Top 10 Things Under the Bridge Got Factually Right & Wrong

“Under the Bridge” opens with New York author Rebecca Godfrey, played by Riley Keough, returning to her childhood city of Victoria, British Columbia. She tells everyone that she’s there to write about the “misunderstood girls of Victoria.” Her arrival coincides with the disappearance and murder of Reena Virk. However, in real life, Godfrey was still in the US when friends told her about the case and she’d seen a headline in The New York Times. While her first book, “The Torn Skirt,” was about crime and youth in Victoria, she was already working on it. This is one of many changes the creators of the Hulu series made to speed up the timeline of events.

In the series, Reena Virk spreads false rumors about Josephine Bell, the ringleader of the so-called gang Crips Mafia Cartel, which is the catalyst to the violence under the Craigflower Bridge. Bell plots her revenge with best friend Kelly Marie Ellard, but tells Dusty Pace they would initiate Virk into CMC. In reality, Pace, the likely fictional counterpart to Missy Pleich, believed Virk was intimate with her boyfriend and had her own reason to get back at Virk. But as we see in the show, she took responsibility for her part in the crime and expressed remorse. Meanwhile, Josephine Bell, a pseudonym for Nicole Cook, maintained she was not involved in Virk’s. However, she admits to burning her with a lit cigarette.

Episode 6 of “Under the Bridge” sees some of the characters preparing to attend a dance at their school. It’s here that officers Roy and Cam Bentland question Warren Glowatski’s girlfriend, Samara Bailey. She hesitantly tells them that he admitted to watching Kelly Ellard kill Reena Virk. When Glowatski arrives at the dance, he’s quickly arrested and doesn’t resist. In real life, he went to find his girlfriend at a Shoreline gathering, knowing he’d be taken into custody. Bailey, whose real name is Syreeta Hartley, was interrogated by the police multiple times and testified at his trial. Although the show implies that she didn’t want to speak to Warren, in real life she reportedly begged to see him after his arrest.

One of the most shocking moments in the series is when Reena Virk reports she was mistreated by her father, Manjit. Whether or not it was Josephine Bell who told her to make false allegations is unknown, but her parents believed it was these so-called friends who influenced their daughter’s reckless decision. Wanting the same freedom as her “friends” in foster care, she lied about her home life to join them at the youth home. Reena later retracted her false claims, dropping the charges, and moved back home shortly before her death.

Rebecca Godfrey spends time with Josephine and Dusty to get the full story about what happened to Reena Virk. In episode 2, Jo takes her under the bridge, bragging about the attack, and, to Dusty’s surprise, confesses to actually killing Reena herself. But in reality, this didn’t happen with Rebecca. The series left out two key figures — Anya and Nadja, a pair of sisters who heard the rumors about a girl being murdered and took it upon themselves to find out the truth. Jo brought them to the scene and continued sharing details. According to Godfrey and her book, they were the only teens who brought this information to the police. She considered them “the true heroes of the book.”

As the on-screen Rebecca Godfrey gets to know the youth of her hometown, she develops a bond with Warren Glowatski, who, despite his tough exterior, is portrayed as charming. It’s implied that he reminds her of her late brother, Gabe, or that she saw herself in him. The real Godfrey did have a brother named Jonathan who died by drowning when she was young. Her book shows that she empathized with Warren and his circumstances. Her goal was to show his humanity even though he took someone’s life. But the series suggests their relationship was so close it was bordering on inappropriately familial. As far as taking psychedelics together and lending him her brother’s suit, that’s seemingly all fiction.

Anyone familiar with the Reena Virk case prior to “Under the Bridge” already knew that Kelly Ellard was one of the two people convicted of second-degree murder. The series reveals her guilt early on when Jo finds Reena’s shoes in the closet. She claims that she “did it” for Jo and kept the shoes for her. However, this wasn’t what happened. Though their accounts differ, the morning after Reena’s death, Nicole, Kelly and Missy went to make sure none of her stuff was still in the area. It was Cook who allegedly disposed of the shoes in a downtown dumpster.

With adaptations of true stories, fictional characters are often created to serve a purpose. Lily Gladstone’s character Cam Bentland is not based on an actual Saanich Police officer. But the creators have said she’s somewhat of an amalgamation of people who gave Godfrey information for the book. The character’s history and romantic relationship are also fictionalized. This invented character is there to provide another perspective on the tragic crime, specifically an Indigenous person who can relate to Reena. She also pushes for the investigation, taking the place of the brave sisters, Anya and Nadja.

Izzy G has received praise for her chilling performance as convicted murderer Kelly Marie Ellard. In one of the most unsettling scenes, Ellard takes the stand in her own trial and lashes out during questioning, repeatedly yelling the same words of denial. The real Ellard did display bizarre behavior, including intense outbursts and randomly speaking in a British accent. However, it isn’t true that she got out of juvie because she was scared. In total, Ellard, who later changed her name to Kerry Marie Sim, went through three trials. In 2009, Canada’s Supreme Court finally upheld her guilty conviction.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Kelly Blamed Warren for the Murder, Wrong
In Real Life, She Implicated Her Best Friend

Josephine Bell Didn’t Have a Relationship with Her Mother, Wrong
She Actually Did Live with Her Mom at Times

Warren’s “Three & Seven” Statement Happened in Court, Wrong
His Culpability Ratings Were Said in a Police Interview

Josephine Bell Asked for John Gotti’s Lawyer, Right
Another Troubling Remark in a Serious Situation

In the finale, Rebecca Godfrey goes to visit Warren Glowatski and surprises him with someone who wants to speak to him — Reena Virk’s mother. The powerful scene shows Suman being honest about her feelings toward the young man who senselessly took her daughter’s life. But for her and her family’s sake, she forgives him. The real-life Suman and Manjit Virk did have compassion, but it happened much later, not during the time of the trial of Kelly Ellard. Glowatski worked through a restorative justice process with them. And they ultimately advocated for his parole in 2010.

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