WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Madness.
Colman Domingo’s Netflix conspiracy thriller seriesThe Madnessleaves several unanswered questions and mysteries by its end. Created by playwright Stephen Belber ofThe Laramie ProjectandTapeacclaim,The Madnessfollows Muncie Daniels' rapidly unraveling life after discovering a dead bodyin a remote cabin neighboring his wooded rental home. AlthoughThe Madnesspulls a lot of inspiration from reality, or at least reality-based people and ideologies found in the modern American social and political climates, theNetflix limited series is not based on a true story.
Colman Domingo leads thecast ofThe Madnessalongside John Ortiz, Deon Cole, Marsha Stephanie Blake, and Tamsin Topolski. ThroughoutThe Madness,Muncie is a CNN contributor who believes he’s being set up for murder. He must rely on support from his family and a few helpful sources to clear his name. By theend ofThe Madness, Muncie tries to enact revenge on a mysteriousshadowy figure named Rodney Kraintz. He connects a dark web between Kraintz, Revitalize, andThe Forge, which is an armed extremist groupled by the online thought leader known asBrother 14, aka Mark Simon.
At face value, Domingo doesn’t feel like the first choice to star in a “reality-based” conspiracy series likeThe Madness, which initially adds promise to the series' premise. Muncie’s character calls for a measured portrayal of an industry-trained media professional who puts his career as a part-time CNN contributor ahead of his family while attempting to distance himself from the notorious legacy of his activist father.The Madnesspresents common hot-button issues that divide Americans today, some mainstream and others quite out there, and characterizes some extreme pockets of topical radical thought but leaves some key intrigues open for interpretation.
10Who Was Following Muncie In The Black Car?
It could be more Revitalize personnel
One of the biggest unanswered questions in the final moments ofThe Madnessis who wasfollowing Muncie and spying on him and his family while they were having a family BBQin a park. By this point in the series, Muncie has completely given up his life as a political contributor and media personality and started his career as a high school teacher. Another indication that some time has passed is Elena’s full recovery, who appears in the final scene of the series.
The people in the black car could be more Revitalize personnel who are working for Rodney Kraintz’s replacement and who are keeping tabs on Muncie. Even though Kraintz is dead, other investors and bigwigs at Revitalize know exactly who Muncie is, especially after he attacked the biotech company on CNN. Alternatively,the black car could just be a random person who isn’t tracking Muncie at all, which would allude to Muncie’s paranoia and his difficulty letting go of “The Madness.”
9Will Muncie & Elena Get Back Together?
The final shot implies that they will
Another unanswered question at the end ofThe Madnessis whether Muncie and Elena will get back together. At this point, Elena has proven that she still loves Muncie and, as Demetrius points out, even killed for him.Muncie has been a slower learner in the family department throughout the seriesbut he did step away from being a career-obsessed media contributor to put an end to “the madness.” There’s a chance that Elena finally believes that he has changed for the better and is ready to be a family man once again. It appears that Elena is willing to give Muncie another shot in the end.
8Why Was Rodney Kraintz Alone In His Office?
A billionaire without private security?
It’s somewhat shocking and ridiculous that a billionaire like Rodney Kraintz would not have security personnel on him at all times, especially when he’s in his highly valuable and secretive office masquerading as a sketchy abandoned warehouse. Still, Muncie is able to break in through a side door and have Kraintz alone all to himself. The biggest question here is what happened to the two guards in the black Porsche who dropped him off in the first place. They just drove off and left him wide open withzero security even after Daniels had just been on CNN calling Kraintz out directly by name. Kraintz wasn’t trying to set Daniels up or anything, so the logistics here are quite confusing.
7Why Exactly Did Lucie Simon Betray The Forge?
It’s unclear whether she will face legal consequences
Lucie has a bit of a moral crisis in the final episode ofThe Madness, which ends in her reporting the PA branch of The Forge directly to the FBI. Lucie turns over evidence of The Forge’s plans for domestic terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, and more. Lucie knew many of The Forge’s members personally and admits she was a part of it. Herreasoning for turning them in was basically guilt; it was her version of stepping away from “the madness.”
Still, Lucie shows empathy for them, saying the group is just the result of “people f–king with people.” She also tells The Forge about Kraintz’s location, which is how Bobby finds him and kills him in the end.So, which side is Lucie on?She says she wants everyone to pay, including herself, and throws everyone under the bus. It’s unclear whether she will face legal consequences, even as a whistleblower.
6What Did Muncie Accomplish With His CNN Speech?
Muncie’s monologue didn’t really do what he thought it would
Muncie’s big CNN monologue seems like it really had no effect on anything, despite the theatrics and the big mic drop moment when he says “no more madness.” CNN kind of brushes him off and calls him delusional afterward and no one in the series talks to him about it besides his son, who thinks it was a weak effort at justice.Muncie very publicly calls out Rodney Kraintz and law enforcement still does nothing about it, which begs the question: who exactly was Muncie speaking to? Muncie’s lawyer, Kwesi Dupree, told him that going on CNN would be the best way to get Kraintz off his back, which didn’t work either. Muncie’s CNN speech didn’t really do what he thought it would.
5How Did Demetrius Find Muncie’s Gun In The Kitchen?
Muncie cleverly hid it in a kitchen pot
Demetrius rather conveniently finds Muncie’s gun hidden inside a pot in a kitchen drawer. The series doesn’t explain how Demetrius found the gun in the first place or, more importantly, how he knew how to use it.Demetrius potentially had no clue how to use a gunbut that didn’t stop him from going after Kraintz with it the second he had the chance. It’s a bit of a forgivable plot jump but the series would arguably have benefited by including Demetrius’s reaction to finding the gun after sweeping the house for it. The kitchen pot was a pretty clever place to hide it and apparently Demetrius is even more clever than his old man.
4What Happened To Bobby After He Killed Kraintz?
Bobby wasn’t wearing a mask so he probably got caught
It would have been satisfying to know what happened to Bobby after he killed Rodney Kraintz in broad daylight. It’s probably safe to assume that Bobby got caught but the news report that announced Kraintz’s death did not mention anything about a murder suspect. Instead, they called Kraintz an act of “poetic justice.” Bobby wasn’t even wearing a mask, which is quite shocking. Given that fact, it’s a near certainty that he got apprehended by the police. If so,he would serve a life sentence or potentially receive a death sentence, which is still a valid legal penalty in the state of Pennsylvania, for first-degree murder.
3Did Julia Jayne Kill YouTuber Laura Jennings?
While it’s never formally stated in the series, Julia Jayne is the most likely culprit in the murder of YouTuber Laura Jennings, who was working with Mark Simon before he got killed to expose Revitalize. It’s not completely clear whether Jayne was the one who killed Jennings, but FBI agents inThe Madnessepisode 8 reveal that they found an injectable substance that triggers a heart attack-like response among Jayne’s belongings. Regardless,Jennings was 100% taken out by Rodney Kraintz’s orders to protect Revitalize, so whoever pulled the trigger or injected the substance doesn’t necessarily matter all that much.
2What Exactly Is Revitalize?
A massive tech company with deep pockets
Revitalize is an environmental biotech company that bought political influence and paid online influences like Brother 14 to spread misinformation and propaganda that would ultimately benefit them.Revitalize’s main objective is to gain full control of environmental deregulation in the United States, which is how people like Mark Simon and other online influencers and thought leaders can help sway political and social opinions for their gain.
To Revitalize, which is likely a massive tech company with a high market cap, Mark Simon was just one of potentially thousands of online puppets who accepted their money to spin information and further their political and financial agendas. Even thoughRodney Kraintz appears to be high up at Revitalize, he may not be as all-powerful as he seemswhen Mucnie finally confronts him at the end of the series. Like Mark, Rodney only serves a specific function in the dynamic ecosystem of Revitalize’s network.
1What Will Happen To The Forge?
Bobby’s arrest could spark a revolution
The Forge extends much further than the group of men in the house shown inThe Madness. Apparently, they are a nationwide organization with an outreach that connects Mark Simon’s 5 million online followers. This means that if they ever chose to band together in reality,they would be an incredibly dangerous threat to American domestic stability. Bobby’s potential arrest after the events ofThe Madnesscould theoretically spark a revolution, which seems to be what The Forge wanted all along. This subplot may have been more interesting to explore than Muncie repairing his family issues inThe Madnessfinale, as it leaves one of the biggest question marks in the series.
The Madness
Cast
Muncie Daniels is a political consultant-turned-TV pundit who may have lost his way in life. While on a work sabbatical in the Poconos to write the great American novel, Muncie finds himself the only witness to the murder of a well-known white supremacist, and now he’s being framed for the crime. Muncie is forced to go on the run in a desperate fight to clear his name and unravel a global conspiracy before time runs out. Along the way he’ll reconnect with his family, find unlikely allies, and fight against disinformation in a post-truth age.
