15 Burning Questions About The Boyfriend — Answered

1. Why does Sydney stay on her date with Kevin despite his obvious red flags?

Sydney’s decision to stay even after Kevin insults her arms and orders for her stems from a deep-seated fear of being alone and pressure from her mother about marriage. In Chapter 6 she admits she just wants a decent man, and she feels she is not picky, which blinds her to danger. This vulnerability drives her to tolerate unacceptable behavior, a pattern that the novel critiques through the theme of trauma-and-survival in modern dating.

2. What does the mystery man’s intervention (Chapter 3) reveal about Sydney’s emotional state?

The lightning-bolt attraction Sydney feels toward the rescuer reveals her desperate longing for a romantic fairy tale after a series of disappointments. She instantly projects her ideal partner onto him, ignoring the improbability of a stranger appearing exactly when needed. This moment establishes the deception-and-identity theme: she falls for a fantasy rather than the real man, setting up her later reckoning.

3. How does Tom’s obsession with Daisy’s neck anatomy in Chapter 4 foreshadow later violence?

Tom fixates on the carotid artery and jugular vein while walking Daisy home, visualizing how easily he could kill her. This chapter-long internal conflict between romantic gestures and murderous impulses directly echoes the prologue’s unnamed narrator. It introduces the obsessive-love theme and foreshadows that Tom’s desire is inextricably linked to violence and control.

4. Why does Sydney agree to become exclusive with Tom after discovering he lied about his hospital?

In Chapter 38, Sydney finds Tom’s Mount Sinai profile contradicts his claim of working at NYU, but when he suggests deleting their dating apps she chooses trust over doubt. Her fear of being alone and her hope that he could be “the one” override her instincts. This decision highlights the deception-and-identity theme and shows how easily people rationalize red flags when they want a relationship to work.

Read more about Sydney’s choices on the Sydney Shaw character page.

5. What is the significance of the black scrunchie Sydney finds in Tom’s apartment (Chapter 51)?

The scrunchie belonged to Bonnie, confirming Tom was in her apartment and linking him to the murder. Sydney’s discovery of the scrunchie is the first concrete evidence that Tom is dangerous, but she initially second-guesses herself. The object symbolizes the trophy-taking motif and the hidden past that Tom carries, directly connecting to the violence-and-control theme.

6. How does Gretchen’s false alibi for Randy expose the theme of complicity?

In Chapter 44, Sydney realizes that Gretchen lied to give Randy an alibi for Bonnie’s murder, even though Gretchen knew about Randy’s prior stalking charge. Sydney chooses not to report the lie because she values Gretchen’s happiness over justice. This decision embodies the justice-vs-complicity theme and shows how friendship can be weaponized to protect a potential killer.

7. Why does Tom turn pale when he sees Randy at the confrontation (Chapter 58)?

Tom recognizes Randy as the man who was with Gretchen—his high-school love, Daisy Driscoll. Tom instantly understands that Gretchen has infiltrated his new life and that Randy is an unwitting pawn. His visceral fear stems from knowing what Daisy is capable of, not from any threat posed by Randy. This moment triggers the final explosive confrontation.

Learn more about how Gretchen (Daisy) Driscoll drives the plot.

8. What does the discovery of hair locks in Randy’s toilet tank (Chapter 59) reveal about the true killer?

The freezer bag containing locks of hair tied with colored ribbons proves that someone has been collecting trophies from victims. Sydney immediately believes Randy is the killer, but the real collector is Gretchen, who planted the hair to frame him. This misdirection underscores the deception-and-identity theme and shows how easily physical evidence can be manipulated.

9. How does Gretchen’s use of oleander poison in Chapter 62 illustrate her meticulous planning?

Gretchen keeps oleander leaves for emergencies and knows that mixed with alcohol, it causes drowsiness without showing up on routine autopsies. She doses both Randy and Sydney, then stabs Randy while he is unconscious. Her medical knowledge and calm demeanor reveal she has planned for this moment for years, making her the most calculating character in the novel.

10. Why does Tom agree to run away with Gretchen after she kills Randy?

Tom has always loved Daisy since high school, and despite his horror at her violence, he feels bound to her. He also fears that if he refuses, she will kill him or Sydney. In Chapter 64, he agrees to leave with her, saying he cannot live without her, but only after securing a promise that he will break up with her eventually. This tragic decision underscores the theme of obsessive-love and moral paralysis.

11. What does the epilogue’s lock of hair and note from Tom suggest about Sydney’s moral compromise?

In the epilogue, Tom sends Sydney a lock of hair and a note saying “Kevin won’t be bothering you ever again,” confirming he killed her stalker. Sydney briefly considers telling Jake but throws the evidence away. This action completes her arc from victim to complicit partner, aligning with the justice-vs-complicity theme and leaving her morality ambiguous.

Read the full analysis of the ending on the ending explained page.

12. How does the mouse trap scene in Chapter 49 parallel Tom’s hidden violence?

When Tom smashes a mouse caught in a glue trap with a hammer, Sydney is horrified by his lack of empathy. He dismisses her concerns with cold logic. This scene mirrors his earlier willingness to kill his father and foreshadows his capacity for casual brutality. It is a small act of violence-and-control that reveals the monster beneath the charming exterior.

13. Why does Tom use a burner phone to contact Sydney?

Tom explains that he has commitment issues, but the real reason is that he is terrified of Gretchen tracking his relationships and killing his girlfriends. He has been using a burner phone since high school to evade Daisy’s surveillance. This detail uncovers the central secret: Tom is not the predator but the prey of a relentless obsessive-love that has haunted him for decades.

14. How does the high school flashback of Tom digging his father’s grave connect to the later burial scenes?

In Chapters 29–31, Tom and Slug dig a shallow grave for Tom’s abusive father, using garbage bags and a trunk. This scene establishes Tom’s familiarity with body disposal and his reliance on a friend with disturbing expertise. The later epilogue, where Tom kills Kevin and presumably disposes of the body, echoes this earlier burial, showing that violence is a repeating pattern in his life.

15. Why does Sydney choose not to tell Jake about the note from Tom in the epilogue?

Sydney is exhausted by the trauma and wants to move on with her life. She also feels a measure of gratitude toward Tom for eliminating the stalker Kevin, who had terrorized her for months. By keeping the note secret, she prioritizes her own closure over justice, embodying the trauma-and-survival theme and leaving readers to question whether she has become complicit.

For deeper exploration of these themes, visit the themes overview page.