Netflix loves a good "whodunnit" that makes you want to throw your remote at the wall. When Clickbait dropped, everyone was obsessed with the countdown. You remember the premise: Nick Brewer, a seemingly perfect family man, appears in a viral video holding a sign that says "At 5 million views, I die." It was gruesome. It was addictive. But honestly, the answer to who killed Nick in Clickbait wasn't some dark web mastermind or a vengeful mistress.
It was a bored, lonely woman with a keyboard and a husband who couldn't handle the fallout.
The show spends seven episodes leading you down every possible rabbit hole. Was it the sister? The grieving brother of a woman who committed suicide? A secret lover? The series leans heavily into the dangers of digital identity, but the payoff is a domestic tragedy that feels almost too pathetic to be true. Let's break down how a physical therapist ended up dead because of a catfishing scheme gone horribly wrong.
The Secret Life of Dawn Gleed
To understand the murder, you have to look at Dawn Gleed. She worked with Nick. She was the one who had access to his phone and his life. While Nick was out living his actual life, Dawn was at home, living a digital one. She stole his photos. She stole his personality.
She created profiles on dating sites using Nick’s face to talk to women because her own marriage felt stale and empty. She wasn't trying to kill him. She was just bored.
The complexity of the "who killed Nick in Clickbait" mystery stems from this layers-deep deception. Dawn entered into a digital relationship with a woman named Sarah Burton. Sarah, believing she was talking to the real Nick Brewer, eventually took her own life after "Nick" (Dawn) was cruel to her. This set off a chain reaction. Sarah’s brother, Simon, went looking for revenge. He's the one who kidnapped Nick and made the viral video.
But Simon didn't kill him.
Actually, Simon realized halfway through the kidnapping that Nick was innocent. Nick managed to convince Simon that he had never spoken to Sarah. He realized someone at his work must have had access to his sync'ed data. So, Nick escaped. He didn't go to the police. He didn't go home. He went straight to the person he trusted—or thought he could confront. He went to Dawn’s house.
The Moment Everything Shattered
Nick shows up at Dawn's place, bleeding and traumatized from the kidnapping. He’s figured it out. He sees the computer. He sees the evidence of the catfishing. He realizes that this woman, someone he considered a colleague and a friend, destroyed his reputation and led to his abduction.
He loses it. He threatens to expose her.
This is where the "who" becomes a "they." As Nick is confronting Dawn, her husband Ed walks in. Ed had known something was up with Dawn’s late-night computer habits, but seeing the real Nick Brewer in his house, threatening his wife and their "peaceful" life, triggered something. To protect the lie and "protect" his wife, Ed hits Nick in the head with a vacuum cleaner attachment.
One blow. That was it.
The man who survived a high-stakes kidnapping and a viral death threat died on a living room floor because of a household appliance. It’s incredibly dark. Ed and Dawn then worked together to dump the body, hoping the police would just blame Simon and the "5 million views" crowd.
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Why This Ending Divided Fans
If you felt cheated by the reveal, you aren't alone. A lot of viewers felt like the show pulled a bait-and-switch. We spent hours analyzing Nick's marriage and his sister's trauma, only to find out the killer was a secondary character introduced late in the game.
But that's kind of the point of the show, isn't it?
The title Clickbait refers to the shiny, sensationalized version of the truth that we all consume. We wanted it to be a massive conspiracy. We wanted it to be a dark web cult. Instead, it was just a sad woman and her enabler husband. It reflects how our online personas can spin out of control until they have real-world, lethal consequences for people who aren't even involved in the "click."
Key Players in the Deception:
- Nick Brewer: The victim of identity theft and a brutal murder.
- Dawn Gleed: The catfisher who stole Nick’s identity for emotional validation.
- Ed Gleed: The actual killer who struck the fatal blow to keep Dawn's secret.
- Simon Burton: The kidnapper who started the viral clock but ultimately let Nick go.
The investigation led by Detective Roshan Amiri was hindered by the very thing that makes the internet dangerous: too much noise. Everyone was looking at the 5 million views, but no one was looking at the metadata of a lonely woman's boring life.
Navigating Digital Safety After Clickbait
While Clickbait is a fictional thriller, the mechanics of the crime—identity theft and catfishing—are very real. The show serves as a grim reminder of how easily our digital footprints can be hijacked. Nick wasn't a "bad guy" in the way the internet judged him, but his lack of digital boundaries (letting a co-worker handle his devices) created the opening Dawn needed.
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To avoid being a victim of the "Nick Brewer" scenario, modern digital hygiene is non-negotiable.
- Audit your device permissions. Never let acquaintances or colleagues have unrestricted access to your personal phone or laptop. Use guest modes if you must share.
- Monitor your digital footprint. Regularly search your own name and images to see if they are being used in places they shouldn't be. Reverse image searches on Google or TinEye can help find fake profiles using your face.
- Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). It sounds basic, but it prevents people from "syncing" your data to their own devices without a code sent to your physical phone.
- Understand the legalities. Catfishing itself isn't always a crime, but identity theft and harassment are. If you find a fake profile, report it to the platform immediately and document the evidence.
The tragedy of who killed Nick in Clickbait isn't just about the murder. It's about how easily a person's entire character can be assassinated online before their body even hits the ground. If you're looking to watch more shows that explore this intersection of tech and crime, The Girl from Plainville or Black Mirror (specifically the episode "Shut Up and Dance") offer similar, though perhaps more grounded, takes on how the internet ruins lives.
Check your privacy settings tonight. Seriously.
Next Steps for True Crime Fans
If you've finished Clickbait and need something with a similar "internet mystery" vibe, start the documentary Don't F**k with Cats on Netflix. It explores how online sleuths actually tracked down a killer, showing the "hero" side of the internet that Clickbait mostly ignores. Alternatively, if you want more fictional drama centered on hidden secrets, The Stranger (also on Netflix) is the perfect follow-up.
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Verify your social media privacy settings and ensure no "legacy" devices—old tablets or laptops you gave away—are still logged into your primary accounts. This simple step can prevent the kind of data syncing that allowed Dawn Gleed to ruin Nick's life.