Down Cemetery Road star Emma Thompson explains Zoë has "no feelings" about keeping Sarah in her life shortly after season finale

Down Cemetery Road set up its first season with a somewhat unclear ending.

The subtle ending left many viewers to interpret the final interactions between Zoë Boehm and Sarah Trafford differently. The audience was divided on whether Zoë would want Sarah in her life after the investigation concluded.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, uploaded on their YouTube channel on December 10, Emma Thompson (Zoë) was asked how her character might feel about keeping Sarah in her life. To this, Thompson replied:

"She has no feelings about that whatsoever.

Ruth Wilson (Sarah) chimed in, saying,

Oh, she's crying. She's crying at the end. She wants me back."

Thompson continued:

She's like, oh God, you know, look, we've done the thing. I need a drink. Oh, and I need to pay the bills because I really want to have a shower."

Emma Thompson elaborates on Zoë’s feelings in Down Cemetery Road

The series is based on the eponymous novel by Mick Herron and is available to watch on Apple TV. It was released on October 29, 2025. The 8-episode first season concluded on December 10.

The synopsis for the show, as per IMDb, reads:

"Sarah Trafford obsessively searches for a missing neighbour girl after an explosion. Aided by PI Zoë Boehm, they uncover a conspiracy involving the presumed dead still living and living dying, embroiling them in a complex web."

You can watch the interview featuring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson here:

In the interview, Emma Thompson talked about whether Zoë would want Sarah in her life after the incidents on Down Cemetery Road. After the above statement, Thompson continued:

“Zoë is not the kind of gal who gets caught up in that.”

She went on to say that if Zoë saw Sarah 3 weeks later in a spa, she'd go up to her and say, "You alright?" Wilson joked that Zoë would ignore Sarah.

Wilson and Thompson then continued to discuss how their characters might react in this fictional situation. Thompson said,

"That's all you get. Wouldn't be like a big hug."

Wilson said impersonating Sarah,

"Do you want to...."

Thompson chimes in to add,

"No, I don't. Anyway, glad to see you still in one piece. Yeah, cause frankly, your behaviour suggests that any minute now you could die."

What happened in the finale of Down Cemetery Road

The last episode of Down Cemetery Road stays true to the book’s emotional spectrum: the inquiry unfolds layers of politics and personal suffering, and the last scenes stress the impact. Zoë and Sarah work together under great tension, but the series continually shows that partnership as functional and situational.

The last moment of Zoë, leaving with poise, conveys a return to normalcy and a fight for oneself rather than the beginning of emotional interdependence.

When viewed through Thompson’s interview comment, the finale’s setting is reasonable: Zoë’s objective is practical survival and getting ahead, not fostering a newly established personal connection.

The adaptation’s tone, rhythm, and acting choices on Down Cemetery Road support this kind of character resolution over sentimental reconciliation.

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Also Read: Will Down Cemetery Road Season 2 happen? Possibilities explored

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