Mea Culpa ending explained: Is Zyair proven innocent?

Mea Culpa is a legal thriller on Netflix, released on February 23, 2024. Tyler Perry is the showrunner for the movie, and singer-actor Kelly Rowland plays the titular role. The plot revolves around Mea, who is a lawyer stuck in a dysfunctional marriage.

The story starts when she gets a high-profile artist client accused of murder. While the womanizer artist manages to seduce Mea at the weak moment when she suspects her husband of cheating, she realizes her husband, Kal, was not deceiving her.

Devastated Mea runs away to an island vacation when she finds out her client Zyair is innocent and returns home to prove the same. In the process, she discovers the whole conspiracy and winds up with all the loose ends in this Perry Tyler thriller.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and reader's discretion is advisable. It may also contain some mature images.

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Does the ending of Mea Culpa prove Zyair innocent?

Yes, Zyair, Mea’s artist client, is proven innocent at the end of Mea Culpa, and Mea accidentally plays a role in this disclosure. As such, a photograph showing her husband Kal holding another woman’s hands drives the distraught Mea into seducer Zyair’s arms. However, her intimacy with her client leaves her feeling guilty, particularly after she realizes her husband is not cheating on her.

After a complete disclosure to Kal, played by Sean Sagar, and his family, Mea, played by Kelly Rowland, escapes for a Dominican vacation. While she leaves the case midway, Zyair decides to accept a plea deal and stop the case from going to court.

Zyair painted Mea as he did for all his women (Image via Netflix)

Meanwhile, Mea notices a hotel maid at her resort looks like the supposedly murdered girl, who turns out to be the real woman thought dead. Forced to go back to unravel the truth, Mea finds Zyair’s paintings in her sister-in-law’s closet.

With this, she unravels the rest of the story about Charlise’s involvement with Zyair, leading to Ray’s conspiracy with the false implication of murder as revenge for his wife’s cheating. By the end of Mea Culpa, Zyair, played by Trevante Rhodes, is cleared of murder charges and is seen talking to the press.

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Who was the real culprit in Mea Culpa and how were they caught?

The twists and turns in the second half of Mea Culpa reveal Ray Hawthorne, Mea’s brother-in-law, to be the mastermind of the conspiracy against Zyair.

Ray, played by Nick Sagar, had two birds to kill with this plan. For one, he could frame the artist and avenge his partner’s adultery. Secondly, by presenting the case as a picture of justice, he would gain public sympathy, which would help him in his future political career.

However, after Mea stumbles upon the truth, both Ray and his mother confront and threaten her and Charlise. While Mea manages to flee, Charlise is stabbed to death by her mother-in-law. An accidental crash results in the mother-in-law’s death.

Mea and Zyair in a scene from the show (Image via Netflix)

A fleeing Mea is picked up by her husband, Kal, who pretends to call the police but calls his brother Ray instead. With this, Mea is alerted about Kal’s role in the conspiracy. Without much thought, Mea swerves the car into an oncoming truck, killing Kal instantly.

The movie shows a news report confirming the arrest of Ray Hawthorne as the scheme spills out. He is charged with several offenses, putting an end to the series of crimes.

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Do Mea and Zyair come together at the end?

As far as the Netflix original goes, Mea and Zyair do not get back together. However, the ending may be considered open-ended, as Zyair wants to meet Mea again. The ending of Mea Culpa shows Zyair talking to the press as Mea watches secretly from afar.

After his press talk, Zyair sent Mea a thank-you note. While he sends a plea to meet her again, Mea throws her phone in a trashcan and walks off. She hints at wanting to take a break from her ordeal and start afresh.

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Mea Culpa is currently available for streaming on Netflix.