Glitter Ending, Explained: Does Pola Start Her Perfume Business?

Netflix’s ‘Glitter’ is a period drama show which follows a few women who strive to fulfill their desires and lead lives the way they want. Set in the 1970s in Sopot, Poland, the Polish drama is about Helena, Pola, and Marysia, three women who have to fight against the patriarchal system and the stereotypes associated with women and take what’s truly theirs. Helena is a sex worker who works with the Polish Secret Service.

Pola is also a sex worker trying to start her shampoo business. Marysia is on her way to completing graduation and aims to live a luxurious life. The three women’s pursuits form the series’ central premise. Towards the end, how Helena, Pola, and Marysia’s arcs conclude leaves us with questions about their future. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of Netflix’s ‘Glitter.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!

Glitter Recap

At the beginning of ‘Glitter,’ Helena goes on an assignment where she has to sleep with Tomas, a French journalist from Paris. Adam, who works in the Polish Secret Service, suspects the man might be a threat to the Polish People’s Republic. Pola, a sex worker, tries to sell shampoo at a parlor but later learns that her business license is in trouble. Marysia meets Jurek, who runs an illegal currency exchange. As the narrative progresses, Helena’s surveillance task on Tomas increases, but she begins to have feelings for him. Seeing Helena slowly fall for Tomas, Adam gets jealous and tries to hurt her in different ways emotionally. Tomas seems to reciprocate Helena’s feelings and asks her to come with him and leave everything behind.

Meanwhile, Marysia begins to like Jurek but doesn’t appreciate it when he tries to control her. Jurek and Marysia meet his parents, and the former lies about Marysia’s personality, what she does, and essentially everything. The incident causes a rift between the two, and Marysia stops talking to him. Marysia realizes she needs to earn respect for herself irrespective of her job and tries to get that. But Helena advises Marysia that she will not get respect if she insults people. Instead, if she is a sex worker, she can choose whom to sleep with, which will help her gain people’s respect and earn a decent amount of money.

Pola tries to sell her shampoo to other people and start her own business to leave sex work once and for all. Soon, Pola realizes that the government revoked her license, and she does not have any other means to work. After the incident, Pola learns of a woman named Karmen who plans to start a perfume business.

Pola jumps at the opportunity and tries to start a business in collaboration with Karmen and Waldek. The latter is a government officer who promised to release Pola’s shampoo business license in exchange for sex but didn’t do so. Despite the difference, Pola partners with him, but Wladek’s father-in-law becomes another obstacle to accomplishing the dream. Thus, the three ladies’ (Helena, Pola, and Marysia’s) fate hangs in the balance. So, let us take you through how everything ends with the protagonists.

Glitter Ending: Does Pola Start Her Perfume Business?

Yes, Pola starts her perfume business in partnership with Zbysek, who works in the government’s Security department. In the series, Pola goes through many difficulties since she’s a sex worker and a single mother. When she first approaches Wladek to review her documents correctly, the man asks for a sexual favor in exchange for her license. With Helena’s help, Pola concedes and gets pictures of the two sleeping together. When Wladek says there are several complications, the single mother threatens the officer with the pictures. But, he says that his father-in-law will have his back and nobody will buy Pola’s shampoo after the photos come out. Soon, Pola’s license gets permanently revoked too.

So, Pola goes to Wladek’s wife, Basia, to expose the latter’s husband, but Basia is already aware. Although Basia seems indifferent toward Pola because of her profession, she helps Pola. Basia says Waldek and a Polish expat named Karmen will soon start a perfume business, and Pola can join it. So, Pola manages to get in on the partnership and ignores Wladek’s previous actions. Meanwhile, Wladek gets closer to Pola’s son, Jozek, and the two begin to share a bond. Unable to witness this, Pola’s mother, Anna, takes Jozek away. Pola continues with her partnership, but Wladek’s father-in-law asks her to drop out of the deal in exchange for the license for her shampoo business license.

Basia and her father threaten the three business partners at a dinner party: Karmen, Wladek, and Pola. Following this, Pola breaks her partnership with Karmen because the former doesn’t want to always listen to Karmen. Pola does patch up with Wladek, whose wife, Basia, decides to leave him. Later, Basia meets Pola and says that she wants to be Pola’s partner. Basia asks her to talk to a secret service officer, and Pola takes her advice. The latter goes to meet with Zbysek, who initially declines the offer, but later accepts it. Pola kisses him and tries to advance further, but Zbysek stops. As he walks out, one of his men comes in and says that Pola can make and sell perfume and he will keep a watch on everything.

Although the final shot of Pola’s triumphant look shows that she finally made her dream come true, we do not know who will be involved in the business. Karmen and Wladek likely won’t be in on the partnership, and here’s why. When Pola joins Karmen and Wladek, she still seems to have reservations because of how Karmen treats Pola the first time they see each other and how Wladek has already treated her in the past. In another scene, when the three go to finalize their base for operations, Karmen and Wladek like the place, but Pola doesn’t. Pola wants to look at a better place, but Karmen dismisses her suggestion by emphasizing how Karmen and Wladek are taking care of the investment.

Pola feels put down and perhaps realizes she will always be a subservient partner to the two. The emotion seems to surface when Pola asks Karmen why she has to listen to Karmen all the time and breaks the partnership. Although Pola’s relationship with Wladek improves, the probability of her working with Wladek is less. Pola might feel that their power dynamic will persist irrespective of how good their dynamic becomes. So, Pola might not want to get into that situation again.

Pola might not work with Basia because of her swaying nature. In the film, we see Basia be supportive of her husband, despite knowing of his actions. But later, Basia turns indifferent towards him and proposes that Pola and herself can start the perfume business and leave Wladek out. Although Pola takes Basia’s advice and talks to the person working in security, she might not make Basia a partner.

From the beginning, Pola wants to start her own business and leave behind everything about her work and life. If she includes Basia, Karmen, or Wladek as a partner, her previous life will linger in some form. Thus, to reiterate, we believe Pola starts a business in partnership with Zbysek and most likely does not involve Wladek, Karmen, and Basia.

Why Does Adam Give Helena Her Passport? What Will She do With it?

Adam gives Helena her passport because he loves her and wants her to be happy even if she doesn’t love him. In the film’s beginning, Adam feels entitled to Helena’s presence and behavior toward him. Helena entertains all her requests and completes his assignments without too many questions. Things between Adam and Helena change when Adam sends Helena for a job that involves Tomas, the French journalist.

Helena begins to have feelings toward Tomas, and Adam cannot stand that. Adam tries to do everything in her power to trouble Helena emotionally and make her uncomfortable in different ways. But Adam’s every action seems to push Helena closer to Tomas. Ultimately, Adam tries to convince her that Tomas knows Helena is working for the secret service. Adam tries to prove that he cares for Helena and burns the contractual letter she wrote several years ago. In the letter, Helena states that she will collaborate with the Polish Secret Service. Adam asks Helena for one last favor to catch Tomas, but Helena refuses to continue.

Following the incident, we see Helena talk to Tomas and ask him about his job. Tomas says he writes and has a few other jobs because he doesn’t reveal much about his other gigs. Helena realizes Tomas might be up to something, so she decides to help Adam one last time in exchange for a passport with which she can leave the country. Earlier, Helena and Tomas had planned on leaving the country, but Adam reminded the former that she didn’t have a passport.

For her final task, Helena wears a bug and meets Tomas. The police aim to catch him as he confesses his crimes to Helena. Instead of trying to accomplish this, Helena reveals the microphone to Tomas, who leaves quietly. Even though Helena fails the mission, Adam gives her the passport. The action seems to follow a pattern we have seen over the ten episodes. When Helena gets close to Tomas and Staszek, Adam becomes jealous. Since Adam cannot do much about Tomas, he takes Starszek hostage and asks him to stay away from Helena. After trying everything, Adam confesses that he had hoped Helena would like him one day, but that isn’t the case. So, Adam gives the passport to Helena to leave everything behind.

Do Helena and Tomas End Up Together?

Helena and Tomas most likely do not end up together. After Helena reveals the microphone, Tomas leaves the place in a hurry because he doesn’t want to get caught. Tomas doesn’t tell where he’s going next to Helena. Thus, it will become difficult for Helena to find Tomas if she tries. Like in Pola’s case, if Helena does end up with Tomas, she wouldn’t have a completely fresh start away from everything. The Polish Secret Service might be behind Tomas, and if they catch up to him, Helena will face problems too. But, the series surrounds Helena and the other women and how they make their dreams a reality. Thus, it is likely that Helena will go to some other country, thus gaining her freedom but losing Tomas.

Why Does Marysia Agree to Work with Adam?

Marysia wants to control the assignments she chooses and those she doesn’t. Marysia takes advice from Helena and decides to sleep only with those with whom she’ll have sex for free. Thus Marysia will come off as authentic and hence will get paid more. From the first time we see Marysia, we know she’s a street-smart person. How she steals undergarments from a store and gets into the luxurious hotel indicates Marysia’s clever nature.

When Marysia meets Jurek, she doesn’t like how he controls her. Jurek buys her several things and calls the gestures an investment in her. Apart from this, he makes her wear a certain dress that doesn’t represent her personality and takes Marysia to meet his parents. At Jurek’s parents’ place, the man lies about Marysia, which the latter doesn’t like. So Marysia spills the complete truth and later stops talking to Jurek. In another instance, Jurek makes Marysia sleep with another couple. Marysia agrees only on the condition that Jurek will watch. When she sees him get jealous and angry at what he sees, Marysia likely enjoys it.

The various instances indicate how Marysia is pretty smart and will not budge at someone else’s behest. When Marysia approaches Adam to work with the secret service, he tries to make her do something she doesn’t want to do. Adam is persistent about Marysia eating a specific dish and taking up an assignment that involves a dangerous man. So, Marysia walks out of the room because she doesn’t have a choice. Later, when Adam says Marysia can choose her assignments, it indicates she has power and control over what she wants to do and who she wants to sleep with. Thus, Marysia takes up the offer because it’s all she wants right from the film’s beginning.