Warning: This article contains spoilers for Another Simple Favor.Blake Lively’s Emily returned for Another Simple Favor, even though she was sent to prison in the original movie. The effortlessly chic mother with a dark secret was introduced in 2018’s A Simple Favor, which was adapted from the Darcey Bell novel of the same name and followed bubbly single mom Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) finding herself enmeshed in a web of death, lies, and betrayal when Emily befriends her and then disappears. The new movie, which debuted on Prime Video on May 1, features the return of director Paul Feig and screenwriter Jessica Sharzer (now co-writing with Laeta Kalogridis).

Alongside the crew’s return, many of the original stars have joined the Another Simple Favor cast. This includes Henry Golding as Emily’s husband Sean, Ian Ho as their son Nicky, Joshua Satine as Stephanie’s son Miles, and Bashir Salahuddin as Detective Summerville, alongside Andrew Rannells, Kelly McCormack, and Aparna Nancherla as fellow parents and the movie’s de facto Greek chorus Darren, Stacy, and Sona. Co-leads Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are also reprising their roles, though the beginning of the movie had to explain how Emily is back after being sent to prison at the end of the previous movie.

Dante’s Lawyers Helped Emily Get Released From Prison Early

His Family’s Money Helped Grease The Wheels

When Emily returns at the beginning of 2025’s Another Simple Favor and is asked how she has been freed, she shares that she is out on appeal, chalking up her release to the complications of the American legal system. However, as the story goes on, the truth behind the situation becomes less opaque. Although it was at first unknown who sent the team of expensive lawyers that arrived to argue her case, it is later made clear that they were paid by new character Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), whose wedding to Emily in Capri provides the movie with its core setting.

Dante is a character who is used to getting what he wants. Not only was he born into a rich family that has allowed him to wield power and influence since the death of his father at an early age, it is quickly revealed over the course of the movie that the Versanos are part of the Italian mafia. Their criminal empire allows them to circumvent a number of laws both in Italy and in the United States, as showcased in the scene where Dante’s mother Portia (Ricci) attempts to have Stephanie spirited away from her house arrest and ᴀssᴀssinated.

Why Charity Agrees To Pose As Emily In Prison In Another Simple Favor’s Ending

Her Relationship To Emily Is Complicated

Emily’s freedom from prison becomes even more complicated in the Another Simple Favor ending, which sees her long-lost triplet sister Charity (also portrayed by Blake Lively, who previously portrayed their third sister Faith in the original movie) agreeing to take her place, thus potentially allowing Emily to appear in a third movie, should it be greenlit by the studio. This also allows her to join the Versano empire, as shown in the final scene of the movie when she is approached by Portia. Charity gladly agrees to impersonate her sister, allowing these developments to happen, for a mulтιтude of reasons.

Charity is susceptible to Emily’s influence because she has nurtured a longtime attachment to her sisters, who thought she was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. While being kept in isolation by her Aunt Linda (Janney) for use in various cons, she has not only developed a romantic and Sєxual fascination with Emily, she has come to believe that their triplet connection makes them all one. Her agreement to the plan in the end of Another Simple Favor comes both as a result of her desire to please her sister and her genuine belief that they are interchangable, rendering her idenтιтy irrelevant to her imprisonment.