In The Mud’s ending is a chaotic scene in the La Quebrada prison that leaves us quite disappointed. I didn’t go into the story knowing the series was a spinoff, and it definitely leaves me a little bit confused about certain things, but overall, the show can be watched as a standalone, even if you don’t know anything about the universe it’s set in. The thing we need to remember is that Gladys is the wife of a man who was very important in the original series, hence all the drama surrounding her. The series tells the story of some female prison inmates in an Argentinian prison where a Galician wreaks havoc thanks to her crazy escape plan. In The Mud gives us an insight into the kind of things that happen in prison, especially to women. From rape at the hands of guards and doctors to filming sex tapes inside the prison to make money and living with your children in prison, the show doesn’t miss out on any details of female prison life at La Quebrada. I imagine this isn’t too realistic and is purely fictional. But with that said, let’s jump straight into the ending of the series.
Spoiler Alert
What Happens With Marina?
Throughout the series, we’re confused about Marina’s guilt and true feelings. She keeps talking about being passed out when her boyfriend died but is blamed for his murder. Especially when she’s talking to Luna Lunati (a character from the original show), I found myself wondering if she’s hiding something else or why she won’t admit what the real problem is. It turns out that Marina was basically being used by both brothers (her boyfriend and his brother, that is). As someone who came to Buenos Aires with nothing, Marina got a place to live with these boys, who then took full advantage of her by using her physically as well as videotaping her sexual endeavors with them. But this is the exact evidence Luna can use against them, and there’s one piece of incriminating CCTV footage that Luna desperately needs to prove that Marina’s not only innocent but also the victim in this case.
Ultimately, Luna gets her old ex-cop friend Miguel to obtain the thumb drive from the public defender who conspired with Marina’s boyfriend’s family to make sure that she got blamed for the dude’s death. Ultimately, Luna does a great job defending Marina and proves that she was the innocent victim in all of this, but this doesn’t mean that Marina left prison completely “innocent.” Just because someone is sexually active doesn’t mean they instantly want to be a sex worker. Marina’s the kind of woman who ends up pushing herself to make money because she’s been raised by a terrible mum who uses her own daughter for monetary gain. In the end, Marina goes back to her mother because she loves her, but she’s entirely changed. Not only has she experienced some traumatic incidents in prison, but she’s also made some good friends, so her entire personality has changed. Sure, you could say prison made her stronger, but what else can one do in such a situation?
On the other hand, when it comes to Alan, he’s still a family man and will probably not leave his wife for Marina. Their fling was just that, and hopefully, he won’t be unfaithful again. Their little nod to each other means they’re both okay being friends, I think.
What Happens With Zurda?
In the previous episode, Zurda was brutally assaulted by one of the guards at the request of Amparo. I don’t think this is exactly what she meant, but I don’t think she’s the kind of person who cares what happens to her enemies. She’s basically been evil ever since she lost her boyfriend and miscarried his baby. Zurda then shuts down the business and gets all the girls to stop working, which doesn’t help Amparo at all. This creates chaos in prison, and nobody really knows what to do. Zurda had someone she loved who had to go into hiding because of Amparo. She hasn’t just lost everything inside prison but outside too, and now she’s been humiliated in the worst way, too. While Gladys can take care of Amparo, Zurda decides to take her own revenge on the guard and bites him while he expects a sexual favor. I honestly don’t like how this situation panned out, especially for her, but at least she got her revenge. However, this scene was clearly written by a man.
What Happens to Cecilia’s Business?
During In The Mud’s ending, Gladys does end up becoming a rat for Antin, who wants dirt on Cecilia. I think by this point, since Gladys believes she has cancer, she’s done with playing the good person, trying hard, or even caring about anything really. She rats out Cecilia and her baby selling business (why is this becoming a recurring theme in everything recently?!). This gives Antin the perfect political angle to get rid of her, which means he’ll probably get offered the position she had with the governor. I really don’t know why we needed a backstory for Cecilia if we weren’t going to get a redemption arc for her anyway. Turns out, she was trafficking the prisoners’ babies because when she was young, she defended a woman and said she deserved to keep her baby, only to watch that baby die because of his mother’s negligence. Is this really the outcome you expect from that situation? I mean, she could’ve made sure all the women remained sober? Or saved them from themselves with therapy, instead of selling the babies, surely? I do hope that doctor rots in prison, though.
What About Yael’s Daughter?
In In The Mud’s ending, Yael realizes that her daughter will do better with the governor’s wife. But she’s surprised to know that the woman has decided to divorce her husband because she didn’t know he was trying to adopt the girl without the mother’s knowledge. Sure, Yael is giving up her daughter right now, but Eugenia will make sure that Brisa knows who her mom is, and about their Colombian heritage. Yael’s story is terribly sad, especially since she did everything in her power to keep her daughter safe. But in all this, I guess Cecilia’s plan did work out, because the girl will not be neglected thanks to a drug addict mother. Although we never really see Yael abuse drugs, she was only trafficking them. Obviously she wants what’s best for her daughter, though.
What Happens To China?
This is another plot point I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. At first, China is the one who has the most followers and basically becomes a “call girl” after making loads of money for the crew as their best “model.” However, Maria’s girl ended up burning her so badly that she’ll never go back to the beautiful woman she was before. Zurda just replaces her with Marina, but China is left heartbroken and empty handed. There could’ve been ways to help her, but instead, her ego is what gets her killed in the final episode as she gets stabbed by one of the other girls, who was always quite angry. This is prison after all.
What Happens to Amparo?
Were you able to figure out how Amparo’s face healed so fast? Because I wasn’t. After plucking out Olga’s eye, we see Amparo struggling with a headache and puking, but at least the blister’s completely gone from her face. I suppose you could say Amparo becomes the new Zurda while Gladys takes on the role of Maria in this new setup, but it barely lasts. It is a cycle at the end of the day, and though Gladys tried hard to stay out of it, she ultimately ended up fueling it. On the other hand, it is revealed that Piquita is actually “normal” and doesn’t suffer from a mental illness. She kills Rosetta, the nun, and tells her that her secret will be buried with her forever. Guess she just didn’t like her very much. But this is after Rosetta messes with the electric system of the prison and gets everybody locked in, and chaos unfolds.
Is Gladys free?
The big twist in In The Mud’s ending is that Gladys goes into full rage mode despite knowing that she’s going to be granted freedom just the next day. She would rather live than be free if it means killing Amparo and getting her revenge. There’s been a lot of rage in Gladys since her husband died, but learning she has cancer now, too, would’ve put her in the worst predicament. It’s as if there’s no point in her living at all, but she still wants to survive, so she decides to fight back, and how! The ultimate fight is between Gladys and the Galician, a power play between two women who have basically lost everything, which leaves one thing for both of them: power. I suppose Gladys finally saw how evil she’d become and never made the final stab, but she’s already shown everybody who’s on top now. She drags the Galician’s body to Antin, showing him what she’s done, meaning she isn’t getting out anytime soon. She becomes the undisputed queen of La Quebrada.
