‘The Night Of’ killer theory: Is John Stone guilty?

We’re just days away from the final episode of HBO’s “The Night Of.” Needless to say, since the story began to unfold two months ago, the Internet has exploded with all sorts of theories regarding the identity of Andrea Cornish’s (Sofia Black D’Elia) would-be killer.

Is Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed) the one behind the brutal stabbing after-all? What’s the story with Duane Reade (Charlie Hudson III)? Could it be the creepy step-father? All these are valid questions, but we have one that might turn the whole case on it’s head: What if John Stone (John Turturro) is guilty?

Coming at this finale, we’re expecting a head slap-worthy bombshell of a twist and, while it’s safe to say Naz has not made the best decisions throughout his time in prison — he was all kinds of dumb outside of prison, too — placing the guilt on him after everything would just be a copout.

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What would be super interesting is the realization that his own attorney, of all people, was the one holding the blade. With that being said, here are three signs that John Stone could be the real murderer in “The Night Of.”

He’s an outsider

We know that this idea can come off a bit far-fetched, but think about it for a minute. Stone is an awkward loner who seems to connect right off the bat with Naz. We’ve seen glimpses of Stone’s family. His wife pities him and his son has done everything he can to maintain a big distance from his dad.

Not to mention, up until recently, Stone’s eczema has added to his inability to connect with people. But, he does have a suspected murderer as a friend, some prostitutes to cozy up to and a cat to think about. Yeah, about all that …

His taste in women

Multiple episodes have shown that Stone has a taste for prostitutes. It’s also been revealed that Andrea partook in her own night moves, so to speak.

In Episode 1, we get a brief glimpse at the different bottles of pills in Andrea’s apartment which was very reminiscent of the medicine collection Stone has at home. Is it possible that Stone developed a fixation on the young girl, and murdered her in a fit of rage the night she brought Naz home?

After last week’s episode, which found Det. Box (Bill Camp) investigating the killing of a prostitute — multiple stab wounds similar to Andrea’s murder — one has to wonder how innocent Stone really is.

Cat’s got his tongue

For someone that has a deep disdain for cats, John Stone seems pretty adamant about keeping Andrea’s pet around. For a while there, he was very concerned with the animal’s well-being at the shelter. Of course that seems like a normal reaction when an animal is sent into the pound with the clock on their life running out, but this wasn’t a typical display of concern. It was more like an obsession.

Let’s look at it this way … if Stone was somehow involved with Andrea and killed her in a crime of passion, then how out of the question would it be that he keep her cat around as an extension of her? Obsession isn’t a logical state of mind, and through his discomfort with the animal, he seems to have found an odd sense of peace.

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This brings us to the awkward interlude Chandra (Amara Karan) had with that creepy hearse driver. We don’t think he’s the murderer, but when he referred to the biblical story of Samson and Delilah — saying Andrea was “the cat and you the yarn” — it feels like that statement was a glaring symbol pointing audiences to the answer. The fact that the cat is still around and still relevant, makes us really question John Stone’s involvement in this whole scenario. Is he the yarn?

“The Night Of” airs its final episode on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.

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