The Perfect Lie begins with a deadly villa fire and spends seven episodes dismantling the polished image of a wealthy Dutch friendship circle. The finale reveals that Babette started the fire that killed Evert, while the group known as the Eetclub had been protecting a wider collection of affairs, financial crimes and personal betrayals.
Netflix’s official series announcement confirms that the drama adapts Saskia Noort’s novel The Dinner Club and follows four couples after one of them dies in a house fire. Netflix has not published its own detailed ending explainer, so the finale account below reflects the released episode and post-release reporting.
- Episodes: Seven
- Netflix release: September 10, 2026
- Fire victim: Evert
- Person who starts the fire: Babette
- Based on: The Dinner Club by Saskia Noort
- Hanneke’s attacker: Not revealed
Who started the fire in The Perfect Lie?
Spoilers ahead for The Perfect Lie Season 1.
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For much of the series, the evidence makes it appear that Evert drugged his family and intended to kill them in the fire. The finale reverses that account. Post-release recaps identify Babette as the person who put sedatives in the family’s tea and set the villa alight, killing Evert and leaving him to take the blame.
Babette’s plan changes when she realizes her son Luuk did not drink the sedative. Luuk tries to help his father and preserves a phone containing recordings that eventually help expose what happened. Babette is arrested, but the finale does not close every mystery around the group.
Our earlier guide to The Perfect Lie’s cast, plot and book connection explains how Karen enters the circle and why Evert’s death begins breaking it apart. The official English material calls the group the Dinner Club, while Eetclub is the Dutch term used in the supplied title.
What was the Eetclub hiding?
The fire is only one part of the deception. Post-release accounts say Simon and Evert’s gym business was being used to sell anabolic steroids, while scrutiny of the money pushed Simon to isolate Evert from the operation. Simon and Patricia later face tax-fraud and money-laundering consequences, although family influence helps them leave custody with a fine.
The relationships are equally unstable. Karen has an affair with Simon before admitting it to Michel, and the couple later takes cautious steps toward rebuilding. Hanneke is pushed from a balcony and left in a coma, but the series does not confirm who attacked her. A hooded person entering her hospital room creates the final unresolved threat.
Viewers interested in another European mystery can read our review of Netflix’s Danish thriller The Secret Woman. Netflix’s official title page lists all seven episodes of The Perfect Lie now. Who do you think entered Hanneke’s hospital room, and will the group’s remaining secrets surface? Share your theory in the comments.
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