Highest 2 Lowest Ending Explained: Who is the Kidnapper?

Helmed by Spike Lee, Apple TV+’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ follows David King, once a titan in the music industry, whose company is now facing a slow but steady erasure. A new addition to his mountain of problems comes with a surprise ransom plot, threatening the things he cherishes the most. A chess game ensues between the protagonist and the kidnapper, complete with wild twists, sophisticated setpieces, and deceptively hidden clues. However, the process of finding justice soon takes a turn inwards, with David being forced to confront his identity and the changes it has endured over the years. In the end, this crime thriller movie ties music and drama together in a journey that is as high-octane as it is introspective. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Highest 2 Lowest Plot Synopsis

The story begins with David King, a music mogul and the founder of Stackin’ Hits Label, regretting many of his life’s choices. In a desperate attempt to put his company on the map, David had initially sold off most of his shares. At present, his music label is in decline, and he wishes to regain control in order to protect it from being sold off. He proposes buying one of his two partners’ shares to get a majority ownership, but that means procuring large sums of cash. David has a loving family comprised of his wife, Pam, and son, Trey, as well as his trusted right-hand man, Paul Christopher, and his son, Kyle. Things suddenly go south when Trey is kidnapped, with the captors demanding a ransom of 17 million dollars in Swiss Francs. Kyle goes missing as well, and, alarmed, the family contacts the police.

While David initially shows readiness to give the ransom and rescue his son, things get tricky when Trey is found completely unharmed. It turns out that the captors accidentally picked up Kyle, and this leaves Paul in shambles. With his son off the hook, David changes his tune and shows a reluctance to pay the ransom. However, after a full night of self-reflection, he agrees to make the deal. A tracker is planted inside the bag containing the cash, and David takes it to the supposed delivery point, the subway headed to Yankee Stadium. Upon reaching there, the captor commands the protagonist to get out and stand between two cars. At the critical moment, one of the kidnapper’s accomplices pulls the chain, bringing the train to a halt. In the commotion, David drops the bag containing all the cash, and the kidnapper takes hold of it and successfully escapes with his teammates.

Although Kyle returns to the family, David is still upset by the loss of money. He also has a good reason, as this means he can no longer pay his lenders back. As the money was originally taken for the company’s purposes, this exchange goes against the rules, and as a result, the lenders target his collateral, including the house. The protagonist manages to stall this for two months, but realizes he cannot recoup the money. When he tries to strike up a deal with his rival companies again, he is surprised to find a dead end. It turns out that the onlookers taped the ransom exchange, and it has since gone viral on social media. A boost to the founder’s social image emboldens his co-partners to invest in resuscitating the company’s image, derailing David’s plans further. At a loss, David returns his focus to the kidnappers, with his only clue being a song that Kyle listened to while he was held captive.

Highest 2 Lowest Ending: Who is Behind the Kidnapping?

In the end, the person who orchestrated the kidnapping plot is revealed to be a rapper named Archie AKA Yung Felon, a long-standing fan of David King. The protagonist is the first to figure out Yung Felon’s identity, as he matches the rapper’s voice in a song to the one he heard during the ransom calls. Ironically, the only reason David even listens to his song is due to a playlist curated by Trey, bringing the entire string of events full circle. Upon recognizing the voice, he rushes to talk to Kyle, who confirms Yung Felon as the voice behind the song he heard. However, this information alone does not convince the police to take action, prompting David to take matters into his own hands. Paul Christopher taps into his connections to quickly figure out Yung Felon’s location, and with that, the two partners embark on a revenge journey of their own.

When David and Paul reach Yung Felon’s residence, they are surprised to find his girlfriend, Rosa, instead. She recognizes David and immediately assumes that he is there to sign her partner. Here, we learn that Yung Felon has been a hip-hop artist for a long time and idolizes the protagonist as his chief influence. As our duo learns of the rapper’s criminal past, things get more serious. When David finds Pam’s bracelet on Rosa’s arm, he resolves to take on the challenge and get his things back. From there, David and Paul go to Yung Felon’s studio, but the former chooses to enter alone, explaining that this is his personal battle. When David finally confronts the rapper, he shows no remorse for his actions and instead confidently asserts the power he holds in this dynamic. However, the protagonist is not one to back down either, and proceeds to attack Yung Felon’s insecurities in a novel way: a rap battle.

Although Yung Felon is quick to churn out witty insults and rhyme them in perfect harmony, David flexes his talent and experience by easily outrapping his opponent and thus asserts his dominance. Though being an aggressive back-and-forth, the rap battle ends up bridging the two characters in a way. Yung Felon expresses the hardships he has had to endure and how, in that entire journey, he treated David as a father figure. However, despite having dipped his toes in the music industry very early on, he had yet to find any success. Worse, all his attempts to connect with David and Stackin’ Hits went to waste, leaving him isolated and unappreciated. His anger towards the music mogul takes him on a dark path, resulting in the kidnapping ploy that sets the entire narrative into motion. With enough money at his disposal, Yung Felon hopes to make a break for it, but is challenged by his very own idol.

Do David and Yung Felon Make a Deal?

When a chase ensues between David and Yung Felon, Paul Christopher grabs the short end of the stick, getting injured right in his eye. However, David has no time to stop, as Yung Felon makes his way to the subway. In a sequence that brings back the imagery of the previous setpiece set in the subway, the protagonist eventually narrows the rapper down at the tail end of the train. However, this time, he gains the upper hand and knocks Yung Felon unconscious. Notably, the rapper expresses suicidal intent moments before he is caught, which suggests that the money and everything that followed may not have been his real motivation in this entire fiasco. This question gets answered soon, as Yung Felon, now arrested and sensationalized, takes on a plea deal. He accepts a full twenty-five years in prison, in return for a single conversation with David.

When David sits down for a conversation with Yung Felon, the latter reveals that his real interest is in collaborating with his lifetime idol and minting money. This development comes as a shock to the protagonist, but the rapper continues, explaining that due to his stunt and the conspiracy that followed, he is now the most listened to artist in the world. This coincides with the boost that Stackin’ Hits has received as well, with many of the label’s songs coming up as chartbusters. Yung Felon emphasizes his desire for an exclusive deal, which makes the offer all the more appealing. However, in a striking turn of events, David turns down the offer, stating that he is no longer interested in producing music that chases money and attention over anything else.

David’s rejection comes as a shock to Yung Felon, and he tries to convince the protagonist to invest in the present, where attention and fanfare are the ruling elements in making a hit. While this makes the rapper a golden goose, it is precisely this detail that informs David’s decision. It also recalls a conversation he had with his wife at the start of the movie, about how he has effectively given in to the allure of money over simply appreciating good music. While he superficially maintains a stance against the rat race, it is Yung Felon’s actions that open his eyes to the artificiality of the social machinery around him. However, the rapper also brings some nuance into the equation by reminding David that he is merely the outcome of a system that David and his peers have created and perpetuated. Nonetheless, the music mogul’s attempt to break free from the cycle represents the first step towards change.

Why Does David Leave Stackin’ Hits? Does He Sign Sula?

David does not just stop at turning down Yung Felon’s tantalizing offer; instead, he goes a step further and quits Stackin’ Hits as a whole. His original plan was to regain control over the company to protect its creative identity. He realizes that in that process, he has lost his appetite for music itself and purely sees it as a part of his profession. To that end, his interest in protecting the music label has less to do with encouraging budding talents than with regaining his power over what he constructed from the ground up. This act also takes on a symbolic meaning when it is taken into consideration that Stackin’ Hits lives off of its legacy tracks. This detail can be interpreted as David quite literally clinging to his past success, and in the process ignoring a newer generation of artists, including Yung Felon.

With David’s decision to leave Stackin’ Hits comes a level of uncertainty, as starting from scratch in the modern era is quite the daunting task. However, this also comes as an opportunity to reconnect with his roots and appreciate the struggle that was required to get to the top. In light of this, David decides to create a new label that is smaller in scope and focuses more on independent talents from the obscure corners of the music world. In doing so, he gets ready to flex his fine ear and creative muscles once again and live up to the claim of having the bear’s ears in the game. This new endeavour also puts his affluent lifestyle at risk, but it is a far cry from his earlier conundrums. Following in his footsteps, Christopher Paul decides to go on a new journey as well, but both partners share a silent but mutual sense of respect, showing that David’s values did not go to waste.

At the start of the movie, Pam recounted the start of her relationship with David and how he used to meet her excitedly every morning and share the latest hidden gem he had found in the music industry. Although that sense is lost for much of the movie, the protagonist finds his footing again right at the end, when Sula performs a beautifully rendered track called “Highest to Lowest” for him. As the song goes on, David seems actually to respond to it with his heart, and lets the waves of emotions flow past him. Sula’s craft embodies the spirit of music that he had briefly lost contact with, but finally had in his grasp once again. To that end, she becomes the first artist under his new belt, kickstarting a new era for the music mogul. However, the journey is not easy, and David reminds her that while the signing comes with a lifetime of ups and downs, hard work is bound to be rewarded.

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