Vladimir Ending Explained: Are the Protagonist’s Desires Fulfilled? Do Vladimir and John Die?

Vladimir Ending Explained: When a respected professor starts obsessing over her new colleague, her life spirals out of control as she tries to make her desires a reality.

The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes. It is based on the novel Vladimir by Julia May Jonas.

Vladimir Ending Explained

In Netflix’s Vladimir, a seasoned professor’s life turns upside down when her husband, the dean of her college, is accused of sexual misconduct and put on administrative leave pending investigation, and a new colleague brings back her desire to experiment with something risque. The series leaves us on a rather complicated and visually striking note, leaving us confused about the professor’s desire for Vladimir, her love for her husband, and her writer’s block finally clearing.

Did the professor really leave her “lovers” for dead?

In the last episode, we see the cabin in which she, Vladimir and John are staying for the night, catch fire, and the professor running out with her finished manuscript in hand, leaving both the men for dead. Actually, throughout the runtime of the show, we see that her narrative and interpretations keep on shifting, and we can’t really trust what the truth is and what is a part of her stories.

The cabin might have caught on fire, but it doesn’t seem like either men are dead. The scene actually symbolises the professor finally leaving behind John and Vladimir and choosing herself. She has lived her life thinking about others, and the rekindling of her desires has changed her in such a way that she has finally overcome everything that has held her back from her true love – writing.

Thus, in the end, when she finally can finish her manuscript with an ending that truly symbolises who she is, she refuses to let it burn for the two men who don’t truly care for her. She chooses herself. However, they truly might have died, because, in her own interpretation, she promises that she has called 911 for the men, but we see the fire taking on a horrifying route… so it might be too late for them anyway!

What does the series truly signify?

The series showcases how truth exists only for those who control the narrative. The fire forces her to choose between the fantasy life that she has created and the truth that she has given birth to, aka her manuscript. She has to choose herself over the men who have defined her identity throughout her life, something that she has alluded to over the episodes.

As we see the episodes moving forward, we see her struggle to come to terms with not only John’s deplorable actions but also the weight of her own desires for a married man. However, in the end, she realises that no outside force can ever fill the emptiness that she feels and that thirst can only be fulfilled by her following her passions, i.e., her writing.

We see the protagonist obsess over Vladimir as an object of desire throughout, hoping for something, but it only highlights her own needs and deficiencies. In the end, thus, she leaves everyone in confusion about the truth, leaning into the fact that reality is malleable and only depends on who the writer is.

What are your thoughts on Vladimir? Let us know in the comments below!

Also Read: Vladimir Review: A Fascinating, Albeit Disturbing, Look at Desires and Consequences