Tamal Kundu
The Polish film ‘Lesson Plan’ (also known as ‘Plan lekcji’) is a type of action thriller that feels simultaneously dated and sleek. Streaming on Netflix, the movie seems like a love letter to the golden days of machismo action flicks when the big screen was graced by the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, and Steven Segal. ‘Lesson Plan’ is directed by Daniel Markowicz, who is no stranger to the action genre, and revolves around Damian Nowicki (Piotr Witkowski), a martial artist and police officer who loses everything to vengeful criminals. After the death of his best friend in the hands of a drug ring that has flooded a high school with fentanyl, Damian decides to seek redemption and joins the said school as a replacement teacher for his late friend. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Lesson Plan. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Lesson Plan Plot Synopsis
The film begins with Damian working deep undercover. He is brought before the boss of the operation, who asks him why he seems twitchy. Damian really doesn’t, but this is definitely a way to make him uncomfortable. The boss then reveals that he knows that Damian is a police officer. As the boss’ goons attack Damian, he takes care of them fairly quickly, demonstrating that he is a skilled martial artist.
However, just as he goes to arrest the boss, the latter reveals that he has found out about his wife and has already sent people to take care of her. Horrified, Damian rushes back home and finds his wife’s body.
In the subsequent months, Damian descends into deep despair, finding solace in liqueur. Meanwhile, his best friend, Szymon, a history teacher at Jan Sobieski High School, discovers that one of his students died due to a fentanyl overdose and reaches out to Damian for help. Damian accepts his dinner invitation and visits Szymon’s home but declines to help him, urging him not to do anything and advising him to go to the proper authorities. Their conversation is overheard by Szymon’s son, Kamil. A few days later, Damian sees in the news that Szymon has been accused of supplying drugs to his students. After the death of one of those students, he apparently committed suicide. As Damian reels from being overwhelmed with grief, he realizes that his inaction ultimately caused this.
The death of his wife buried Damian in depression, but Szymon’s death has the opposite effect. He rushes to his late friend’s home and speaks to his widow and son before contacting someone to create fake Ids for him so he can infiltrate Jan Sobieski as a history teacher.
When Damian shows up for an interview, he discovers that the school’s reputation is so bad that he is the only applicant. Other teachers even advise him to find a job somewhere else. Principal Leszek Zamoyski at least seems welcoming and optimistic. He acknowledges that the school has problems but seems to hope that things will eventually get better. Leszek introduces Damian to Agata, the deputy principal and Polish Language teacher.
As Agata shows Damian around the school, she introduces him to other staff members, including Stefan, the chemistry teacher with a speech disorder. Damian also learns that the school has hired a security agency since the incident with Szymon. This agency is headed by Chmielski, whom Damian also meets on his first day at school.
Lesson Plan Ending: Who Is behind the Drug Operation?
On his first day in the class as a teacher, Damian encounters a young man who goes by the name Frogface. He is clearly older than the students there, and Damian throws him out of the classroom with the help of the security and Agata. Later that evening, he discovers that someone has sliced his tires. After he accepts a ride from one of his colleagues, they head to the parking area, where he finds Frogface and two of his lackeys assaulting Agata. Damian intervenes and beats the three goons up.
The following day, Damian arrives at the school to discover that the students and teachers alike have found out what has happened, and he suddenly has a lot of admirers, including Agata, who asks him out. They go for a drink before heading to Agata’s home. There, something Agata says triggers Damian’s memories of his wife, and the date ends abruptly.
Meanwhile, Frogface faces judgment from his gang after nearly getting caught. Zaro, one of the troubled teens, is the head of the group, and he is trying to recruit a new member, Mammoth. When Frogface begs for mercy, Zaro tells him it is out of his hands. This is when Chmielski arrives on his motorcycle, and it becomes clear that he and his security team are very much part of the drug operation. Chmielski ultimately lets Frogface live, but Mammoth breaks one of his (Frogface) legs to show that he can follow orders.
At school, Damian tries to speak to Kamil, who lashes out at him, holding the older man responsible for his father’s death. Damian accepts the responsibility and admits that he is at the school posing as a history teacher in order to get justice for Kamil’s father. They don’t exactly reconcile at this point, but things do get better.
After Kamil gets beaten up while trying to protect one of his classmates, Emilia. When Damian discovers what has happened, he decides that it’s imperative for his students to know self-defense. As he begins teaching them, Damian also starts dismantling the rampant drug operation at the school, finding the stashes and informing the authorities. Chmielski sends his subordinates, but they get beaten up badly. This prompts Zaro to threaten Emilia’s father to force Emilia to claim that Damian has sexually molested her. This works, and Damian gets suspended. After finding out why Emilia lied, Damian continues investigating and discovers that Stefan makes the drugs at school.
However, the real leader of the operation is neither Stefan nor Chmielski. In the film’s final act, it is revealed that Leszek runs the entire operation. Leszek claims that he has become disillusioned with teaching. The students don’t listen and prefer to do drugs, so he thought he would help them with that. Ironically, despite not being a trained educator, Damian succeeds where others, including Agata, failed. He manages to reach the students by teaching them martial art and discipline.
In the climactic fight, Leszek takes Agata hostage, forcing Damian to fight through Jaro, Chmielski, and their goons with the help of his students. Damian kicks Chmielski, causing his death by electrocution. He then confronts Leszek and rescues Agata from him. Leszek shoots at Damian but fails to hit any vital points. This is when Kamil drops a container full of garden gnomes on the principal, killing him. The film ends as Kamil reunites with his mother, and Damian reunites with Agata.
Who Killed Szymon?
Szymon’s death serves as a catalyst in ‘Lesson Plan.’ It pushes the plot forward. Before his death, Szymon had created a hand-drawn map that can lead people to the headquarters of Leszek. Agata finds the map while cleaning out Syzmon’s locker, and she and Damian use it to find the drugs. This also leads to the revelation that Leszek is behind the drug operation in his own school.
It is heavily implied that Leszek is the one who caused Szymon’s death and ordered his people to make it look like a suicide. He also kept Szymon’s watch as a souvenir. Jaro uses it to threaten Emilia, letting her know what would happen to her father if she didn’t comply and falsely accuse Damian of molestation.
After Emilia admits the truth, Jaro and his gang attack her, which sends her into a coma. During the climax, Kamil thrashes Jaro and declares it’s for Emilia. After Leszek’s death, Damian takes Szymon’s watch from the dead man’s wrist and gives it to Kamil, signifying that their pursuit of revenge is complete.
Read More: Where was Netflix’s Lesson Plan Filmed?
