SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the Netflix miniseries “The Perfect Couple” and the book by Elin Hilderbrand on which the series is based.

Make way, Agatha: In Netflix’s new crime thriller “The Perfect Pair,” it was Abby the whole time.

The miniseries, set during a wealthy Fourth of July wedding weekend on Nantucket, began with the death of Merritt (Meghann Fahy), the maid of honor to Amelia (Eve Hewson). But why would anyone want to kill the maid of honor, you ask?

Well, money does indeed make the world go round, especially for the rich families who already have it – and in Abby’s (Dakota Fanning) case, those who marry into it. It’s revealed early on that Merritt was secretly pregnant as a result of her affair with family patriarch Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber), which his wife Greer (Nicole Kidman) quickly finds out. But it’s not until the finale that audiences learn that a new addition to the Winbury family would prevent Tag’s older sons from accessing their trust funds. That detail would definitely hurt eldest son Thomas (Jack Reynor), who is already millions of dollars in debt to his own mistress Isabel (Isabelle Adjani). But in the end, the person willing to kill to get that obstacle out of the way is Abby, who investigators learn drugged Merritt and then drowned her during a late-night bath.

The twist marks a major change from Elin Hilderbrand’s book, on which the series is based. In that version, Abby merely drugs a drink she believes belongs to the woman having an affair with Thomas (in the book, that character is named Featherleigh Dale). But the drink ends up with Merritt instead, and she becomes so disoriented that she drowns alone.

Fanning tells diversity She knew she was the killer before she had read a single script. Director Susanne Bier called Fanning directly to offer her the role of the villain, a role the actress doesn’t get to play very often. One exception to this rule is her role as Jane, a key member of the Volturi vampire council in Twilight, who once throws a baby into a fire. But that role doesn’t count for Fanning.

“In ‘Twilight’, the vampire Jane wasn’t that great, of course,” she says, laughing. “But she’s a vampire, not a human. That was the first time I got to play the bad guy, and I just loved it! I was so excited to be the crazy one.”

The word “crazy” can be summed up as follows: Abby clings to her privileges even as she is being led away by the police, screaming that they couldn’t possibly send a pregnant woman to jail.

After the eventful finale, Fanning spoke with diversity about nailing the show’s cheesy tone, joining in the “open rebellion” against the series’ now-viral dance number, and whether she thinks Abby feels remorse for drowning another expectant mother.

On one level, this show is a crime thriller. But it also has a really fun comedy and humor. Did you all recognize and embrace that tone when you were filming the show?

Yes, definitely. I was definitely excited by that aspect because I’ve never done that personally. That heightened, slightly surreal – but also real – tone. It’s very specific and I was very interested in it. I was also really lucky to play a character who is part of that tone. I don’t have to be the serious guy. I’m one of the crazy ones in this world. And in general, we all knew the tone and enjoyed it, especially me and Jack. We just called ourselves “The Worst Couple”. We pretended we had our own series, parallel to the show, where we were just living in our own reality. So yeah, nobody objected to the tone.

Abby doesn’t hide her privileges either. In this world of Nantucket, she wears them like a medal of honor.

She loves it! She has really interesting things to say, and as an actress playing her, some lines just don’t come up very often. I was really excited to be the person saying them.

Do you have a favorite Abby-ism, if you will?

There are a lot, but I love this line: “She dated my friend’s boss at Sotheby’s. He’s rich and 5’6″. They are very much in love.” That’s such a great line!

I’m working with Susanne Bier, who I’ve worked with before. That’s why I’m involved. She called me, described the character to me and asked me to be a part of it. I would do anything she asked me to do. I trust her implicitly as a person and as a director. So when you have that safety net and that harmony, you can just let go and have fun. We just let it rip!

Susan told diversity It was her idea to have the incredibly entertaining dance number in the opening credits. But on the red carpet at the premiere of the show Some of your co-stars mentioned that there was resistance at the beginning – and there was even a WhatsApp group chat about how to get out of it. Were you one of the initial skeptics?

Well, we always had the WhatsApp group. It wasn’t created for an open rebellion against dance. But yes, I was in that rebellion. But not because I didn’t understand it! Like I just said, I would do anything for Susanne, so I always did it. I was just afraid that I would look stupid and not learn the moves. But when we got there and rehearsed it and I realized that I could do it, it was totally fine. And of course, talking to Susanne and understanding the purpose helped. At first we didn’t even understand where it was going in the show. Like, “What episode is this?” Then we realized that it was… The At first it was to prepare the viewer for this higher world and prepare themselves to go somewhere they didn’t necessarily want to go. It just made a lot of sense. When I look at it now, it’s so much fun and it’s just as fun to do it yourself.

How long did the filming take? Was there a lot of footage?

It was actually one of the last things we filmed. We did a rehearsal day and practiced, but we all got it pretty well. In the end, all of us who weren’t taking part had the most fun!

You stand right at the front of the crowd, making it look like you know your moves and are smiling the whole time.

Oh, you can’t fake a smile like that. The hardest thing in acting is smiling and laughing. It’s the hardest thing to fake. So what you see in this dance is all real.

What did you first learn about who Abby was and when did you find out she was the killer?

Immediately. Susanne called and just said a few things like, “I’m doing this show with Nicole Kidman, it’s set on Nantucket, wedding weekend, Fourth of July, the character is pregnant.” It was just a few bullet points, and the last one was, “And she’s the killer.” She told me to read the script and tell her. But that was before I’d read anything or even knew the title of the show. I couldn’t even look up the book. So I knew immediately that she was the killer, and I was thrilled.

Your Abby is a much more active killer than the Abby in the book. What was it like filming the scene with Meghann in the water when Abby drowns Merritt?

When we shot the scene on the little beach in front of the house, it was so cold that we didn’t get to do it very often. Then there was a day in a big swimming pool. Meghann had a much harder time than I did because she’s drowning underwater screaming with her eyes open. I was basically just there to support her and look like I was drowning her, but not really grabbing her that hard. I didn’t want to keep her down for too long! But we had fun with that too.

You haven’t often played the villain in your career. Did you enjoy that?

In Twilight, the vampire Jane wasn’t that great, of course. But she’s a vampire, not a human. That was the first time I got to play the bad girl, and I loved it! I was so excited to be the crazy one.

When Abby is unmasked and taken away by the police, she gives Amelia this intense look. How did you portray that look? Was it remorse? Was it anger?

I think it was like, “If you and your girlfriend weren’t in the picture, this wouldn’t be happening to me!” I don’t think she feels any remorse at all. I think she’s still wondering how to fix this now. She’s still in her delusion. So yeah, I think that look is telling Amelia that it’s her fault that Abby was pushed into this place. Like the true psychopath that she is.

How do you think Abby will fare if she is convicted and goes to prison?

She’ll probably be in charge. If this is still the upper echelons of the Perfect Couple world, then she’ll be in charge. She’s just crazy enough to find a way to get through it.

You seem to enjoy playing the killer. Does that mean we should suspect you of everything in the future?

Absolutely! I can’t do this too often or people will keep thinking I’m the murderer. So I’ll have to wait a little while longer. But when you least expect it, I’ll be back.

This interview has been edited and shortened.