Diksha Sundriyal
In its seventh episode, Hulu’s ‘Death and Other Details’ inches closer to solving the mystery of the murder at the heart of its story. For Imogene, whose mother died eighteen years ago, the hope of solving her murder returns with the “world’s greatest detective,” Rufus Cotesworth, coming back to her with the offer of solving a murder that he believes is connected to her mother’s. Over time, the duo realizes that the thing keeping them from digging deeper is Imogene herself, who has buried away an important memory regarding her mother. That memory takes her back to Opal Diner. While the show is fictional, one might wonder if Opal Diner is a real place. SPOILERS AHEAD
Opal Diner is a Fictional Location in the Hulu Series
For those looking for a diner by the name of Opal, there are several places across the country that share that name. You might also find restaurants and bars with the same name, but none of them is the Opal Diner that appears in ‘Death and Other Details.’ It is a fictional location in the fictional show and is important to the plot of the story as this is where several layers of Imogene’s mother’s secret come to light. While it is an integral location, it remains entirely fictional and has no connection whatsoever to its real-life namesakes.
For Imogene, Opal Diner comes into the picture when Rufus tells her that memory can be fickle, and she must know it because her own memory failed her during the investigation into her mother’s death. She is surprised to discover that because she had completely forgotten about the memory of the day she went to Opal Diner with her mother, with the latter meeting a couple of people the same day.
Imogene had been to Opal Diner several times, but the memory that Rufus is referring to takes place around her mother’s death. When she realizes that she might have the key to figuring out everything in her mind, she revisits that memory over and over again, trying to see it through the eyes of her younger self and trying to figure out what secrets of her mother she’d found out all those years ago and which she hid away in her brain.
Opal Diner becomes important as the location is all too familiar to Imogene and yet entirely blocked to her. By the end, however, she opens that door into her mind, and this is when she is able to see the parts of the diner that she couldn’t before. Eventually, this is what leads her to make important discoveries about two people, both of whom served as her fellow companions on the Varuna. All the secrets in the Opal Diner are unravelled, and this leads Imogene closer to the truth.
Read More: Death and Other Details: Is SS Varuna a Real Cruise Ship?
