The Madness’ ending was centered around Muncie Daniels’ efforts to hold Rodney Kraintz accountable for framing him for [Spoiler Alert] the murder of Mark Simon and threatening his family. From what I understood, Revitalize wanted to increase its reach as a multinational tech company by putting their favorite senators in office. Rodney Kraintz, one of the silent investors at Revitalize, was aware of the alt-right connections of a majority shareholder of the company, Stu Magnusson. So, Rodney used Stu to get Mark Simon, one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi group called The Forge, to write slanderous articles on the politicians they wanted to force out and puff pieces on the politicians they wanted in, which would be broadcast to over 5 million people.
Meanwhile Rodney, with the help of Julia Jayne, a member of his private security detail, and the far-left group called Profane Discord, was killing off all those who weren’t supporting Ross Wright, someone that Revitalize wanted as the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. So, Mark stopped doing Stu’s bidding, and when Rodney learned that Mark was about to expose Revitalize’s attempts at political interference to his followers, Rodney had Mark killed with the help of Don Sloss Junior and Ant, both of whom belonged to Profane Discord. CNN journalist Muncie just happened to be at the wrong place (the Poconos) at the wrong time, and he got framed for Mark’s death. That said, after escaping assassinations and arrests, Muncie knew everything about Revitalize, Rodney, Stu, The Forge, and Profane Discord, and he wanted the world to know about this so that every guilty party could be held accountable. Was Muncie successful in this endeavor? Let’s find out.
Muncie Was Acquitted Of All Charges
Muncie collaborated with FBI officers Quinones and Khalil to get Stu Magnusson to confess about everything that he was doing with Revitalize and The Forge to influence elections in the United States of America. Things went sideways when Muncie revealed to Stu that Revitalize was siphoning off money that was meant for paying off Mark Simon via Profane Discord’s Don Sloss Jr. Muncie found himself in a hospital while Stu ended up in a body bag. Stu’s assassin, Julia, came for Muncie and Kallie, his daughter, while he was at the hospital. Since Muncie was under the surveillance of Philly P.D. and the FBI, the assassination attempt exposed Julia’s identity. Still, Julia continued to pursue Muncie on Rodney’s orders. So, Muncie cornered her and gave her the offer to put all the blame on Don Sloss Jr., expose Rodney, and go their separate ways without harming each other. Julia was dedicated to Rodney’s cause of making the Earth sustainable (a confession that Muncie had on record), so she rejected Muncie’s proposal and went after Elena, Muncie’s wife, and Demetrius, Muncie’s son.
Elena managed to kill Julia while suffering a few injuries during the altercation, and Muncie passed on the recording of Julia’s confession to his former lawyer and friend, Kwesi, so that it could be used as evidence of Rodney’s involvement in, well, everything. The FBI did find Jayne guilty of killing Mark Simon (Julia sent Don Sloss Jr. and Ant to kill him), Laura Jennings (the Youtube journalist who was apparently working with Mark Simon to expose Rodney), Don Sloss Jr. (Julia shot him at the Magnusson palace when Muncie was using him as a body shield), Stu Magnusson (Julia shot him after Muncie revealed to him that Don Sloss Jr. was drawing money from his account and giving it to her, I guess), and Magnusson’s bodyguard. Kwesi delivered Julia’s audio recording and her laptop to the FBI that not only exonerated Muncie of any wrongdoing but also put Rodney in the spotlight for his crimes against humanity. The media painted Julia as the mastermind of the whole operation, and Muncie was acquitted of all charges. However, the FBI didn’t even touch Rodney, thereby proving that they were being coerced by someone higher up the chain of command to leave the digital guru alone because his work was benefiting them in ways that nobody could imagine. Hence, despite clearing his name, Muncie was unable to breathe easy because Rodney was still out there, sitting in the middle of his web of lies and deceit.
Muncie Tried to Expose Rodney
Elena and Demetrius were holed up at Isiah’s cigar shop when Julia attacked them. Isiah was injured, but he made a full recovery. Burt was standing guard at the rear end of the shop, and he (probably) perished. Elena, while killing Julia, was shot in the neck and chest, but she pulled through. When Elena regained consciousness after the life-saving surgery, she told Muncie to take care of Demetrius until she was discharged. Now, Muncie probably wanted to forget the couple’s efforts to file for divorce and focus on becoming a family again, but Elena said that he needed to give them some space because of everything that had transpired over the last few days. Muncie was crestfallen, but Elena’s decision made sense. Even if Muncie’s slate had been wiped clean, it didn’t mean that the trauma that his family had to endure for simply being associated with him could be erased from existence. Elena and Demetrius needed time to heal, and Muncie’s presence wouldn’t allow that.
Before Muncie could process Elena’s request, Rodney’s personal attorney showed up with a check for $5 million to buy Muncie’s silence regarding Rodney and Revitalize’s shady activities. Kwesi was of the opinion that Muncie should just sign the NDA and live peacefully, but given how Muncie knew so much about Revitalize and Rodney, the senior journalist sensed that the hush money was a temporary fix and he would be killed eventually. Hence, Muncie decided to contact Brian Folsom, get back his job at CNN, and then expose Rodney’s illicit activities to the public. Khalil gave Quinones’s notebook to Muncie, where the deceased FBI officer (he died by suicide after failing to expose the link between Revitalize and the killings) had noted down the name of a cobalt mine in Minnesota. Muncie shed light on Rodney’s association with Julia and Revitalize and the fact he had used his political connections to engage in cobalt mining in Minnesota while claiming to be against climate change. All of this had obviously been brushed under the rug by law enforcement authorities and media houses. So, as a sign of protest, after dropping this bombshell report, Muncie decided to resign from CNN, in the hopes that it’d cause shockwaves all around the country.
Predictably enough, Muncie’s allegations didn’t lead to anything, as Rodney said that the aforementioned audio recording was fake and that Julia was a disgruntled former employee who had been fired after the photos at the airport were taken. This didn’t exactly disprove the allegations that had been leveled against Rodney, but apparently it was enough to clear his name in the eyes of the public and his investors (because they’re all gullible idiots). Now, Demetrius was already angry at Muncie ever since he left them to fend for themselves in Isiah’s shop, but after Julia’s attack, the kid was livid. So, he didn’t mince his words while saying that Muncie was an idiot for thinking that “calling out” Rodney on TV would amount to anything. He even berated his father for not taking an eye for an eye after Rodney tried to get Elena killed. Even though Muncie didn’t say it out loud, he knew that Demetrius was right.
Muncie Wanted The Forge To Kill Rodney
Deep down, I think Muncie knew that his news reporting on Rodney’s criminal actions wouldn’t have much of an impact, because even that’s something that’s decided by the media and those in charge of social media platforms. It’s very rare for an actually groundbreaking report to trend organically. If an anti-establishment topic is trending internationally, transcending the boundaries of our small screens and whatnot, you can be sure that some capitalist douchebag wanted that to happen, because it’d benefit their business and harm the competition in some way. Hence, as a failsafe, Muncie informed Lucie about Rodney’s involvement in Mark Simon’s death because he hoped that when Lucie would pass on this information to The Forge, they’d kill Rodney to avenge Mark. Lucie confessed to Muncie that she was responsible for exposing Mark’s location to Julia, thinking that she was from the FBI. So, technically she should be punished too? No, I don’t think so, because she didn’t give up Mark’s location with the intention of having him killed. She wanted him to pay for everything he had done while donning the mask of Brother 14. And even if Lucie hadn’t said anything, Julia would’ve forced out his location from someone else.
Hence, Lucie decided to suppress the details about talking to Julia and convey the rest to Bobby Woods (who treated her like his sister) and The Forge and egged them to do something about Rodney because the neo-Nazis kept talking about punishing Brother 14’s killer. Next, Lucie went to FBI officer Khalil and exposed The Forge’s terrorist plans to the FBI in order to make amends for being a part of such a heinous organization. Then, she apparently went to Muncie’s house to leak Rodney’s office address to him, in case he needed to spend some time with him before someone from The Forge killed Rodney. Now, here’s the thing: why would Lucie do that? Lucie had already planted the seed of revenge in The Forge. So, why would she want Muncie to be anywhere near the scene of the crime? On top of that, I don’t think Lucie knew where Muncie lived. Only those associated with Revitalize did. Hence, there’s a good chance that that letter was a trap laid by Rodney himself because he knew that Muncie would believe it if Lucie leaked Rodney’s address, and he’d be interested in causing him some harm, thereby giving Rodney another opportunity to frame him. Since Demetrius got that letter, he fell for it and almost ended up assassinating Rodney. Thankfully, Muncie and Kallie got to Demetrius on time and sent the hot-headed lad home.
Muncie Almost Killed Rodney
In The Madness’s ending, Muncie faced Rodney, and they had a long, insightful conversation about, well, how the world works. According to Rodney, he was just a cog in this capitalist system who was doing everything in his power to benefit his bosses while making some money on the side. He was devoid of morals and ethics, and hence, he was the villain of this story. Muncie worked for CNN, which was funded by people who were corroding the world. He turned a blind eye to all of that; hence, he thought he was the hero of this story. That said, Rodney made things a little black and white by trying to have Elena killed, which gave Muncie the right to shoot Rodney in the head. The issue was that, as soon as Rodney was killed, he’d be replaced by someone as willing as him to take drastic actions for the benefit of the capitalist monsters in power, and the wheel would continue to turn. However, Rodney was sure that Muncie wouldn’t kill him because he had the burden of his family and the entire Black community on his shoulders at that moment.
On one hand, Muncie wanted vengeance, but if he pulled the trigger, he’d further the “violent Black man” stereotype and prove that he was the son of the man who had once taken matters into his own hands. On the other hand, Muncie wanted accountability, and he wanted to dismantle the system that people like Rodney thrived in, but if he didn’t pull the trigger, he wouldn’t be seen as a hero by his son. After some careful consideration, Muncie swallowed the bitter pill of righteousness and let Rodney live. As the dust settled, I guess Demetrius saw that Muncie had taken the right decision by not killing Rodney because letting him live gave Bobby Woods the opportunity to gun him down. Several members of The Forge were arrested by the FBI. Did that bring a stop to Revitalize and Ross Wright? Nope! Revitalize continued to function while Wright was on his way to win the election and destroy the environment as the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. What about Muncie, though? Well, he was certainly glad that his family was whole again. That said, The Madness hinted at the fact that Muncie will have to keep an eye on the rearview mirror at all times for making the mistake of being in the Poconos and knowing way too much about Revitalize and the political landscape that they manipulated according to their whims.
