7 ‘Man on Fire’ Burning Questions We Have After That Explosive Finale
Spoiler Alert
John Creasy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) comes back with a literal vengeance in Netflix’s new series adaptation of Man on Fire. Warning: The following post contains spoilers for all seven episodes of Man on Fire.
The new action-thriller, based on A.J. Quinnell’s books, follows Creasy as, after a failed suicide attempt, the former Special Forces and CIA operative relocates to Rio de Janeiro for a new start at the urging of his old pal Paul Rayburn (Bobby Cannavale). At first, he has trouble finding purpose, even with a new job protecting the nation’s president from a terrorist group. However, when almost the entire Rayburn family and hundreds of other people are murdered in the blink of an eye by the explosion of a high-rise residential building, he sets out to protect his friend’s still-alive daughter, Poe Rayburn (Billie Boullet), and get justice for everyone who died in the attack.
With the help of some newfound friends who believe in his cause, he’s able to track down the perpetrators and burn an entire system of deadly corruption right to the ground. And, even though he sustains some serious injuries in the course of that fight, he seems to walk away mostly unscathed in the end.
As satisfying as the conclusion of the first season is, though, there are still a few loose ends. Here are the biggest burning questions we have for a Man of Fire Season 2 to answer.
Man on Fire, Steaming now, Netflix
Who else is going to be exposed by Tappan's "dead man's switch"?
Part of the reason rogue CIA op Henry Tappan (Scoot McNairy) is able to make a sweetheart protection deal with President Carmo (Billy Blanco Jr.) and Prado Soares (Thomas Aquino) is because he has dirt on them in recordings under lock and key. It’s said that if and when something happens to him, those files will be released and expose every powerful person he has a compromisation deal with around the world. After Creasy ends Tappan’s life by twisting knife in his femoral artery, the Carmo files are spread, and the president is arrested for his crimes in conspiring with Tappen to use the terrorist FRP group as a front for bombing the civilian skyscraper. However, Carmo isn’t the only person Tappan allegedly has dirt on, so who else will be exposed by his “dead man’s switch”? Perhaps Season 2 will reveal the list.
Are Creasy and Melo going to become a thing?
It’s a curiosity indeed that Valeria Melo (Alice Braga) is willing to put her life on the line so quickly to help a man she barely knows from a drunken rideshare session, but that’s what she does. And eventually it makes sense. Not only is she brave, friendly, and helpful, but she’s also deeply committed to protecting Poe once she gets to know the child. On top of that, she also recognizes and empathizes with Creasy’s mental strife more than anyone else and helps him out of the doldrums and enjoy a sense of found family and joy, at least until the shots start firing again. Could these two become something more than friends? She said she and her daughter aren’t planning to leave Rio, but that doesn’t mean she and John don’t have a possible future together there. After all, they’re both national heroes now.
Are Livro and Vico going to live the high life now?
In the finale, Livro (Jefferson Batista) and Vico, two boys from the favelas, are literally flying high, taking a private helicopter ride with Ivan Gusev (Alex Ozerov-Meyer) and Osip (Dmitri Kornakov) to a massive yacht in the ocean. Has their bravery and loyalty to Creasy’s cause earned them a ticket to paradise, so to speak?
Will Creasy continue protecting Poe?
The last episode shows Poe reuniting with her grandmother — her last living relative — back in the United States, but after delivering a touching memorial eulogy about her family, she’s eager to leave with Creasy to whatever destination he’s heading to. So does that mean these two are sticking together instead of following the original plan for her to live with her grandmother? And, if so, will the call he gets derail her plan to stick with him?
What's going to happen in Mexico City?
After his Rio mission is successful, and all of his debriefing to the CIA is apparently done, Creasy gets a call from Director Moncrief (Paul Ben-Victor) with an offer: Return to Mexico City for a new mission that will give him a chance to grapple with the loose ends he left there last time. This is almost certainly a reference to the introductory scene of the show, wherein Creasy leads a group of operatives in a field mission that unravels right in front of him, leaving him to watch as all of his agents are executed by masked attackers.
Will Rio's political situation improve?
Despite the ouster of Carmo and dismantlement of his corrupt administration, Melo doesn’t seem completely convinced that things will improve — although she is going to stick around and find out. Will the FRP continue to wreak havoc on civilians? Will the new president be just as corrupt as the last? Will the public turn on her again?
Will Creasy and Poe ever be able to emotionally heal?
Though they seem to be in on solid ground in the final moments of the show, Creasy and Poe both have a lot of grief still to grapple with. Whether they can ever fully heal their hearts from the tragedies and atrocities they’ve witnessed, or if they’ll always be plagued by PTSD, remains to be seen.
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