![of Do Mélanie and Ludo Die in Vortex? [Spoiler]](https://thecinemaholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Tamal-photo.jpg?w=26&h=26&crop=1){kind=small}
Tamal Kundu
Netflix’s French sci-fi thriller series ‘Vortex’ tells the story of Ludovic Béguin, or Ludo (Tomer Sisley), a 52-year-old veteran detective working for the Brest police department. In 2025, when certain aspects of technology have progressed further than we are accustomed to, Ludo investigates the death of a woman whose body was found on the beach where his wife, Mélanie (Camille Claris), died 27 years ago. While using VR technology to assess the crime scene, Ludo encounters Mélanie from 1998, about ten days before she is set to meet her tragic fate. After successfully testing whether they can alter the future, Ludo and Mélanie try to find a way to prevent her death. If you are wondering whether they survive in the first season of ‘Vortex,’ we got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD
Does Mélanie Die?
No, Mélanie doesn’t die in the first season of ‘Vortex.’ He is a promising judge, so she has access to law enforcement and the legal system to investigate her impending death. However, her actions in the past cause the butterfly effect, drastically altering the timeline, and no one except Ludo seems to have any idea of it. When Ludo and Mélanie decide to experiment on whether they can change the future, Ludo comes up with an idea. The 1998 part takes place during the Soccer World Cup, which France won. In the main timeline, Mélanie watches the game at the home of Ludo’s friend and colleague, Nathan, and Ludo has a photo in 2025 to prove it. He suggests that if Mélanie doesn’t attend, she will not be in the photograph, proving that they can change the future.
As mentioned above, the test is successful, but Ludo soon discovers it has unforeseen consequences. For instance, at this gathering, Nathan was supposed to meet Flo, his future wife. But as she came with Mélanie in the original timeline, she doesn’t in this one. And now, Flo is a divorced woman with a child, and Nathan is a life-long bachelor.
Mélanie learns that in the past 15 years, Ludo has rebuilt his life. He met an Afghan refugee named Parvana, who is a nurse and a few years younger than him. They now have a son together, Sam. Parvana also raised Mélanie’s daughter with Ludo, Juliette, or Juju. Wanting to see the woman who effectively replaced her in the lives of her family, Mélanie brings Parvana for questioning about a drug ring. This causes a ripple effect, resulting in a new timeline where Ludo is no longer married to Parvana, Sam doesn’t exist, and Juju is a slacker.
Ultimately, Mélanie fixes things on her end. After going through a list of suspects, which includes even Nathan, Ludo and Mélanie realize across time that Hector, a childhood friend of Mélanie, is responsible for at least four deaths in 27 years. Hector was infatuated with Mélanie, and she was his first victim. In the climactic scene, Mélanie kills Hector, saving all of his victims.
Does Ludo Die?
No, Ludo doesn’t die in the first season of ‘Vortex.’ In the season finale, Ludo and Mélanie figure out her murderer’s identity on the day she is supposed to be killed. Ludo confronts Hector and nearly chokes him to death until Hector’s son appears behind him, screaming for his father. Hector later attacks Ludo from behind in a washroom and stabs him with a shard of glass. Even though Ludo dies, as Mélanie kills Hector in the past, that timeline is erased. This means all of Hector’s victims, including Ludo, are alive. It also means that Hector’s children no longer exist.
As Ludo discovers, he is married to Parvana, and Sam also exists in this timeline. But Juju is resentful of him. After being on the run for 15 years, Mélanie came out of hiding to see her daughter, and Ludo played a role in her arrest. Juju is now a lawyer instead of a doctor, a choice she likely made inspired by her mother’s case.
Toward the end of the season, Ludo visits Mélanie in prison, and she realizes that this is the version of Ludo, who knows everything. As tears stream down their faces, they interlock their fingers, unlike all those times when they were speaking through the vortex and couldn’t touch each other.
