Baby Reindeer’s Ambiguous Final Left You Confused? Here’s What It Actually Means

On April 11, the miniseries Baby Reindeer was released on Netflix. It was created by stand-up comedian Richard Gadd, who played the lead role, and the plot is based on a shocking episode of his biography. That is, the approach is roughly the same as in the tragicomic Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. In the case of Baby Reindeer, however, the balance between the funny and the scary tends to lean toward the latter.

This is not a thriller, but the show can be called disturbing or even rather uncomfortable. After all, Gadd is talking about stalking and mental problems, and at the same time he is rethinking his own biography through the most traumatic episodes of his life.

Baby Reindeer is a Realistic Portrayal of Psychological Trauma

Baby Reindeer shows a realistic picture: when simple communication for one person turns into an all-consuming obsession for another. At first, Donny simply refuses to believe that the case is so serious, then he hopes that the problem will somehow solve itself. He also treats Martha without hatred – he clearly feels sorry for this woman who lives in a kind of imaginary world of her own.

Then comes the fourth episode. Richard Gadd's most brutal and traumatic confession – once told from the stage in a one-man show, now broadcast live to millions of viewers on Netflix. After this episode, the attitude towards the character changes and it becomes clear why he did not go to the police for so long.

Baby Reindeer Has Rather Ambiguous Finale

However, many viewers were not even hooked by the most gruesome and shocking episode of the entire miniseries, but by the rather ambiguous ending. Donny arrives at the bar after a meeting with Darrien that has clearly knocked him off balance, and begins to listen to Martha's audio messages, which he had previously been afraid to listen to.

The stalker tells him about the same baby reindeer toy – how it helped her through her most difficult times and was the only positive thing in her entire childhood.

Martha's emotional speech brings Donny to tears, but then the bartender brings him the drink he ordered. Donny looks for money, but it turns out that he left his wallet at home. Then the bartender says that the drink is on the house. The circle is closed.

Donny Gets Rid of His Guilt in The End

It seems the most obvious thing that comes to mind after such a finale is that Donny must repeat Martha's path, which is literally suggested by everything that happened to the main character in the final minutes of the episode.

No one would be surprised if the writers put exactly this meaning into the ending – Donny went through a traumatic experience for years just like Martha, so why would he not do the same as she did under the same circumstances?

However, we know the fate of Richard Gadd after the events described in the series, and that proves the real message of the finale – people in the same circumstances can make different choices, and Donny realized that he did not deserve what Martha did to him for a simple act of kindness. Obviously, Donny finally realized that he did not provoke his stalker and got rid of the guilt completely.