Pratik Handore
Netflix’s ‘The Takeover’ is a Dutch crime thriller film directed by Annemarie van de Mond. It follows Mel Bandison, an ethical hacker who is unexpectedly framed for a murder. As a result, Mel goes on the run and reunites with her former mentor, Buddy. Mel and Buddy discover a privacy scandal that is connected to the murder. Therefore, Mel is forced to get to the bottom of the conspiracy to clear her name. An enthralling game of cat and mouse ensues that tests Mel’s patience as she finds her life turned upside down. If you are wondering whether Mel succeeds in her quest and proves her innocence, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘The Takeover.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Takeover Plot Synopsis
‘The Takeover’ opens with Buddy Benschot helping the officials track down a notorious hacker meddling with an air base. The hacker is revealed to be a young girl named Mel Bandison. Buddy is touched by Mel’s cause behind the religious act and becomes her mentor. Ten years pass, and Mel becomes an ethical hacker working for the security of tech companies. However, she has grown distant from Buddy.
One day, Mel performs a routine security check for a company named Rotramax. While checking the company’s newly developed self-driving bus, Mel finds that someone is stealing the data from the bus. As a countermeasure, she uploads a trojan horse to stop the other hacker from accessing the server. After finishing her job, Mel meets Thomas Deen on their first date. However, Thomas fails to impress Mel, and she leaves his house early. However, Mel finds herself on the radar of mysterious men and the police. After Police Inspector Dries Daoudi confronts her, Mel realizes she is in danger and flees into the night.
She seeks shelter at Thomas’ home and tries to understand why she is being hunted down by the police and a group of mercenaries. Soon, Mel learns that a video of her shooting a person and killing them is going viral on the news. However, Mel claims she did not commit the crime and resolves to find the truth. Thomas believes Mel and agrees to help in her quest. Meanwhile, Daoudi speaks with the Rotramax CEO Linde in hopes of learning about Mel’s whereabouts. Linde explains that Mel was checking a minor bug in the company’s software designed by their partner, Xiao Ming, a Chinese company. A mercenary named Rogers threatens Mel to remove her trojan horse from the Rotramax system. As a result, Mel and Thomas escape from the latter’s home and meet Buddy.
Mel reveals that she and Buddy worked as partners to track down criminal hackers. After handing over the hackers to the police, they would return the money stolen by the hackers to the victims. However, one day, Mel realized that Buddy was keeping the money to himself and handed him over to Interpol. However, Buddy escapes in time and has been a wanted man ever since. Buddy meets Mel and Thomas and learns of the entire situation. He agrees to help Mel prove her innocence and takes her and Thomas to his hideout. However, Rogers ruthlessly searches for Mel while Daoudi’s investigation also heads in the right direction. As a result, Mel must maintain a low profile and search for evidence to clear her name.
The Takeover Ending: Who Framed Mel?
While working together, Buddy and Mel discover that Rotramax is working with Xiao Ming. The latter company works on developing software and provides Rotramax with the facial recognition technology that is installed on their self-driven buses. As the two investigate deeper into the conspiracy, Buddy discovers that the trojan horse uploaded by Mel shut down Xiao Ming. The company was using its software to steal user data. Moreover, Mel had given the software a security clearance before Rotramax utilized it. When Mel uploaded the trojan horse, she inadvertently shut down Xiao Ming. As a result, the company frames her for murder to force her into removing the trojan horse.
However, just as Mel and Buddy start formulating a plan to take down Xiao Ming and prove Mel’s innocence, Rogers and his men attack the hideout. Mel and Thomas escape while Buddy remains behind to destroy the evidence of his hacking activities. As a result, he is ruthlessly gunned down by Rogers. Ultimately, Rogers’ actions prove that Xiao Ming will stop at nothing and wants to take out Mel at all costs. Therefore, the stakes are now much higher, and Mel is without her mentor in this fight. By combining the revelation of the real culprits with Buddy’s death, the makers propel the story forward to an exciting conclusion.
How Does Mel Stop the Bus and Clear Her Name?
In the film’s final act, Thomas tries to surrender himself and Mel to the police. He calls Daoudi, but Mel realizes that Thomas has tracked her and flees before the authorities arrive. Thomas is arrested and tries to convince Daoudi to search for Rogers. On the other hand, Mel makes it to the server room of Rotramax. Meanwhile, the company’s self-driven bus is out on its first public ride during a launch event. Inside the server room, Rogers attacks Mel and forces her to remove the trojan horse from the Rotramax servers. A fight ensues, and the commotion leads to Rogers accidentally shooting a server that controls the bus. As a result, the bus goes out of control, risking the lives of the passengers.
Meanwhile, Daoudi arrives on the scene and captures Rogers. However, he spares Mel as she is the only one capable of stopping the bus and saving innocent lives. Mel works with her friends and Thomas to stop the bus. She uses an old program by Buddy to gain entry to the access point on the bus’ mainframe. However, she requires someone to upload the necessary hardware onto the bus so she can gain entry. Thomas uses his wits to upload the hardware allowing Mel is able to write a code that stops the bus and saves everyone’s lives. Moreover, Mel proves her innocence with access to the Rotramax server, and Daoudi allows her to leave.
Ultimately, Mel uses her talent for hacking and her good intentions to stop the bus and clear her name. She receives help from her friends, including Buddy, who leaves her a video message praising her importance in his life. The incident sparks a romance between Mel and Thomas, who watch Buddy’s farewell video together. In the video, Buddy explains that he recorded the note to be sent to Mel in case he were to die. Buddy apologizes to Mel and reveals that he used the money from their work together to create a larger setup for Mel. The moment allows Mel to reconcile with her mentor despite his death and move on to a new chapter in life, ending the movie on a heartfelt note.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s The Takeover Filmed?
