Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s crime thriller, ‘The Madness,’ follows the story of a media pundit named Muncie Daniels, known for being outspoken about his opinions, some of which come across as controversial and radical to some. He spends a weekend away at a cabin in the Poconos with the intention of working on his book. But then, he witnesses something that completely changes the course of his life. He calls the cops to notify them about the murder of the man living in the next-door cabin, but the case is turned around, and all suspicion falls on him. The more Muncie tries to clear his name, the more he finds himself drowning deeper into a well of conspiracy that has some very powerful people and some very dangerous organizations involved. SPOILERS AHEAD
How does Muncie Prove His Innocence?
To figure out who killed Mark Simon, Muncie has to find out who the man really was and who his enemies were. When it turns out that Mark was Brother 14, a notable member of the neo-Nazi group called the Forge, Muncie realizes that any number of people could have wanted him dead. But it’s one thing to want a person like that dead and entirely another to have the resources to not only murder the guy but frame another person for it. Over the course of his investigation, Muncie finds out about an antifa group called Profane Discord. Given their interest in guns and not shying away from violence, Muncie wonders if they were the ones who killed him. But then, another suspect emerges.
It turns out that the cabin that Mark Simon was staying in belonged to a billionaire called Stu Magnusson, who was known for being involved in all sorts of things. Digging into him, Muncie watches a picture start to emerge. He believes that Mark and Stu had been working together because it favored Stu and his capitalist agenda. But then, Mark decided that he didn’t want to back Stu’s project anymore, or something like that, and Stu decided to get him out of the way. Muncie also discovers that Stu is part of a tech company called Revitalize, which has him in league with several billionaires who claim they want to change the world, but at the end of the day, they are working only for themselves.
It isn’t until Stu is killed by his security advisor, Julia Jayne, that Muncie realizes his theory is a little off the mark. Stu had no involvement whatsoever in Mark Simon’s murder. Rather, it was Revitalize, or rather, another billionaire of the group, Rodney Kraintz, who wanted Mark dead. The reason becomes clearer from the stuff Lucie finds in Mark’s pen drive. It turns out that not only had Revitalize been using Mark and the Forge to further their agenda, but they’d also been systematically attacking people who spoke out against them. Mark found out about it, and what really struck him was the fact that Revitalize was not making any exceptions. The death count included the people that Mark considered patriots, and continuing to work with Revitalize felt like betraying his country.
Knowing the truth, Mark didn’t just decide to cut ties with Revitalize, but he also actively worked to out them. He’d gathered evidence that could bring down someone like Rodney Kraintz. Laura Jennings was also involved in this investigation, which is why she was the next target after Mark. Rodney and Revitalize couldn’t let Mark go forward with his plans, so they killed him. Julia Jayne was put on the task, and her man, Don Sloss Jr., killed Mark. Everything went according to plan until Muncie Daniels showed up at the scene. They tried to kill him in the woods, but when he escaped, they found it better to turn him into the fall guy. With all the evidence pointing against him, he wouldn’t be able to prove anything, and no one would suspect Revitalize for the murder of Mark Simon. Or at least, this was the plan until Muncie decided to fight back.
Muncie got unexpected support from the FBI in the form of Franco Quinones, who had been looking into Stu Magnusson for a very long time. Eventually, Muncie found Julia Jayne and realized that she was the key to everything. If she were caught, Muncie could clear his name, and Franco would have a shot at arresting Stu and bringing him to justice. But then, Julia killed Stu, and the whole thing about Rodney’s involvement came to light. Franco lost faith in the system when, despite Muncie and Lucie being ready to testify, with Lucie giving Mark’s pen drive as evidence, his superiors decided not to pursue the case beyond Julia Jayne. He realized that all that he’d been fighting for so many years was a lie and backed away. But Muncie couldn’t give up.
In the end, he lured Julia into a confrontation while Kallie stole Julia’s laptop from her car. The laptop had all the evidence they needed to prove Muncie’s innocence. Not only did it have proof of Julia’s involvement in Mark’s death, but also in the string of other deaths that seemed accidental and not connected, including Laura Jennings’. This clears up all the misunderstandings about Muncie’s innocence, and he is cleared of all charges and suspicion.
What Happens to the Forge? Who Kills Rodney Kraintz?
With Julia Jayne’s crimes coming to light, it seems that Rodney Kraintz would have to answer for his crimes too, but then, Kraintz has too much power and resources to fall so quickly. It doesn’t take much for him to prove that he had no connection or involvement with Julia’s actions and that whatever she did, she did out of her own volition, and neither Rodney nor any other member of Revitalize had any knowledge of her actions. The law allows Rodney to walk free of all the allegations, but this doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.
When Lucie leaves Rodney’s address at Muncie’s place, his son, Demetrius, finds the note and decides to get revenge but is stopped by his father. Muncie walks into the compound with a gun and holds Rodney at gunpoint, but Rodney claims that killing him will not serve any purpose. He reveals that the roots of corruption are too deep, and if Rodney is killed, someone else in Revitalize will take his place. His death will not serve any purpose apart from getting his murderer a lengthy prison sentence. Muncie realizes this, and despite thinking about killing the guy, he decides to walk away without hurting a hair on his head.
Meanwhile, Lucie tries to find favor with the FBI and the Forge. Finding out about Revitalize, she is scared that she may have to keep looking over her shoulder for her entire life, and she cannot raise her sons like this. Moreover, from Mark’s pen drive, she discovers the nefarious plans that the Forge had in motion, and she couldn’t, in good conscience, sit and let them do whatever they wanted. So, she takes the pen drive to the FBI and becomes their star witness against the Forge. But before this, she tells the Forge about Rodney Kraintz and his hand behind Mark’s murder, hoping that if the law and Muncie couldn’t get to Rodney, the Forge could, and it would make things a lot easier for Lucie and her kids.
With overwhelming evidence of all sorts of conspiracies against them, the Forge is taken down by the FBI. The Feds raid their place, and most of the members of the organization are arrested. However, Bobby Woods slips away. At the time, the Forge had already been planning how to make Rodney pay for Mark’s murder. Lucie seemed to have dropped Rodney’s address to them as well. When the FBI descends on them, Bobby believes that Rodney is behind this. This makes him even more adamant to get revenge. So, he stakes out outside Rodney’s place until, one day, he finds the opportunity to confront the man. Bobby shoots down his bodyguards and then kills Rodney by loading him with bullets, closing the chapter of Mark’s death by avenging his death.
Do Muncie and Elena Get Back Together?
With his innocence proven, Muncie Daniels tries to go back to his normal life. By now, he has learned quite a lesson. He had been too involved in the things that he thought mattered so much that he ignored his family. Over the course of the past few days, where he had to rely on the people he loved and the community he was a part of, he realized the importance of being around loved ones. While he cannot take back the things he did wrong previously, he makes an active effort to change his ways. He becomes more open with the community, actually interacting and spending time with them, while also paying more attention to his kids, whom he has tended to ignore so far.
The change in him is also motivated by his desire to get back together with Elena. They’d been separated before the events of the show, and Elena was waiting for Muncie to sign their divorce papers. But he wasn’t ready to do it. As he fights to prove his innocence, he realizes how stupid he has been, ignoring his marriage and bond with Elena. As they work together to save, some things are salvaged, but then, she gets shot, and things go back to being spoiled.
On the hospital bed, Elena talks about taking some time away from each other because the near-death experience has shown her that she needs to focus more on Demetrius, who is traumatized by everything that has happened to them so far. Because Demetrius is angry with his father, Elena needs to let him process things on his own, which means they both need to stay away from Muncie for a while. Muncie understands this and decides to give them their space, but eventually, both Demetrius and Elena come around. In the final scene, we see Muncie and Elena reconcile, proving that things are on a brighter note now than they were at the beginning of the story.
Who was in the Black Car?
Now that he is not being blamed for the murder, Muncie gets his reputation back. Before he got into this mess, he was being tapped by CNN to get his own program. But they dropped him when things got shady. The moment his name is cleared up, CNN comes back with their offer, beginning with an exclusive tell-all interview where he can tell people exactly what happened to him and who did it. While Muncie is advised to leave Revitalize out of his speech, he decides to give the truth to the audience. He talks about Rodney Kraintz’s involvement in the murder and all the things that he found out Revitalize and Rodney were up to, especially the lies and propaganda they were peddling to dupe the public.
Muncie name-dropping Revitalize and Rodney on national TV means he has put a target on his back. While Rodney may have been killed by Bobby, it doesn’t mean that Revitalize has been destroyed. There’s still a legion of richer and more powerful people than Stu and Rodney, who are running Revitalize and forging all the plans that will turn everything, including the election of political leaders, in their favor. At one point, Julia Jayne says that the people who are actually in power never come to the fore. They work from behind the scenes and work in such secrecy that people don’t often know that they exist. She was right about that, and Muncie knows it. None of the people in Revitalize wanted to become the talk of the town, but due to Muncie’s actions, they have had the limelight turned on them. This is not something they can forgive so easily. Or at least, that’s what Muncie thinks.
The whole point of outing Revitalize and Rodney was to bring them to justice and secure the safety of his family so that none of them are in danger ever again. Muncie, like Lucie, doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life watching his back. But by talking about Revitalize on national TV, he has declared war against them. Now, he worries that they might come back to teach him a lesson. This makes Muncie extremely jumpy. Every time he sees something he finds even remotely suspicious, he worries that it might be someone from Revitalize sent to hurt him and his family.
When he sees the black car drive away from the park, his first thought is that the car meant Revitalize was watching him. But it could very easily have been some normal person. Muncie has become so paranoid that he is getting scared of his own shadow now. Kallie points out that this is not the way to live. If he were scared, he shouldn’t have gone public about Revitalize. But now that he has, he must stick with the integrity of his decision and live with the consequences, whatever they may be. Living in fear, at this point, is not an option anymore, and he must accept that, or he will lose everything he has worked so hard to get back.
Read More: The Madness: Who Killed Laura Jennings?
