Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

With a long list of suspects, many twists and turns and six episodes full of intrigue, Netflix has hit the jackpot with the recent release of A Good Girl’s Guide to MurderBased on the Holly Jackson novel of the same name and adapted for television by the series creator Poppy Coganthe show follows Emma Myers as Pip Fitz-Amobi, an amateur detective who tries to solve a local murder case as a project for her upcoming college applications. While Myers sinks her teeth into a character that is much darker than her role in WednesdayPip’s search quickly leads her to search for clues in her hometown of Little Kilton, studying everything from old social media posts to hotel guest books to find the truth about what really happened. But despite all of Pip’s evidence, The most disturbing image of the entire series is the use of black ribbons in the show.

In the first episode of the series, he is shown hanging from the trees of the nearby Little Kilton forest, blowing in a menacing breeze. Black bands can be seen in the background of various scenes while Pip investigates the disappearance of Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies) In A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. In collaboration with the brother of the boy who allegedly confessed to Andie’s murder before killing himself, Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal), the pair are on the case, and their quest to clear the Singh family’s name becomes entangled in a web of lies that soon calls into question even Pip’s closest relationships. But when Myers’ character learns that even her family and closest friends can’t be trusted, black tapes start appearing more frequently, leaving fans wondering what the strange tapes mean in one of Netflix’s best new shows.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2024)

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows Pip Fitz-Amobi, a determined teenager who investigates a five-year-old murder case that everyone in her town believes has been solved. High school student Andie Bell was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Sal Singh, who later died by suicide. Convinced of Sal’s innocence, Pip reopens the case for her final project, uncovering dark secrets and putting herself in danger in the process.

Release date

1 August 2024

Pour

Emma Myers, Asha Banks, Raiko Gohara, Zain Iqbal, Jude Morgan-Collie, Yali Topol Margalith, Yasmin Al-Khudhairi, Carla Woodcock

Main genre

Secret

Seasons

1

Creator

Poppy Cogan

Black ribbons are a common symbol of mourning in “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”

Although Pip’s mystery has many complex aspects that she must decipher, sometimes the simplest answer is the most accurate. In the broadest sense Black is a color generally associated with death and mourningwhile ribbons are usually used as symbols of awareness, such as breast cancer awareness advocates using pink ribbons to spread support for those seeking a cure. During the week of remembrance following the death of Princess Diana, tennis players at the US Open even wore black ribbons in respect for the royal tragedy, alluding to Britain’s history with the recognizable symbols of mourning. Therefore, in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murderit is understandable that Little Kilton’s most sinister strips represent the central tragedy of the series.

The tapes appear on screen during the most disturbing scenes of Pip’s early investigations, the subtle presence in the series conveys the sense of loss that lurks on the edges of Little Kiltonthe same feeling of persistent unease that Pip’s English teacher, Mr. Ward (Matthew Baynton) to urge them to drop the case. But A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder‘S As the trailer shows, Pip isn’t the kind of character to leave a stone unturned, and as the show progresses, she just looks for more black ribbons. As symbols of remembrance, however, the strips of cloth aren’t enough to mark Andie’s disappearance. With many of them located deep in the forest, the cloths could even represent how Little Kilton has banished Andie’s memory from his daily life, were it not for the more colorful shrine dedicated to Andie in the town center.

The black ribbons have a darker meaning in “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”

With Little Kilton’s painted memorial showing how the town has decided to honor the girl’s memory in a more lighthearted way, it’s clear that the show’s black ribbons don’t just represent the grief over Andie’s death. Thankfully, the larger implications of the material are revealed once Myers’ standout character delves deeper into the disappearance at the heart of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder‘S Adaptation. Far from being a decorative form of mourning, the ribbons are also shown to mark the locations for the secret Calamity parties thrown by Pip’s rowdiest classmates. Establishing the haunting scenes as a sign of the dark side of teenage life in addition to its sad connotations.

Unfortunately, the additional meaning this connection gives the ribbons is even more sinister than their original symbolism. Rather than representing a broad sense of grief at the center of Andie’s disappearance, the ribbons come to represent a predatory culture of fear in the corrupt context of Calamity. Emma Myers presents a greater challenge than her British accent. The actress’s good-girl role is put to the test when she meets Calamity in Episode 3 and is confronted with the threat of assault and dangerous drugs herself. And while Pip is able to escape her night of debauchery thanks to the intervention of a passerby, the consequences of Calamity’s youthful cruelty play a crucial role in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder tragic end.

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“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” premieres on Netflix on August 1st.

Black ribbons also symbolize silent victims in “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”

After I met Andie’s sister Becca (Carla Waldhahn), at Little Kilton’s memorial service at the beginning of the series, Pip is horrified to learn that Becca herself was attacked at an earlier Calamity party by Little Kilton’s rich boy Max Hastings (Henry Ashton). With Mr. Ward already revealed as the man behind the death of Ravi’s brother, the shock of this revelation is immediately followed by Becca’s confession that she is the one who killed Andie, ultimately revealing herself to be TV’s newest killer, as her sister was the one who sold Max the Rohypnol he used to attack her in the first place. As a result, Becca’s anger becomes the face of Calamity’s cruel underbelly, and since the series’ black bands serve as markers for the dangerous parties, the stripes also hint at the countless women who fell victim to people like Max Hastings.

As Pip points out in the series’ final episode, there’s no telling how many former classmates the Prince of Little Kilton has attacked, as their previous investigation revealed that Max had been regularly given knockout drops by Andie throughout high school. With two more books in Jackson’s series still to be adapted, it’s possible that the series’ popularity could eventually help Pip make good on her promise to bring Max’s crimes to light, but until then, viewers will have to entertain themselves with Netflix’s more recent releases. Pip may have solved this story’s cold case, but the series’ final, haunting shot of countless black ribbons in the woods reminds viewers that There are still many suffering, invisible characters to explore In A guide to murder for good girls.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder can be streamed on Netflix in the US

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