- Yao and Delilah join the Peace Corps at the end of “Nine Perfect Strangers”
- The director said one alternative outcome was that they entered another throuple.
- “We ultimately dismissed that, even though it made me laugh,” he told Insider.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
When the “Nine Perfect Strangers” writers grappled with how to tie up Delilah and Yao’s story, they brainstormed multiple outcomes for the couple. One of the most memorable, according to director Jonathan Levine, was to put them in another throuple, or a relationship between three people.
On the David E. Kelley limited series, the two wellness consultants (played by Manny Jacinto and Tiffany Boone) are employed at Tranquillum House. Both partners have sexual relationships with their boss, Masha (Nicole Kidman).
So when the writers debated Yao and Delilah’s fate following their departure from the upscale retreat in the finale, they considered replacing Masha in their relationship with a different third party.
“We had one situation where we ended with them, and they were in another throuple with another person,” Levine told Insider. “We ultimately dismissed that, even though it made me laugh.”
In their final scene, Yao and Delilah are part of the Peace Corps together as a couple.
“They are people who want to help people. I think that finding a healthier way to help people was always what we hoped for them,” Levine explained.
The director, who brought all eight episodes of the series to the screen, said there was also contention about whether or not Yao and Delilah should be together at all, considering the negative turn their relationship took in the latter half of the show.
“For me, they complemented each other in this beautiful way,” he said, continuing, “Ultimately they just needed to be away from the drama of that place and help people in a way that is a little less loaded.”
Though the guests and employees at Tranquillum House go their separate ways, they all get their own happy ending, at least in Levine’s opinion.
“For all these people, all I root for is that they’re able to shed their past baggage and move forward fresh,” he said, continuing, “I was very happy with where everyone ended up, and I really did want to show that everyone was moving on.”
“Nine Perfect Strangers” is currently available to stream on Hulu.