‘Clickbait,’ a gripping mystery thriller on Netflix, delves at the dark instincts that the internet’s anonymity brings out in individuals. A shady kidnapping suddenly becomes even more sinister when the victim’s existence is contingent on a video of him not becoming viral. The miniseries presents us with such choices, and the mystery is replete with secret identities and reasons. The show also doesn’t hold back on the specifics, offering viewers a full 360-degree picture of the crime from different individuals’ views, all building to an explosive and unexpected conclusion. If you have any unanswered questions at the end, we are here to help! Let’s take a look at the climax of ‘Clickbait.’ WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
Clickbait Recap
Andrea Brewer celebrates her birthday with her children Nick and Pia, her daughter-in-law Sophie, and her grandsons Kai and Ethan around the table. The friendly environment is quickly shattered by an altercation between Pia and Nick, and the former exits clearly distressed. Pia (a nurse) is shown a film by one of her patients, Vince, the next morning at work.
To her surprise, the video shows a clearly hurt Nick carrying banners accusing him of being a woman abuser. The following banners contain incendiary messages claiming that Nick has murdered a woman and that “I die at 5 million views.” There is also a view count on the video, which is currently at a few thousand views. The news travels like wildfire, and the video is soon watched by everyone at Ethan and Kai’s school, with over 300,000 views.
Pia and Sophie go to the cops, and Roshan Amir is assigned to the case. He looks into a man named Curtis Hamilton, who Sophie was having an affair with, based on security evidence. However, due to a lack of proof, the man is released. Emma Beesley, a woman who claims to have had an affair with Nick, comes forward shortly after. Nick’s body is discovered, bludgeoned to death, by the time the view count has reached 5 million.
When the cops, Sophie, and Pia dig into Nick’s online sites, they discover that he had many dating profiles and was in contact with multiple women. A reporter named Ben Park, who is following up on the story, learns that one of the ladies Nick was in contact with (Sarah Burton) is now dead, the cause of death being suicide. Nick was allegedly spotted arguing with one of the females on his volleyball team (Tara) just before his kidnapping, according to the report.
In a flashback, Sarah Burton’s brother Simon Burton and a friend kidnapped Nick, kept him prisoner in a truck, and then released the viral video. When Simon is interrogated, however, he admits to kidnapping Nick but denies murdering him. Meanwhile, Pia notices that many of the women who claim to have met Nick through online dating sites have never met him in person. Nick’s son Ethan begins to look into his father’s online dating sites as well, and with the help of a friend, he is able to obtain the address of the person who created them. Unfortunately, his younger brother Kai stumbles across the address and sets out to avenge his father’s death alone.
Clickbait Ending: Why is Nick Kidnapped?
Kai is taken aback when he discovers that the house belongs to Nick’s older coworker Dawn, who warmly invites the befuddled young boy inside. Dawn and her husband Ed’s nefarious plans are quickly evident when we witness Ed draw his gun before offering to transport Kai home. We next see how Dawn took Nick’s personal information, created profiles, and developed online relationships with multiple women through flashbacks. When her husband found it, he was furious, but he later became a co-conspirator when he killed Nick after the man came to confront Dawn about the bogus profiles.
Kai tries to flee Dawn and Ed in the present, but is pursued by the latter, who attempts to shoot him. Sophie and Pia, along with the authorities, arrive just in time to rescue Kai and apprehend Dawn. Ed tries to fire one last gunshot, but the cops shoot him down. In the finale’s final scenes, Sophie and Pia are finally at peace with Nick’s death, with Sophie able to enjoy her late husband’s memories without being tortured by thoughts of him being unfaithful.
As the enthralling mystery draws to a climax, it becomes clear that Nick was the victim of not one, but two horrible events. It was not his fault that he was accused of abusing and killing a woman (which he holds up on placards in the viral video). Sarah Burton, who struggled from mental illness and found refuge in the online relationship she felt she had with Nick, committed suicide. Sarah committed herself after the person in charge of Nick’s profile turned their back on her.
After viewing his images on the profile his late sister was speaking with, Sarah’s brother Simon, who was highly protective of his sister and worked as an online content censor (thus his internet prowess in making the viral video untraceable), tracked out the real Nick. Simon and his friend kidnapped Nick and held him hostage on the truck where they filmed the viral video of him carrying the damning placards, believing Nick was responsible for his sister’s death. However, upon questioning, Simon claims that despite intending to kill Nick, he discovered that Nick was not the person behind the profile that killed his sister and let him go.
Who Killed Nick? Why is He Killed?
Nick is assassinated by one of the story’s most improbable characters. Nick rushes to his colleague Dawn’s house after escaping Simon Burton and learns his identity has been stolen. Nick deduces from his conversation with Simon that the only person who could have created such convincing online profiles of him is Dawn, who has his phone password, access to his work computer, and is aware of his marital problems. Dawn tries to appease Nick when he eventually confronts her, but to no avail.
While they are arguing, Dawn’s husband Ed appears from behind and bludgeons Nick to death with a hammer. The couple then disposed of the body and scrubbed their home clean of all evidence of the crime. Ed, who appears to be a calm man who enjoys model trains, is taken aback when he learns of his wife’s online activities. When Nick arrives at their residence, Ed realizes that if the authorities ever figure out who was behind the bogus profiles, there will be serious consequences for both him and Dawn.
As a result, in order to hide his wife’s tracks, he murders Nick. He also expresses his desire to avoid going to prison. Ed kills Nick because he wants to live out his days in peace and avoid becoming caught in the complicated case that could land him and his wife Dawn in prison. Dawn, who started it all by establishing bogus profiles, had no idea it would escalate to this level of seriousness, and all she wanted was to be admired, even if it was by strangers on the internet.
Is Ed Gleed Dead? What Happens to Dawn Gleed?
The spectacular ending finds Nick’s son Kai seized by Dawn and Ed Gleed and transported to their trailer, where they deliberate what their next step should be. Dawn wants to come clean and confess to her identity theft crime, but her husband stops her, claiming that they would be held responsible for Nick’s death as well. During this time, Kai manages to flee but is pursued by the elderly couple, with Ed even attempting but failing to kill him.
When the authorities come just in the nick of time, Dawn is arrested. When Ed eventually catches Kai, he holds the gun to his head but can’t bring himself to fire it, so he lets him go. Ed then attempts to fire a bullet at the cops, but is immediately shot down by them. Ed is almost certainly dead, despite the fact that we last saw him lying on the ground, bleeding out. Dawn’s destiny is similarly unknown, but she is expected to serve a lengthy prison sentence, possibly up to life.
Her original crime of taking Nick’s identity, albeit heinous, would have secured her a lower term. Dawn’s unlucky wife is now an accessory to murder and kidnapping (Kai) as a result of her husband’s activities, who murdered Nick so that their lives would not be turned upside down by Dawn’s bogus accounts. Dawn’s story and eventual destiny exemplifies how minor dark impulses, such as hers of simply wanting to be loved, may be amplified by the internet and turned into heinous crimes.
