‘Nemesis’: That Bombshell Ending Explained — Matthew Law & Y’lan Noel Talk Season 2 (VIDEO)

Netflix’s Nemesis takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride as the action-crime drama follows a dangerous battle of wits between Matthew Law‘s obsessed detective Isaiah Stiles and criminal mastermind Coltrane Wilder, played by Y’lan Noel. Warning: Spoilers for the Nemesis Season 1 ahead!

Over the course of the series, the lives of Coltrane and Isaiah become increasingly entangled in unexpected and deeply personal ways. Their wives strike up a friendship, with Isaiah’s wife, Candace (Gabrielle Dennis), growing close to Coltrane’s partner, Ebony (Cleopatra Coleman), completely unaware that Ebony is Coltrane’s partner in every sense of the word, but also an active accomplice in his criminal empire. Manipulative and calculating, Ebony quietly destabilizes Candace’s personal life as part of Coltrane’s larger strategy.

Meanwhile, in retaliation for Isaiah’s relentless pursuit, Coltrane pulls Isaiah’s estranged ex-con father Amos (Moe Irvin) — better known on the streets as “Nightmare” — into his crew as the wheelman for an ambitious final heist. Coltrane plans to set up Amos as a disposable pawn and potential fall guy, but the job proves far more unpredictable than expected, setting the stage for betrayals and a collision that threatens to destroy everyone involved.

By the final episodes, Isaiah’s consuming desire to catch Coltrane nearly destroys everything around him as he torches his marriage, fractures his relationship with his son, and jeopardizes his career through his relentless compulsion to bring down the thief. Coltrane proves nearly as self-destructive as his final plan — usually so meticulous — crumbles once he becomes more consumed with psychologically destroying Isaiah than simply escaping him.

In the finale, Ebony is hospitalized while Candace turns to her former boyfriend, DA Malik Jacobs (Jeff Pierre), after Isaiah uses a drug cartel to kill Coltrane, and they target the wrong woman. When son Noah (Cedric Joe) goes after Coltrane himself after the thief shoots Amos, he is badly wounded in the crossfire, forcing Isaiah to choose between catching Coltrane or saving his son, Noah. For once, Isaiah makes the right choice, saving Noah as Coltrane escapes.

By the end of the series, both men are alive, but they have lost nearly everything. Not only is Coltrane’s crew either dead or in jail, but his carefully crafted public image is destroyed, and even Ebony is taken from him by her sister, Charlie (Sophina Brown). Isaiah may have saved his son and regained his badge, but his obsession has shattered his marriage and pushed Candace toward finding support elsewhere.

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So, if there were a Season 2 (nothing is confirmed as of the writing of this article), where would these two men go from here? Could Isaiah finally let go of his obsession, or would Coltrane’s escape drag him right back into the darkness? Where can the men possibly go?

“In space, of course,” joked star Y’lan Noel. “A rocketship to space.”

“We jump into a GTR…” continues Matthew Law. “I surrender to the creators of the show, is really what it is,” said Law, “I’ve been obsessed with watching a lot of my favorite action flicks and being like, I just want us to take everything up to the next level, because I know that the drama and I know that the relationships and the heartbreaks and all of these victories are also going to be taken up. So I think for me, it’s always like, right now, how can I be as prepared as possible? We stay ready, so we don’t have to get ready.”

“And that’s the cool thing about doing the episodic series. With these eight episodes we have now, we have an opportunity — both as actors, but more importantly, as the audience members — they have an opportunity to become more and more invested over time. You had eight hours or so of figuring out who you’re gonna root for,” continued Noel. “More is at stake with time. So, we’ll see.”

Nemesis, Season 1, Streaming now, Netflix