Film

What Happens To Becket (And If He Gets Away With Murder)

20 February 2026

The following contains spoilers for How to Make a KillingHow to Make a Killing is a sly and satirical look at what it takes to succeed in modern society, albeit at the cost of true happiness. The Glen Powell-led dark comedy focuses on Becket, eighth in line for a massive fortune. Desiring the riches his mother told him of, Becket decides to take out the competition.

Most of the film follows that formula, with Becket finding a new relative to take out. However, Becket’s actions also draw him into the machinations of others also seeking a fortune. Darkly goofy at times and surprisingly somber at others, How to Make a Killing‘s ending gives it a surprisingly bleak edge.

Why Becket Needs To Kill The Rest Of His Family (And How He Does It)

Glen Powell in How To Make A Killing 2026

How to Make a Killing focuses on Becket’s efforts to bring down the rest of his family so he can be the one to claim the inheritance, a plan that ultimately works out for him despite the internal strife and quiet regrets he develops along the way. Despite being from a wealthy family, Becket was raised in relatively mundane circumstances.

It’s revealed that Becket’s mother was impregnated as a young woman, and her decision to keep the child led to her being ostracized from the rest of the family. Years after her death, infuriated by his job prospects and emboldened by an encounter with Julia (whom he bonded with as a child), Becket decides to kill the other heirs.

Many Redfellows die at Becket’s hands throughout the film. While Taylor dies first and leaves Becket somewhat shaken, he gets over his nerves and continues to pick off his relatives. He kills Noah by sabotaging his photography darkroom, then murders other relatives like his cousin Steven, his aunt Cassandra, and his uncle McArthur.

However, Becket notably can’t bring himself to kill his uncle Warren, with whom he develops a close bond following the demise of Taylor. When Warren dies of natural causes, it falls to Becket to be confronted by his grandfather, Whitelaw. Whitelaw forces Becket’s hand by attacking him, requiring the young man to kill his grandfather in self-defense.

Becket’s murderous actions in the film are never portrayed as heroic, but he isn’t shown to be a necessarily nefarious figure. Even his harsher actions come with a layer of self-awareness and a twinge of guilt. However, it’s notably never enough to keep him from continuing his plan, making his eventual fate his own fault.

How Beckett’s Love Triangle Plays Out

The moral metaphor of How to Make a Killing is personified by the love triangle that Becket experiences with Julia and Ruth. Julia was Becket’s first love, a socialite who bonded with Becket as a child. As adults, Julia is a ruthless and manipulative figure whose efforts to secure a fortune end up driving a surprising amount of the film.

Conversely, Becket finds a real connection with Ruth. Introduced as Noah’s girlfriend who is growing tired of him and the disconnected life he leads, Becket and Ruth quickly form a connection. Unaware that Becket was responsible for Noah’s demise, Ruth ends up falling for Becket as a person rather than an investment.

Throughout the film, it seems that Becket is going to choose Ruth, as he grows closer to her and starts to push past his connection with Julia. This leads Julia to blackmail him, in turn setting up Becket to ignore his engagement party with Ruth to cover his actions and eventually confront his grandfather.

Symbolically, Becket’s choice between Ruth and Julia represents his emotional arc in the film. As the movie goes on, Becket proves to be a somewhat sympathetic figure, even if his actions are monstrous. He’s still relatively grounded and genuinely capable of forming emotional bonds, but his greed overtakes his better qualities.

While he initially wants a romance with Julia, his bond with Ruth — a woman willing to give up her prestigious work because she finds more fulfillment as a high school teacher — hints at his softer side. When his true self is exposed, though, he’s left to rely on Julia and drives Ruth away, leaving him heartbroken.

The Murder Becket Is Blamed For Is The One He Didn’t Commit

The biggest dramatic irony in How to Make a Killing comes with Becket’s arrest. While he does get away with several murders, he’s ultimately framed for the death of Julia’s husband. Having angrily confronted the man as part of Julia’s blackmailing plan, Becket inadvertently makes himself the chief suspect when Julia’s husband is found dead in his office.

Julia is quietly shown to have orchestrated everything, demanding the fortune from Becket in exchange for proof that her husband “committed suicide” and to spare him the death penalty awaiting him if he’s not exonerated. It’s a clever twist that plays into the film’s themes about the cost of greed that people like Julia are willing to pay.

Julia comes to represent the side of Becket that was willing to do anything to procure a successful future. While she arranges for Becket to be saved and is implied to form a relationship with him, Becket is left on the verge of tears as he realizes the darkness he’s embraced on his path to success.

The True Meaning Of How To Make A Killing

How to Make a Killing is a harsh satire about the state of society. Although the film is loosely based on Kind Hearts and Coronets, it’s firmly rooted in the present day and reflects a society where the wealthy are celebrated for nothing and the average person is an afterthought at best and worthless at worst.

The thing that makes Becket’s story so tragic is the many ways he actually does find happiness with people around him. His romance with Ruth, his bond with Warren, and his lingering love for his mother speak to the ways that wealth may buy surface-level happiness, but they can’t ensure love, respect, or self-worth.

Those have to be chosen and taken and defended. The people who make hard decisions in their lives are shown to grow, while someone like Julia (and eventually Becket) becomes just as heartless as the people they openly despise, wanting the same thing. Wealth and power corrupt in How to Make a Killing, giving the dark comedy a bleak moral.