcher, it’s easy to assume he is.

Has “The Watcher” actually been revealed in real life?

The hair-raising true story that the Netflix series is loosely based on has yet to be resolved, and the actual Watcher of 657 Boulevard in Westfield is unknown — despite lawsuits, police investigations and DNA tests.

And perhaps that’s why the show the never clearly uncovers the mystery, leaving viewers to infer The Watcher’s identity.

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Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisBurch856. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tip