Paatal Lok Season 2 Ending, Explained: Who Killed Jonathan Thom? Why Does Hathi Ram Leave Nagaland?

Season 2 of ‘Paatal Lok’ ends with Hathi Ram making a difficult sacrifice after learning the truth behind the murder of influential Nagaland leader Jonathan Thom. His foray into Nagaland’s political situation and the complex familial dynamics of the Thoms leave him with much on his plate as a detective. Additionally, the protagonist has to confront his personal responsibilities and ensure they are not compromised while he digs deeper into a high-profile case that could decide the fate of Nagaland as a state. By the end, Hathi Ram must decide whether revealing the truth is more important than the betterment of a land starved of hope. However, the amount of needless carnage around him also leaves him with a pivotal decision to make concerning his future as a cop. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Paatal Lok Season 2 Plot Recap

The second season begins with Hathi Ram continuing his job as an inspector while his partner Imran Ansari is now the ACP of the Delhi police department. As his supervisor, Ansari is assigned a sensitive case that involves the murder of Jonathan Thom, whose remains are found decapitated in his room at the Nagaland Sadan Hotel in Delhi. It turns out that Thom was invited by the special advisor to the government, Kapil Reddy, to attend a critical summit meeting to decide the future of Nagaland. Meanwhile, Hathi Ram tackles a case of missing persons involving Raghu Paswan, whose wife, Gita, is worried that he is nowhere to be found. During his investigation, Hathi Ram realizes that Raghu had contact with a woman named Rose Lizo, a prime suspect in the Jonathan Thom murder.

After the two cases begin to overlap, Ansari brings Hathi Ram into the fold after discussing his value with his higher-ups, DCP Bhardwaj. They travel to Nagaland, where they get the lay of the land and learn about the sensitive political situation of the region. They realize that Jonathan Thom is a well-loved figure within the community and his son Reuben Thom is a detractor of his father. The duo investigates the residencies of Nagaland, hoping to find Rose Lizo, who they believe is hiding in Nagaland. Hathi Ram also remains interested in seeing Raghu Paswan’s whereabouts. Before leaving for Nagaland, Raghu’s wife Gita died during an attack by local drug lord Jogi, who is tied up with a nightclub owner named Dhruv Mallik. Raghu and Gita’s son, Guddu, are taken in by Hathi Ram’s wife after no kin is willing to accept the boy.

Back in Nagaland, Hathi Ram and Ansari look to establish a link between Jonathan Thom and Rose Lizo, who was a hostess at Dhruv’s nightclub. Although they are unable to find her immediately, they establish an acquaintanceship with SP Meghna Barua, who has been looking into the case from the Naga police’s point of view. Eventually, Hathi Ram finds his personal responsibilities calling as his wife Renu asks him to come back to Delhi to attend his son Siddharth’s birthday. Hathi Ram reluctantly agrees to the proposal and celebrates his son’s birthday back home. Meanwhile, Ansari, who is still in Nagaland, gets an anonymous tip about Rose’s location. He goes to the place hoping to find her but only runs into Reuben and his men. He escapes with Rose but is shot through the head by a sniper in the woods, who is none other than Jonathan Thom’s security guard—Daniel.

How Does Hathi Ram Avenge Ansari?

Ansari’s death comes as a huge twist and chilling moment within the narrative, not just because of its shocking and unceremonious nature but also because of what it means for Hathi Ram moving forward. Before Ansari dies, he calls both Hathi Ram and SP Meghna to inform them of Rose’s location. However, neither picks up the call. Instead, he rushes in to find Rose on his own, which ultimately costs him his life. Subsequently, Hathi Ram goes through a hard time as he reflects on the loss of his partner and trainee. He struggles to reconcile his desire to learn the truth with the consequence of his relentless pursuit of justice. However, more than anything, he is deeply saddened by the loss of his friend and comrade. As such, Hathi Ram goes against the wishes of his higher-ups and returns to Nagaland to complete the story and ensure Ansari’s death is not in vain.

The protagonist changes his methodology in his second stint in Nagaland, this time partnering up with SP Meghna to get to the bottom of the case quickly. The Nagaland police manage to recover Rose, who is found in a critical state in the woods. She is rushed to the Jokima Hospital, where a riot begins after the crowd learns that the prime suspect in Jonathan Thom’s murder is being treated in the establishment. After numerous trials and tribulations, Hathi Ram eventually learns that the assassin who sniped Ansari is none other than Daniel. However, by this time, Daniel manages to corner SP Meghna and kills her after asking Hathi Ram to go to a certain location for a final showdown. In the subsequent battle, Hathi Ram manages to get the better of Daniel and kills him, avenging Ansari in the process.

Who Killed Jonathan Thom? Why?

After Daniel’s death, Hathi Ram visits Uncle Ken, who has been close to both Jonathan and Reuben throughout the years. It is revealed that although Daniel was serving Jonathan as his security guard, his real allegiance always belonged to Uncle Ken, who gave him a home and safety during his early years at the Naga Baptist orphanage. On the day of Jonathan’s death, the Naga leader had shown signs of pulling out of the Naga summit meeting. As he was primarily driven by greed, he had no motivation to better Naga society. So, Kapil Reddy used underhanded tactics to force Jonathan to attend the meeting in Delhi. However, when Jonathan expressed his reservations about the whole ordeal with Uncle Ken, the latter realized that he had to kill Jonathan and ensure the summit meeting went ahead without him.

Uncle Ken visited Jonathan’s room on his own and murdered him. Subsequently, he decapitated Jonathan to make it seem as if the killing had been politically motivated. Uncle Ken contacted Daniel shortly after, who showed up at the hotel room and saw his master washing himself in the bathroom. In the middle of the whole incident, Rose Lizo, Jonathan’s mistress, showed up in the room to collect her hush money. However, after she saw Jonathan’s dead body, she likely got spooked by the affair and decided to leave Delhi as quickly as possible. Therefore, despite everyone thinking that Rose is the one who killed Jonathan Thom, it turns out that the killer was Uncle Ken. Uncle Ken later used Daniel to carry out the necessary dirty work to ensure the truth did not leak to the public, like killing Ansari and Meghna.

Why Does Hathi Ram Leave Nagaland Without Telling the Truth?

Once it becomes clear that Uncle Ken is the sole person responsible for the whole plot, Hathi Ram tells him that his nefarious plot will be undone once he reveals the truth to everybody. However, Uncle Ken pleads for him not to say anything as it could harm the summit meeting’s plans. He states that he is not motivated by greed but only wants better things for Nagaland and its people. For that to happen, the summit meeting must go ahead without fail. Hathi Ram seems committed to upholding his duties as a cop. However, when he walks out of Uncle Ken’s house, he is moved by the gathering of Naga people cheering for the upcoming plans proposed during the meeting. Subsequently, Hathi Ram decides not to pursue justice anymore and instead asks to leave the state.

While Hathi Ram is generally a relentless investigator, his choice to let go of Jonathan Thom’s killer showcases his maturity and understanding of the situation. Throughout his investigation, he also learns that Jonathan Thom was a sinister figure himself. He understands that Rose Lizo is Jonathan’s illegitimate daughter. As such, the Naga leader was sleeping with his daughter. His incestual bond with Rose eventually led to the death of his other daughter, Rachel. As a result, Reuben grew up to hate his father, and his mother faced numerous atrocities at Jonathan’s hands. Thus, by weighing all the options in his hand, Hathi Ram makes the right decision, even if it means letting go of a half-solved crime.

What Happened to Raghu Paswan?

The final part of season 2 focuses on Hathi Ram’s search for Raghu Paswan. After resolving much of the mystery surrounding Rose and Jonathan Thom, the protagonist begins looking into what might have happened to Raghu. He initially expects to find Raghu with Rose in Nagaland. However, after his whole ordeal comes to an end, Hathi Ram realizes that Raghu’s fate can only be discerned in Delhi. After a little digging, Hathi Ram finds out that Raghu had been killed by his moneylenders during a group scuffle. As Raghu had been helping Rose for a while, his moneylenders expected that Raghu would be rewarded either through cash or sexual favors. However, they learn the truth from Hathi Ram that Raghu never gained either from Rose. Instead, he was a good Samaritan trying to look out for Rose.

Thus, Raghu ended up losing his life simply because of his kindness towards Rose. Hathi Ram is devastated to learn the truth and takes his death really hard, especially as it means that Guddu no longer has a mother or father. Hathi Ram’s interest in the Jonathan Thom case began because of his initial probe into Raghu’s missing status. Unfortunately, while people mostly concentrated on the well-being of Rose, Jonathan, and Reuben, no one spared a thought for Raghu, who came from humble means. However, before he died, he helped Rose escape from Delhi, ultimately leading to the case’s answers. Raghu was also promised five lakhs in exchange for the help he provided Rose. He never got the money but paid for it with his life.

How Does Hathi Ram Find the Money?

Hathi Ram manages to recover the missing money at the end of season 2. After a quick trip to Mr. Bhalla’s offices, which is the base of a shady money laundering business, Bhalla uses his connections to find out where the money is located. The favor comes as a full circle moment as earlier in the narrative, Hathi Ram was proposed to become the general manager of security in Mr. Bhalla’s workplace. The protagonist was offended by the offer and instead stated that he would take down Bhalla’s operations. In the end, with one missing link still remaining, a desperate Hathi Ram avails the services of Mr. Bhalla, who goads him for his return to the shop on his hands and knees. Still, he helps point Hathi Ram in the right direction, which eventually allows him to find the missing money.

At the cash depot, Hathi Ram learns that Jonathan Thom has around two crores in cash left at the depot. However, instead of taking it all, the detective only takes five lakhs from the bundle, honoring the agreement between Raghu Paswan and Rose Lizo. He takes the cash bundle and travels to the train station, where he manages to locate Guddu, who is leaving with his grandparents. Earlier, they showed up at Hathi Ram’s doorstep to collect Guddu. Hathi Ram hands over the five lakhs to the grandparents, which is meant to improve Guddi’s well-being moving forward. Thus, Hathi Ram showcases his nobility once more despite the fact that the system around him remains imperfect and often breeds injustice.

Will Hathi Ram Resign?

One of the big revelations at the end of season 2 is when Hathi Ram tells ACP Virk that he is thinking of resigning from the job. Considering the turmoil he has been through over a couple of years, including the loss of Imran Ansari, his decision to resign seems perfectly understandable. However, given his relentless need to pursue the truth and solve crimes, it is unlikely that Hathi Ram can stay away from his calling for long. For the time, however, he may need some rest from the intensity of life as a Delhi cop. Also, his inner belief and safety may have been shaken after Ansari’s death. It is possible that he fears something similar might happen to him if he does not slow down. Still, his decision will likely become evident in future seasons and whether it helps him recalibrate his mind.

Read More: Is Paatal Lok Based on a True Story? Is Hathi Ram Based on a Real Inspector?