The Polygamist Ending Explained: Netflix’s The Polygamist showcases the dirty side of broken families when one person decides to call all the shots and take advantage of those around him. It has all the hallmarks of a classic telenovela, including family conflicts, infidelity, shocking revelations and unnecessary catfights. The show is set against the backdrop of wealth and ambition and showcases a polished visual that makes it stand out from the rest.
The final episode delivers a devastating blow to Jonasi, who has, thus far, left audiences and the other characters fuming. While it’s a fantastic and insane twist, the last shot might just leave viewers a bit confused. Here’s a breakdown of everything that happened in the series.
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Who is in the Cast of The Polygamist Netflix?
Gugu Gumede, Sdumo Mtshali, Kwanele Mthethwa, S’thandiwe Kgoroge, Kenneth Nkosi, Celeste Ntuli, Luyanda Zwane, Wonder Ndlovu, Noluthando Shabalala, Vuyo Biyela, Lwazie Keith Tsebesha
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Who are the Directors of The Polygamist Series?
Akin Omotoso, Rolie Nikiwe, Nthabi Tau
The series has 22 episodes, with an average runtime of around 30 minutes, and is adapted from the novel of the same name by Su Nyati.
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The Polygamist Ending Explained
How Does Jonasi Gomora Die?
While his last moments are ones that viewers will cherish after the carnage that he left behind throughout the series, Jonasi’s death was far more complicated and curated than one could have imagined. While the series showcases that Jonasi contracted HIV and then died of complications later, we see that this was all Joyce’s doing from the day he hit her. She had paid someone with the disease to sleep with him and infect him, playing the long game of murdering him. It’s slower, more calculated and far more painful than he could’ve imagined.
Joyce understood exactly how his husband would’ve reacted to a woman asking for his attention, and Jonasi underestimated Joyce’s plotting powers. It, however, doesn’t come as a surprise or a tragedy since his infidelity had already resulted in him and all of his wives to contract gonorrhea. This was just the next step.
Why Did Joyce Want Revenge?
Joyce had been quite courteous with Jonasi’s cheating ways that always kept it together, hoping to get her family together in the end. However, when Jonasi hit her and Matipa mercilessly, she knew that he was a bad man who only takes from others. His secret relationships, dishonesty, and constant need for control broke something in Joyce, and the physical abuse was the last straw for her. After years of bowing down and trying for reconciliation, she finally gave Jonasi a taste of his own medicine… but just a bit more permanent.
Who Inherits Jonasi’s Huge Empire?
Joyce, again, plays the long game here and takes Jonasi in during his last moments and makes Menzi sweet-talk him into signing most of his assets over to him. Thus, Menzi becomes the sole heir. Considering the company was started by Jonasi and Joyce, she realised that it was only fair that her children get what she deems to be hers. In one quick stroke, she cut every other child off, believing that Menzi was different from Jonasi and would take care of them.
The Shocking Truth About Essie
Throughout the series, we had seen that Essie was Magesh’s wife. However, after the first few episodes, something just didn’t feel right. Sarah’s anger felt almost misplaced. But then, the revelation finally comes that Essie was Jonasi’s first love and had supported him from when they had nothing to their names. She is his second wife, whom he had kept hidden for all these years. The revelation highlights just how deep Jonasi’s deception lies and how he had manipulated so many people to do his bidding.
Why Does Jonasi Die Alone?
Jonasi, with none of his wives by his side, turned to Lindani to take care of him. But, with the money flowing and Jonasi not having the same hold over her anymore, she started to despise her. They were never really in a relationship, and so he suffered a lot. In the end, he asks Magesh for help, who talks Joyce into taking Jonasi into her house.
However, Joyce carefully orchestrated this as well. She made sure to have Jonasi at her house so that he could write his assets over to Menzi and didn’t let Essie or Sarah meet him and change his mind.
What Does the Ending Really Mean?
Unfortunately for Joyce, we see Menzi slowly changing throughout the series and becoming more like Jonasi. The last showcases him sleeping with Lindani, the woman who was his father’s partner for years. It highlights the heartbreaking revelation that, while trying to get revenge on her husband, Joyce never noticed her own son treading the same path.
At its core, The Polygamist is about consequences and accountability. Jonasi had taken from those closest to him for years until everyone reached their limit, and then no one was there for him when he needed them the most. He used his loved ones to his advantage without thinking of them. Every twist eventually says the same thing in the end – deception eventually catches up with those who rely on it. Jonasi repeatedly betrayed those closest to him and thus was, in the end, left with nothing and no one.
The Polygamist is streaming right now on Netflix. What are your thoughts on the series? Let us know in the comments below!
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Great review! I also think that it was a double edged sword, Joyce had her husband “killed”, but potentially her son will die from the same sickness? Or at least get infected? While they don’t explicitly mention it, it seems Lindani also had HIV (a scene of her swallowing her medicine and saying “just take your medicine!), and with Menzi sleeping with her in that last scene, makes me think he may end up like his dad
Yep.. My same thought here. Menzi is on a self-destruct path and he may end up getting HIV too. I believe that was Lindani’s plan once she saw him crying outside the church. Menzi disdain for his father will ultimately ruin him.