Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Tosca Musk, ‘Afterburn/Aftershock Closed Door’ follows Gianna Rossi, who climbs up the corporate ladder after much hard work and becomes an irreplaceable part of the famous Savor company. And the last thing she expects in a business meeting is to see Jackson “Jax” Rultedge, her lover from years ago, who ghosted her. Though he wants to renew their relationship, Gia suspects something is at play. She is not entirely wrong either, as Jax uses everything possible from their interactions together to get a deal with a client they both have.
However, instead of being offended, Gia decides to play his game, and soon the line between fun and emotions blurs. Adapted from Sylvia Day’s novel ‘Afterburn/Aftershock,’ the romance movie gradually builds up to a climax that brings years’ worth of fears and insecurities to a close, but whether Gia and Jax’s relationship can survive this phase remains in doubt. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Afterburn/Aftershock Plot Synopsis
‘Afterburn/Aftershock Closed Door’ begins with Gia, a budding businesswoman, making her way to an interview at the prestigious Sevor restaurant managing company. Her interview doesn’t exactly go as planned, though, as the boss, Lei Yung, whittles her down from the very first sentence. As a powerful comeback, though, Gia semi-correctly guesses about things from Yung’s past, especially the parts she’s never shared with the world before. Nonetheless, Gia gets rejected and has to walk back to her family’s Italian shop, Rossi’s, only to be later paid a surprise visit by none other than Lei herself. This time, she offers Gia a job. and a chance to prove herself. From there, the story jumps two years forward, and Gia is now a successful businesswoman in her own right, serving as Lei’s right hand.
When one of Sevor Company’s biggest potential clients, Sam, indicates doubt about going forward with them, both Yung and Gia have to arrive personally. There, Yung learns that they are eyeing a competitor company, led by Pembry, who has a bitter history with Yung of his own. To make things much more complicated, Pembry ‘s associate, Jax, recognizes Gia as the person he once had a passionate one-night stand with. Gia soon recognizes him as well, and though she avoids eye contact at all costs, Jax eventually corners her and asks for the sexual relationship to be resumed. Gia doesn’t pay much attention to this, though, as for now they are professional rivals first, and former partners second.
Though Gia had feelings for Jax at one point, the fact that he essentially ghosted her years ago doesn’t seem to help. That said, it doesn’t take long for their new dynamic to take a steamy turn, with both Gia and Jax trying to outsmart each other, while also having sex. On one such occasion, Gia discovered that Jax had kept pictures of her from after their one-night stand, which goes to suggest that he was spying on her and might have had feelings as well. Confused as to why he left her at that time, Gia decides to hire a journalist to do some secret digging, just as her love story with Jax reaches a climax. Amidst familial disagreements and professional turbulence, both characters learn the true value of what they feel for each other.
Afterburn/Aftershock Ending: Do Jax and Gia End up Together?
‘Afterburn/Aftershock Closed Door’ ends with Jax and Gia getting married, bringing a happy end to what has been an incredibly bumpy romantic journey. Before all of this, Jax’s temporary disappearance from the narrative sows doubts about him ever coming back, especially since there is already a precedent for it. The entire story is premised on a one-night stand, after all, and for a moment, Gia truly considers that Jax might have left her yet again. However, the turn comes when Jax’s father storms into her house, revealing that Jax really is nowhere to be seen. To make things worse, he also appears to have abandoned his political responsibilities, which prompts his father to come to Gia, hoping to use her as a tool that can bring Jax back on track.
While the news about Jax’s disappearance fills Gia’s heart with unrest, she is more perplexed by the fact that his father seems only interested in his political ambitions. For him, Jax is nothing more than the face of a political quest, and in the moments where he should be worried about his son’s safety, the man only thinks about bringing him back for a selfish goal. This helps Gia truly understand what Jax meant about his family being evil, and, with that in mind, she decides to find Jax and give him the opposite message from what his dad intended. Instead of being bogged down by a cycle that he was born into, Jax can free himself and carve out his own life’s path, one where Gia walks with him side by side.
Though both Jax and Gia’s families initially cannot believe that they are with each other, by the end, the duo finds a sweet spot. At their wedding ceremony, all of Gia’s family is present, which means that in a short while, Jax has truly become one of them. Though we don’t know what direction their stories take beyond this point, it is clear that both characters will learn from each other and transform into someone even better. For Jax, this means shedding years’ worth of programming and learning to be kinder in a cut-throat world. For Gia, on the other hand, the lesson is to hear out other people’s voices and opinions at all times. Together, the two make a power couple unlike any other, and the story concludes that a happy journey awaits them.
Will Jax Leave Politics? What Really Happened to Jax’s Mother?
When Gia decides to go out looking for Jax, the last thing she ever expects is for him to be at a hotel, taking steps toward the same end goal as hers. As they embrace each other and confess their love once again, Jax proudly reveals that he is quitting politics for good. This, coupled with what we see in the final sequence, suggests that he severed all ties with his family outright and likely set out with his own business venture. Given that Gia is already quite successful and well-connected in the business world, it shouldn’t be hard for the two of them to become big names over time, but the real victory comes in how much healthier their relationship is now, with no big secrets or lifestyle differences separating the two of them.
A major reveal that brings Jax and Gia to an evolved stage in their relationship concerns Jax’s mother. While we are introduced to his stepmother around halfway into the film, Jax later reveals that his real mother was quite different. At one point, she was kind, warm, and fiercely intelligent, but upon facing the brutal realities of the political world of her husband, she slowly began to slip into a cycle of addiction. Over time, her alcohol abuse led to a significant shift in personality, to the point that she was declared mentally unstable and taken to a sanatorium. Traumatized by all of this, Jax fears that, deep down, he might repeat his father’s sins and force Gia onto the same path as his mother. By the end, however, he finds out the remedy to this internal crisis and reshapes his entire life for the better.
Does Gia Reconcile With Vincent? Does Deanna Drop the Story?
In getting back together with Jax, Gia also momentarily has to confront her brother Vincent, who believes from the start that Jax isn’t a good fit for her. Though we know Jax to be a compassionate man haunted by his own demons, from the outside, he still feels like a power-hungry, budding politician who will use whoever he sees fit as a tool for his own gains. Vincent occupies this perspective for most of the film, and with that in mind, it makes sense for him to come to such a conclusion. However, by the end of the film, he and Gia reconcile their differences and become close again, and a big part of that is embracing Jax as a part of the family. As Jax spends more time with them, it becomes clear to Vincent that his fears were unfounded and that Jax is not defined by his complicated past.
Though Vincent eventually comes around in terms of understanding who Jax truly is, not everyone shares the same interests. Some, like Deanna, only seek to build a narrative around him by using his own past as a noose of sorts. However, instead of just letting that happen, Gia decides to use Deanna’s own strengths against her. Early on in their conversations, Deanna mentions that she had to have sex with some truly influential people to get where she is in the world of journalism, and using that as a baseline, Gia gets her brothers to find compromising videos of Deanna. With that, she has a cruel, but compelling bargaining chip to stop Deanna from publishing Jax’s story, and though this seems as if she’s ripped a page from Jax’s family book of manipulation and control, ultimately it’s an act of love, that too for the greater good.
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