Pratik Handore
Hulu’s ‘Jagged Mind’ is a psychological thriller movie directed by Kelley Kali and focuses on a young woman named Billie. After crossing paths with the mysterious Alex, Billie begins to experience disturbing visions. Alex and Billie start a relationship, but it quickly stagnates. As a result, Billie realizes that she is stuck in a series of time loops that force her to live the same moments of her life repeatedly. Billie desperately tries to uncover the mystery behind her blackouts and searches for a way to escape the time loop. Hence, viewers must be wondering whether Billie succeeds or fails in her quest at the end of ‘Jagged Mind.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Jagged Mind Plot Synopsis
‘Jagged Mind’ follows Billie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers of ‘Legends of Tomorrow‘), a young woman who lives in the Littel Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida, and works at an art gallery. Billie wakes up after a night out and does not recollect the previous events. She speaks with her friend, Kim (Kate Szekely), and they discuss Billie experiencing early symptoms of dementia since her mother also had the disease. Billie visits a bar and experiences a deja vu moment when she meets a woman at the bar. After flirting with the woman, Billie leaves to attend an art exhibition opening curated by her ex-girlfriend, Christine (Rosaline Elbay of ‘Kaleidoscope‘). Later, Billie and Christine hook up despite being broken up.
Billie experiences another one of the deja vu moments and finds herself back in the bar where the woman she flirted with introduces herself as Alex (Shannon Woodward of ‘Westworld.’). However, Billie once again leaves the bar to attend the art exhibition, where she meets artist Rose Porter, who tries to remind her of the events Billie cannot recollect. It is evident that Billie is stuck in a time loop when she once again finds herself at the bar speaking with Alex. However, this time Billie asks Alex to come with her to the art exhibition, and they hit it off. Meanwhile, Rose becomes disturbed when she sees Alex with Billie.
Soon, Alex and Billie start dating, and Billie tells Alex about her frequent memory loss, which makes it difficult for her to maintain a relationship. In exchange, Alex reveals she was engaged, but her partner thought they weren’t right for each other and cheated on her. Alex implies she is serious about her relationship with Billie, but the latter wants to take things slow. Billie has another blackout that lands her in the hospital, where a doctor checks her. However, the doctor explains that his readings do not show any signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Alex gifts Billie a collection of their pictures on a date night, and she promises to protect Billie’s memories. As Alex and Billie toast to make their relationship official, Billie envisions Alex being rude to the waiter before she blackouts again. Alex puts Billie to sleep at night before collecting a blood sample. Billie starts having more visions of Alex not being herself, believing her partner hides her true personality. The same becomes evident when Alex and Billie visit Kim, and Alex creates a rift between Billie and Kim by telling lies.
Another severe blackout incident lands Billie in the hospital, and Alex insists they move in together. However, Billie realizes something is fishy about Alex’s strange behavior and discovers her connection with Rose. When Billie tracks down Rose for answers, she finds the artist has died. However, she sees a wooden box appearing in her vision and collects it before returning home. Billie confronts Alex about her connection with Rose, and the two women get into a fight, leading to Billie throwing Alex out of her house. Billie goes through the box’s contents and uncovers the truth about her blackouts, visions, and deja vu moments.
Jagged Mind Ending: Does Billie Break the Time Loop?
After going through the box, Billie discovers that Alex is causing her blackouts. She is using a special crystal powered by Billie’s blood that can be used to rest time, creating a loop. Alex has trapped Billie in a time loop, and the constant resetting of the events is causing blackouts and memory loss for Billie. A video of Rose and Papa Juste, who had been looking out for Billie all along, reveals the process that Alex is using. Rose explains that she was dating Alex, but things went sideways, and she used the crystal to keep their relationship going. However, Alex learned about the crystal and is now using it to trap Billie in a toxic and manipulative relationship that she cannot escape.
At last, Rose instructs Billie to reset time before either of them meets Alex and return the crystal to Papa Juste, who owns a relics store. Billie learns the truth about her relationship with Alex. Alex and Billie visit a vacation house where Billie regains all her memories that Alex erased. Billie and Alex were once in a happy relationship, but the romance fizzled out because of Alex’s erratic behavior. They were also engaged at one point, but Billie broke off the engagement and hooked up with Christine. However, Alex repeatedly used the crystal to restart their relationship and perfect it by correcting her mistakes.
In the final moments, Alex admits to killing Billie several times and then resetting the timeline. However, Billie, who is now aware of the crystal and how to use it, takes charge of her situation. She lures Alex in by pretending to be weak and attacks her with the broken wine bottle. Thus, Billie kills Alex and finally breaks the time loop she was trapped inside. However, the time loop is merely a metaphor for Alex’s manipulations and toxic patterns that repeat over time. Ultimately, Billie successfully escapes the disastrous relationship and uses Alex’s blood to reset the timeline. Thus, the film highlights the pitfalls of toxic behavioral patterns that can harmfully affect those in a relationship.
What Does Billie Do With the Crystal? Are Christine and Rose Dead or Alive?
After killing Alex, Billie uses her knowledge of the crystal’s powers to reset the timeline. She uses Alex’s blood and the incantations taught to her by Rose’s notes to turn back time, returning herself and others to a period when she and Alex had not crossed paths. In her misguided quest to engineer the perfect relationship with Billie, Alex had killed Christine and propped up a false story of the latter moving to Bali. Since Christine was destined to hook up with Billie, Alex saw her as a threat and removed her from the board.
Similarly, Rose was trying to help unlock Billie’s erased memories and help her break the time loop. When Rose came dangerously close to revealing the truth to Billie, Alex killed her. However, with Billie resetting the timeline, Christine and Rose are alive. In the final moments, Billie attends the opening of Rose’s art exhibition and firmly turns down Christine’s advances, ending their tumultuous relationship for good. However, despite resetting the timeline, Billie does not complete all of Rose’s instructions.
The final scene sees Billie returning the wooden box to Papa Juste but keeping the crystal to herself, which glows in her purse. Thus, the ending implies that Billie will use the crystal to create a perfect relationship for herself, and her conversation with Kim over the phone suggests the same. Ultimately, the trend of the victim becoming the abuser because of the crystal and its powers is likely to continue, with Billie keeping the crystal in her possession. As a result, the final scene indicates the trauma of a toxic relationship. It highlights Billie’s desire to feel powerful, as her previous relationships left her feeling weak and powerless.
Read More: What Is the Crystal? Time Loop, Explained
