Expats revolves around three expat women in Hong Kong, whose lives take a turn following a tragic incident. All episodes are now streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Margaret, a landscape architect, moved to Hong Kong with her children to support her husband’s career, sacrificing the life and career she had in the US.
Margaret throws a big party to celebrate the 50th birthday of her husband, Clarke, a decision that raises a few eyebrows, given the recent loss suffered by Margaret’s family.
A year ago, Margaret met a Korean girl named Mercy, a Columbia graduate, who moved to Hong Kong to get away from her mother.
Mercy does all kinds of jobs to cover rent. When she met Margaret, she offered to help Margaret look after her three children: Daisy, Philip, and Gus.
Margaret, who was growing insecure about her children’s relationship with her full-time domestic help, Essie, decided to take Mercy up on her offer.
She went to meet Mercy with her children and did not take Essie with her. When they visited the night market, she left Philip and Gus under Mercy’s watch.
Mercy, who had hoped that Margaret would hire her to look after her children, was texting her friend about her job interview with Margaret.
She left Gus’ hand to text her friend. In just a few minutes, Gus disappeared in the crowded market. The police looked for Gus all night, but he was nowhere to be found.
It is believed that in cases such as this one, the belief is often that someone known to the family is responsible for the child’s disappearance.
Due to that, Margaret started suspecting David, who is married to Hilary, Margaret’s best friend. Hilary and David live in the same building as Margaret’s family.
David had a drinking problem. Hilary believed that he had given up alcohol, but at the time Gus went missing, David was drinking in a bar, which led him to lie to the police.
Margaret pointed fingers at him when it was revealed that David had lied about his whereabouts.
Margaret’s accusation not only strained her friendship with Hilary but also ruined Hilary’s marriage because David felt that for a moment, even his wife doubted him.
David and Hilary had been trying to have children, but unbeknownst to David, Hilary had been on birth control because she did not want children.
It has been a year since Gus went missing, and Margaret is still coping with losing him. David is drinking again, and he is cheating on Hilary with Mercy.
On the night of Clarke’s birthday, Margaret, who is barely holding it together, sees Mercy waiting on the guests at the party and grows agitated.
It is Hilary who comforts her that night. The two women find a brief respite, but it is disrupted when Margaret makes a comment about David’s lies.
Desperate to find her son and keep her other children safe, Margaret sometimes behaves like she is losing her mind and ends up upsetting her family as well as Hilary.
When the police find the body of a child that matches Gus’ description, Margaret and Clarke are called to identify it.
This gives Margaret and Clarke a chance to discuss their issues. In dealing with the loss of Gus and, to some extent, Margaret, Clarke has turned to attending church.
Clarke points out that Margaret has not been there for Daisy and Philip, and it is he who has had to shoulder the responsibility of caring for everyone on his own.
Clarke believes that their children need normalcy, and he wishes to move back to the US. However, Margaret is not ready to do that because she feels like she is giving up on Gus.
Despite discovering that David is cheating on her, Hilary tries to mend her and David’s relationship, but to no avail.
David, who believed that he could not have children because of his experience with Hilary, comes to know that Mercy is pregnant with his baby.
Margaret eventually realizes that living in Hong Kong is taking a toll on her children and agrees to move back home.
Hilary also makes an important decision: she files for divorce, despite discouragement from her friends and mother.
Although David is not too happy about Mercy’s pregnancy, he tells Hilary about it, and their house help, Puri, informs her that David’s girlfriend is Mercy.
Hilary is heartbroken. Mercy, on the other hand, meets a girl named Charly. The two of them like each other, but Mercy only reaches out to her after she finds out that she is pregnant.
Mercy tells Charly about how she lost Gus and ruined Margaret’s perfect family. Mercy has carried the burden of guilt for a year.
Mercy keeps feeling like she cannot be happy, but Charly tries to make her see that it was an accident. The two of them start dating, but Mercy does not tell her about her pregnancy.
Soon after, Mercy gets fired from her job because Hilary calls her boss and falsely accuses Mercy of stealing. Additionally, Mercy’s mother is coming to visit her.
David acknowledges that he did not react well upon learning about Mercy’s pregnancy, but he now wants to do the right thing.
David desires to support Mercy during her pregnancy, yet she insists on managing it on her own, stubbornly rejecting David’s help.
Mercy then tells Charly about her pregnancy. Upset that Mercy kept it from her for so long, Charly leaves her, but not without holding Mercy accountable.
Charly does not hesitate to point out that Mercy keeps blaming everyone and everything for the choices that she makes, resulting in Mercy reflecting on her actions.
Ending explained:
Hilary’s new beginning
Hilary does not get along with either of her parents. When she was young, her father used to abuse her mother, who still keeps finding faults in Hilary’s life.
Her father always wanted a son. He cheated on her mother when she could not give him a son and had another family.
Hilary’s mother kept forgiving her father, but Hilary could not do it. Hilary now goes home to the US for the first time in five years to meet her sick father.
There, she meets her father’s other family, who have nothing but good things to say about him. Embittered, Hilary lies to her father just before he undergoes surgery.
She tells him that she is pregnant with a boy and that she intends to tell her son about her father’s abusive behavior.
She tells him that she will never forgive him for hurting her mother and leaving her to take care of her while he played the part of a loving father to his other family.
Hilary’s father passes away, and Hilary returns to Hong Kong. She reaches out to David, who comes to receive her at the airport.
Hilary cries and tells him that she killed her father with her words. She also gets to talk to David about their relationship, and the two of them part ways on good terms.
After saying to her father everything that she wanted to say and bidding farewell to David, Hilary is ready to let go of the past.
Hilary knows that her home is not in the US or with David anymore, but she also knows that she will heal. She is scared of moving forward in life, but she is also determined to do it.
Mercy copes with her guilt
Mercy finds out that she is going to have a girl. At the same time, she is terrified that she is somehow going to ruin her baby’s life.
Mercy’s mother comes to visit her. When she comes to know that Mercy is pregnant, she asks her to return home with her because she has no one in Hong Kong.
Mercy asks David for Hilary’s number and meets her. She apologizes to her for having an affair with David. In return, Hilary admits to getting her fired and apologizes.
Mercy also meets Margaret. Mercy admits that she has thought about giving her child to Margaret for taking so much from her, but Margaret does not want her to think that.
Margaret tells her that she was devastated to lose her son, but she had to find the strength to carry on with her life, and Mercy must do the same.
Margaret and Hilary make Mercy understand that she cannot punish herself for losing Gus by not living a good life. Meeting the two women helps Mercy move on from her past mistakes.
When Mercy’s mother embraces her, Mercy breaks down. She cries about everything that has happened and allows her mother to comfort and take care of her.
She now knows that she was wrong to wait for a miracle that would reset her life and give her permission to live a happy life.
She must accept the pain and go on living despite it. She hopes to be happy for the sake of her daughter and herself.
Margaret’s decision
Apart from meeting Mercy, Margaret also meets Hilary and apologizes to her for accusing David, which ruined Hilary and David’s marriage.
Margaret was desperate for answers, and she suspected David of having a hand in Gus’ disappearance only because she was willing to find answers anywhere.
Margaret reaches an understanding with both Hilary and Mercy, even though she hated Mercy since the day she lost Gus.
She is prepared to leave Hong Kong with her family, but when the time comes, she realizes that she cannot leave while Gus is still out there.
While Clarke understands her reasons, Daisy does not. Before leaving, she tells Margaret that she considers her the worst mother and that she hates her.
Margaret had earlier asked Essie to move to the US with her family, and Essie had agreed. Margaret entrusts her family’s care to Essie.
When the show ends, Margaret is seen walking on the streets of Hong Kong, keeping herself from falling apart and still looking for her son.
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