In Hulu’s mystery series ‘Black Cake,’ Clarence “Little Man” Henry gets poisoned by an unknown person, who kills him on his wedding night. His family and allies, along with the authorities, believe that Covey killed him to escape from the marriage that was set up without her will or permission. Little Man’s death paves the way for Covey’s escape from Jamaica and her reinvention as Eleanor. The final episode of the historical drama ultimately unravels the mystery behind Little Man’s murder while exploring the circumstances that lead to the same! SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Best Friend’s Wedding Gift
Bunny, Covey’s best friend, poisons Little Man. When Covey’s wedding with the goon gets fixed, Bunny tries her best to save her constant companion. Two weeks before the wedding, she talks to her friend’s boyfriend Gibbs about rescuing Covey. Meanwhile, Bunny encounters Pearl, who extracts the poisonous juice of manchineel fruit to kill Little Man. The housekeeper plans to poison Little Man’s drink after he is sent to the honeymoon suite with Covey. Bunny, who cannot imagine her friend spending even a second with a goon inside the suite, hopes for Gibbs’ intervention before the same. When Gibbs fails to intervene, Bunny takes matters into her own hands.
Once Bunny gets convinced that Gibbs will not save Covey, she takes the juice of the manchineel fruit hidden by Pearl and pours the same into a glass of wine. She then leaves the glass in front of Little Man, who drinks the same without any suspicion while celebrating his much-awaited wedding. Bunny steps up for the love of her life in time of need despite knowing that Covey doesn’t love her the same way. She doesn’t wait for Pearl to wait till the newlyweds are alone in a room. Bunny knows Covey well enough to perceive that the latter would feel suffocated if the same happens, which convinces her to kill Little Man in between the wedding party.
Although Bunny knows that saving Covey also means bidding adieu to her, she chooses the well-being of her friend over the latter’s presence in her life. Bunny may have told herself that it is better to know that her friend will be happy away from her rather than seeing the latter immersed in pain, as Little Man’s wife, near her. After poisoning the feared criminal, Bunny silently lets Covey leave Jamaica to build a happier life.
Bunny’s Secret and Covey’s Sacrifice
Even though Bunny kills Little Man for Covey, she never tells her friend the truth herself. Still, Covey must have figured out that it was Bunny who saved her from the hands of a vicious man. That can be why Covey never reached out to Bunny ever again. She may have feared that any attempt from her side to contact Bunny would reopen the closed chapters of their shared past, leaving the swimmer vulnerable and exposed. After what Bunny does for her, the lasting thing Covey may have wanted is to jeopardize the life and career of the former.
Covey then watches Bunny’s achievements from a distance. Every time she wants to celebrate her best friend’s accomplishments with her, Covey likely stops herself to ensure that she won’t remind the latter that she is a murderer. Her decision to stay away from Bunny plays a role in the latter’s rise as a champion swimmer. The distance she keeps between them can be what Covey offers to her friend in return for the swimmer’s intervention to rescue her from Little Man. Although Bunny has been longing for their reunion after parting ways decades ago, Covey’s decision indeed keeps both of them away from trouble.
In Charmaine Wilkerson’s novel of the same name, which serves as the source text of the show, Short Shirt Higgins, a man who used to work for Little Man, becomes the prime suspect in the murder case. Little Man had an interest in Higgins’ sister, which made him beat and leave her to death when she rejected him. Higgins later tries to poison Little Man’s brother Percival Henry, which makes the police suspect him as the killer who murdered the latter’s brother. The series, however, doesn’t indicate someone named Higgins’ involvement in Little Man’s death.
ncG1vNJzZmismJqwqrrEppihp5yesG%2BvzqZmm6SRmLhur8CknGakmanBrbGMppinZw%3D%3D