Another Simple Favor: How is Charity Alive? Is She Gay or Bisexual?

‘Another Simple Favor‘ jumps back into the life of Stephanie Smothers five years after the events from the original movie. The film primarily takes place in Italy, as Stephanie finds herself on a trip to the isle of Capri after being appointed maid of honor by a recently released Emily, who is marrying a wealthy Italian businessman, Dante Versano. After reluctantly agreeing to Emily’s demands, Stephanie finds herself amid another complicated situation when a murder takes place inside the hotel full of wedding guests, prompting an investigation into the case. She begins to suspect that Emily might have something to do with the death, especially given her track record from the previous movie. However, the film reveals that Charity, Emily’s thought-to-be-dead triplet, is the real killer, a plot twist that changes the perspective of the narrative. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Charity Was Taken From Her Mother and Raised By Her Aunt

After learning that Charity is the one behind the killings, Stephanie realizes that a bigger conspiracy is at play because the triplet was proclaimed dead in the first movie. In ‘A Simple Favor,’ we learn that Emily was born as Hope McLanden in an abusive home alongside her sister Faith McLanden. They also had a triplet sister named Charity, who was likely a stillborn baby and did not survive. As a result, Margaret, the mother, believed that her two surviving daughters were demonic in nature and had strangled their sister in the womb. It led her to abandon them as children and not take care of them like a mother should. However, this story turns out to be false in ‘Another Simple Favor’ because Charity never died during the birth, contrary to what Margaret believes.

In the sequel, we learn that Linda, Margaret’s sister, was also present during the birth of the triplets. While she helped deliver the babies, she stole Charity and took her away from her biological mother. Subsequently, Linda raised Charity as her daughter, using her as a tool in her conning schemes against various men. She realized that having a young girl on her side helped her gain the trust of strangers who haplessly fell into her lap. To that end, Charity turned into a pawn for her rather devious mother. Because she was kept so far away from other kids her age and home-schooled by Linda, the girl’s development was also stunted. Her personality resembles that of a young girl, even though she is a full-fledged adult capable of committing horrific acts of murder without a moment’s hesitation.

Charity’s Love For Emily Goes Deeper Than Sisterly Affection

In the latter half, we learn that Charity strongly loves her surviving sister, Hope, AKA Emily. While initially, this love seems equivalent to a sibling’s adoration, it becomes evident that Charity’s feelings for Emily are not the normal platonic love between sisters but of a deeper kind. It leads to an amusing exchange between Emily and Stephanie where the latter terms Charity as a “sister-f******,” referring back to her own title as “brother-f******.” The situation ends up being advantageous for Emily because she uses her emotional hold over Charity to convince her triplet to take out Linda and give herself up to the authorities. As a result, Emily is able to get away scot-free while Charity takes the blame for everything, believing it is all in the name of love.

While Charity was primarily working under Linda’s orders, the exact details of her plans with Emily are hard to discern. After drugging her and confining her to the room, it is hinted that Charity wants to engage in incest with her sister. Considering how she grew up without anyone to keep her company, Emily’s unresponsive body is similar to the dolls she grew up playing with, adding to the creepy factor surrounding the character. However, for Linda’s plan to take over the Versano’s wealth to work, Emily must perish, as her survival could complicate matters. Charity needs to take over Emily’s identity permanently, eliminating the possibility of any mix-up in the future. However, the idea of killing Emily is too much for Charity, compelling her to kill Linda and save her sister.