Who framed Emily in Absentia? Details revealed

Absentia first premiered on September 25, 2017. It first aired internationally. Later, it came to Amazon Prime Video.

The show ran for three seasons. It had 30 total episodes. It ended in 2020–2021. In 2025, the show came to Netflix. All seasons were added at once. It quickly reached the Top 10, and hence many new viewers discovered the show.

With new fans watching, one big question returned: Who framed Emily in Absentia? In Season 1, the show makes us doubt Emily. It makes us question her memories. It even makes us question her innocence.

Evidence starts to pile up against her. Bodies are found with links to her. Almost everyone begins to think she might be a killer. But the truth is much more complicated.

Now the main mystery can finally be explained: Who really set Emily up in Absentia, and why?

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Who framed Emily in Absentia? The twist explained

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for Absentia Season 1 (and some context from later seasons) ahead.

The real mastermind: Logan Brandt, aka Laurie Colson

The person who framed Emily Byrne in Absentia is Logan Brandt. Later, Logan lives under a fake name: Laurie Colson. Emily and Logan grew up in the same orphanage. There, a doctor named Dr. Shen did illegal mind experiments on children.

At first, Emily was chosen for these experiments. But she secretly switched her file with Logan’s. That one choice changed everything. Emily was saved from the worst experiments. Logan was forced to suffer years of pain and testing.

As an adult, Logan became Laurie Colson. She created a long revenge plan against Emily. Logan and her partner became serial killers. They killed young women on purpose. They did this to frame Emily for the crimes. So in the end, Logan Brandt is the main person who set Emily up.

Conrad Harlow: the visible monster, not the only one

At first, the main suspect is Conrad Harlow. He is a known serial killer. His victims all have their eyelids removed. Evidence links Harlow to Emily’s first disappearance. He is arrested and sent to prison. Emily is declared dead in Absentia.

Six years later, Emily is found alive. Then, new murders begin. These killings match Harlow’s exact pattern. Because of this, the police start to suspect Emily. They think she might be the killer. Or that she framed Harlow. But the truth is later revealed.

Harlow and Logan (Laurie) were working together. They committed the murders as a team. They used Harlow’s known method to hide the real plan. Logan planted evidence against Emily. This included money trails. It also included links to Emily’s past. Bodies were set up to point back to her.

Emily’s missing years and trauma made people doubt her. Logan used that doubt against her in a cruel way. So the truth is this: Harlow is a real killer. But he is not the mastermind. The person who planned everything against Emily is Logan Brandt.

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How does Emily get framed in Absentia?

During Absentia Season 1, the show slowly shows how Emily was framed. Here is the plan in simple steps.

The kidnapping: Emily is abducted. She was kept in a water tank for six years. She was drugged and tortured. This causes huge memory gaps. While Emily is missing, Logan builds a new life as Laurie Colson. She also plans her revenge.

The new murders: After Emily is found and comes home, new victims start to appear. These murders look like Harlow’s old crimes. But the timing makes it look like Emily is involved. This is worse when Emily begins to investigate on her own.

The evidence against Emily: Emily’s DNA shows up in strange places. There are money trails. There are suspicious videos. There is stored research. All of it seems to lead back to Emily or her past cases. Because Emily has memory gaps and sometimes acts unsteady, even her friends begin to doubt her.

The emotional attack: Logan also attacks Emily’s personal life. Emily’s husband, Nick, remarried. Her son Flynn barely knows her anymore. Logan uses this broken family to hurt Emily more. Emily is fragile and scared. She only wants to protect her child. All of this makes the police and the public think Emily is guilty. This is how the frame-up works.

In the later episodes of Absentia, Emily finds the truth. She links everything back to her childhood orphanage. She learns about Dr. Shen’s experiments. She also finds out the real identity of Logan.

Emily realizes the truth that “journalist” Laurie Colson is really Logan Brandt. Laurie was close to the case on purpose. She was secretly controlling everything.

In the final fight, Emily and Logan meet at a cabin in the woods. They fight for their lives. Emily kills Logan in self-defense. After this, the police find the bodies of the victims. They were killed by Logan and Harlow together. The truth about their partnership is revealed.

Meanwhile, Emily’s name is cleared. Logan Brandt / Laurie Colson is exposed as the mastermind. Conrad Harlow is confirmed as a real serial killer and part of the plan. Emily is finally seen as a victim, not a suspect.

At last, Emily is no longer blamed for the crimes in Absentia.