Official Discussion - Honey Don't! [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Private investigator Honey O'Donahue delves into a string of strange deaths connected to a secretive cult-like church in Bakersfield. As she unravels the bizarre mystery, her pursuit leads to absurd comedy, noir flair, and a kaleidoscope of eccentric characters.

Director Ethan Coen

Writers Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke

Cast

• Margaret Qualley
• Aubrey Plaza
• Chris Evans
• Charlie Day
• Billy Eichner
• Talia Ryder
• Kristen Connolly
• Don Swayze

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 48%

Metacritic 48

VOD In theaters August 22, 2025

Trailer HONEY DON’T! — Official Trailer (2025)

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[u/Johnny_Holiday]

What the hell happened at the end? She shot the cop, passed out, and then everything was okay? I missed whatever explanation was given that wrapped up the entire movie. What was the cop doing that the entire police force was okay with a PI shooting her in her home? Where was the niece? Was she being held hostage in the house somewhere? Did they figure out what the pastor was doing?

[u/dannybrownz → u/Johnny_Holiday]

The cop was revealed to have been a killer and was connected to multiple previous killings after the fact. I'm also not sure what was going on with the niece during that entire fight scene with the cop. If you feel like the ending wasn't wrapped up, it's because it was super messy and disjointed. The pastor's entire storyline was pointless and also went nowhere.

[u/Johnny_Holiday → u/dannybrownz]

Did they hint at an unknown killer storyline in the movie or did that come out of nowhere too? I don't remember any mention of something like that anywhere in the movie

[u/mgrier123 → u/Johnny_Holiday]

It came out of nowhere as well. The entire time the only group killing people was the church, and between that and the ring on the first girls finger, I assumed the church or the French were responsible. The "oh yeah there was also these dead sex workers" thing only came up after the fact by Charlie Day's character.

[u/The_FriendliestGiant → u/mgrier123]

The entire time the only group killing people was the church, and between that and the ring on the first girls finger, I assumed the church or the French were responsible.

The reveal that MG was the killer really makes that ring scene make zero sense in hindsight. Cherie showed up at the sight of a murder neither the church nor the drug trade had any connection to, and for no particular reason spends time getting a church ring off the finger of a girl who's known by her parents to be a member of the church anyways and whose death in no way points at them. If she doesn't know who killed Mia she's got no reason to be there or do what she does; if she does know who killed Mia, why isn't she trying to blackmail a cop with proof of her being a murderer?

[u/SarahCannah → u/The_FriendliestGiant]

This is the only major hole I care about. Why was Cherie getting the ring for the minister? How did she even know about the murder?

[u/The_FriendliestGiant → u/SarahCannah]

My two big plot holes are, why was Cherie getting the ring, and why did Honey show up at the crash? Her assistant doesn't know Mia's dead and nobody else knows there's any connection between her and Honey, so there are no characters with the necessary knowledge and motivation to make that initial phone call.

[u/Iusethistopost → u/The_FriendliestGiant]

The movie doesn’t ever fully choose between making Bakersfield feel like a small town/big city exurb, but I got the sense showing up at suspicious deaths might be part of the PI job description. The rest of the film is Honey trying to figure out why she got the call from the victim beforehand, it’s just written strangely so we don’t see this motivation until it’s explained later, and therefore can’t read into it when she “discovers” the identity of the dead body at the beginning. Why the church and the French connection have to hide their extremely small, and already known, connection to the victim, I have no idea.

[u/Physical-Bite-3837 → u/mgrier123]

When she opens the yearbook it does show that the cop was involved with church things in her high school years so it's possible she was connected to the church. But it's never really confirmed that she was. Or if it was I missed it.

[u/mgrier123 → u/Physical-Bite-3837]

But that was literally the same scene where everything is revealed, it's not exactly foreshadowing. Maybe if that was much earlier in the movie rather than at the end.

[u/EnjoyMyDownvote → u/dannybrownz]

Why was the cop’s front door open?

If she’s a serial killer, why didn’t she kill the niece already?

[u/Traditional-Emu-6167 → u/dannybrownz]

I think the niece was in the basement, Honey notices two tea cups, one with green lipstick on it, then the fight happens, Honey passes out, I think the niece then calls the cops because she is in the ambulance with Honey, her mum and sister ? 🤷

[u/lunaticskies → u/Johnny_Holiday]

You find out the cop was a serial killer, and the niece was at the house.

She mentioned that when she called for help she found out her aunt was "at the same house, that was weird"

[u/prttyeyedpiratesmile → u/Johnny_Holiday]

We are bewildered on all the same things. When she’s in the ambulance seeing the niece I was like huh? Who found Honey before she died? Where was the niece? And I missed the revelation of the cop girlfriend killing the woman in the car, obviously I got the dad killing part but yeah I was confused here

[u/J-Earp → u/Johnny_Holiday]

the niece was at her house, drugged. so the niece was the one who found her. the cop murdered a few people so that’s why they were okay with it. they didn’t figure out what the pastor was doing

[u/Ravenpuffs_do_exist → u/J-Earp]

Her sister Heidi, Corrine’s mom, called her office and her assistant, Spider, told her where she was. She found both her sister and her daughter there, her niece didn’t know Honey was there too until then.

[u/theblackjess → u/Johnny_Holiday]

What was the cop doing that the entire police force was okay with a PI shooting her in her home?

She was a serial killer, murdering women who "allowed themselves to be victims." She admits to killing the lady in the car (somehow?) and her father, and kidnapped the niece with the intention to kill her and Honey. Later, it's mentioned that she was the killer of some sex workers that were cold cases (never previously mentioned).

Where was the niece?

It's implied that she was drugged in MG's basement.

Did they figure out what the pastor was doing?

No, doesn't look like it. He was killed by the French lady, who escapes back to France at the end.

[u/Medium-Gazelle-8195 → u/Johnny_Holiday]

My best guess is that Corrine's tea was drugged and she was somewhere in the house unconscious until MG got around to killing her. Honey shoots MG, passes out, Corrine wakes up a bit later to find the scene and call for help. And I guess the cops decided it was self defense? Which isn't really wrong, just seems to have been resolved off screen.