WTF Just Happened? 'Swarm' Ending Explained
Prime Video series Swarm may only be seven episodes, but it is still a hell of a ride. * Warning: there are major spoilers from the final two episodes of Swarm. It features an unforgettable performance from lead Dominique Fishback, and examines themes like the toxicity of fandoms.
What takes you over the line from fan to toxic? Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers says, “When you take ownership of someone that you’ve never met, that is 100 percent an addiction. You are not in touch with reality in the way someone who has an actual relationship with a person in the world is.”
The penultimate episode, “Fallin’ Through the Cracks,” marked a jarring, yet not unwelcome, change in format, with a true crime documentary crew following around Detective Loretta Greene (Heather Simms) as she investigates the murders that we’ve watched take place throughout the series.
To go from that to “Only God Makes Happy Endings” is quite jarring, as a lot has changed with Dre (Fishback), and it can be a little tricky to tell what is actually happening, and what is just in Dre’s mind. This is me going through the big moments in the final two episodes, and speculating - with help from interview quotes from Nabers - on what really happened to Dre.
Where Does It Pick Back Up?
Dre is now living in Atlanta as a man named Toni. [A statement from Amazon said the character is not definitively trans. I'll use the pronouns the character was using at each point in the story.] He meets a woman named Rashida (Kiersey Clemons), when he offers her a ride home because her rideshare driver ditches her when he sees how wasted her roommate is. Things seem to be going well, and they move in together. However, Toni falls into old habits, and we find out that Rashida is paying for everything by herself, because Toni doesn’t work.
What Happens To Rashida?
Toni is so excited to give his girlfriend a present for their anniversary, which is expensive Ni’jah tickets. Rashida doesn’t even like Ni’jah (played by Nirine S. Brown), which is something they have argued about throughout their relationship. Just like Marissa (Chloe Bailey) was mad when Dre spent money on Ni’jah tickets instead of rent, Rashida is also livid, because Toni spent that money on tickets while she has to support him - and has to ask her parents for money, which she hates.
It seemed like Toni had finally found acceptance with Rashida. She loved him just as he is. She introduced him to her family, who welcomed him with open arms. Unfortunately, Toni regresses, killing Rashida for his obsession, Ni’jah. Toni strangles Rashida, because not only does she not want to go to the concert, but she also badmouths Ni’jah. After falling asleep hugging Rashida’s corpse, Toni burns the body, then decides to go to the concert on his own.
What Happens At The Ni'jah Concert?
Toni gets to the concert, but realizes he never took the tickets out of Rashida’s pocket, so they burned in the fire. He finds a scalper, and kills him for his ticket into the show. Once he goes inside, Toni can’t control his desire to see Ni’jah. He runs onstage, and security stops him, but Ni’jah steps in, even handing Toni the microphone and asking him to sing. Ni’jah and Toni are seen leaving the concert together, and Ni’jah embraces him like a mother as the car drives away.
Did Toni Actually Meet Ni'jah?
When Toni runs onstage at the Ni’jah concert, the singer appears with Ni’jah's body, but Marissa's face. There’s a bit of a glow-y effect around Marissa’s face, to suggest it is a dream. There’s also the little matter of time. Toni gives Rashida the concert tickets after she has returned home from a full day of work. They have the argument that leads to Rashida’s heart-breaking death, and then Toni falls asleep cradling her corpse for an undisclosed amount of time. It seems unlikely that all of that could happen, Toni could burn the body, go to the concert, try multiple methods of entry before settling on killing a scalper in his car, and still make it inside as the concert is starting.
However, to Toni, this is really happening, and we know from the penultimate episode, “Fallin’ Through the Cracks” that a man named Tony did run onto the stage at a concert on the Beyoncé and Jay-Z On the Run II Tour in summer 2018. Toni never made his Beyoncé dreams come true in real life, so the final episode allows him to have the ending he wants, even if only in his mind.
Why Did Ni'jah Have Marissa's Face?
“Because they’re one and the same. These two women were the catalyst for her story. It begins with Chloe [Bailey, who plays Marissa], and it ends with Ni’jah,” Nabers said In an interview with the LA Times. Nabers also told TV Line, “At the end of the day, this is about a woman going through grief in her own way. What she sees in the moment is a manifestation of a lot of the things that she’s been dealing with, especially from the pilot, that set her on this journey to begin with.”
It makes sense. Toni grew up in foster care (as Dre, Andrea Greene). She was brought home by Marissa’s parents, and the two connected. Marissa and Dre were like sisters. Marissa was the first person to really accept and love her. It was clear that Marissa’s parents did not like her, however, and tried to hide her from everyone else. They eventually returned Dre to the foster home. The only other place Dre found acceptance - before Rashida - was with the other members of the “Hive,” the name for Ni’jah fans - another nod to Beyoncé - on social media and internet groups. To Dre, Ni’jah and Marissa equal acceptance.
What Was 'Real?'
The “real” ending is actually in the penultimate episode, which is presented like a true crime documentary. Detective Loretta Greene has been looking into the murders, and believes they are being committed by a toxic fan, who is also a Black woman. A Black woman herself, Loretta picks up on the similar items that are being found at crime scenes - like hot Cheetos and a bonnet - that are not often found on older white women.
“Fallin’ Through the Cracks,” is the real world, whereas all the other episodes in the series are in Toni’s reality. The name Andrea Greene is the same, but the photo of Dre is not Dominique Fishback, who plays the character in the show. Also, the name is bleeped out, but you can tell that everyone in the documentary is talking about Beyoncé, not Ni’jah. At the end of this episode, we also see Donald Glover, co-creator of Swarm, talking about the new project he’s working on that features Dom Fishback.
What Happens To Toni?
Loretta is onto Toni. Along with the junk food similarities, she also finds other crimes where the victims were murdered via blunt force trauma. The victims she has researched also badmouthed Ni’jah/Beyoncé before their death. She figures out that Dre was now going by the name Toni, and living in Atlanta (which is where Marissa was going to go with Khalid - played by Damson Idris - for her birthday).
Loretta also has a mugshot of the “real” Toni, and we see a news clipping of a man running onstage at a Beyoncé and Jay-Z concert. The episode ends with the message, “Loretta continues to push for the arrest of Andrea Greene. She suspects Andrea is linked to at least eight murders, making her one of the most prolific female serial killers.” It also says that Houston, Nashville, and Little Rock PD have reopened the murder cases they believe were committed by Toni.
As a nice touch, the show includes a phone number for anyone who has any information on Andrea Greene. If you call the number, it starts out sounding like a police tip hotline, but ends with Dre asking her question from throughout the film, “Who is your favorite artist?”
The original publication of this piece is on Ranker.com.
