Fugue State 1986 ending explained: León's search for Jeremias' body leads him to his final gift

Aashna
Fugue State 1986 (Image via Instagram/@soyandresparra)
Fugue State 1986 (Image via Instagram/@soyandresparra)

Fugue State 1986 is Netflix's latest Spanish psychological crime drama series, which is a fictionalized account of the real-life Pozzetto massacre in Bogota at the hands of Campo Elías Delgado in 1986. The eight-part series follows Jeremias Salgado (the fictional equivalent of Delgado), a teacher and Vietnam War veteran who suddenly opens fire at the San Marzino Italian restaurant, killing a dozen people in the process.

Jeremias was a seemingly innocent and harmless man who formed a wholesome friendship with a young man named Camilo León in his formative years at the University. However, Fugue State 1986 soon reveals that Leon is deeply involved with Jeremias and is the lone confidante who knows all the details of his harrowing actions. But as the series progresses, Leon's memory fails him and he suspiciously enters into a fugue state, which only ends after he receives a parting gift from Jeremias.

Here is what went down in the series finale.


Fugue State 1986: The truth about Jeremias and Leon's friendship

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While Jeremias' shocking restaurant massacre forms the heart of the narrative in Fugue State 1986, his unusual confidante Leon holds the key to this event. In the final episodes, we learn that it was not Jeremias but Leon who was in a fugue state due to repressed childhood trauma about his father's abduction and torture many years ago. A flashback reveals how Jeremias developed an unusual friendship with Leon at their university, over their shared love for literature and parental trauma. However, while Leon's intentions were sincere, Jeremias wanted to recruit him for the 'Program' and mold him into a psychological weapon.

As Leon struggles to get out of his fugue state and piece back his memories about the restaurant massacre, he becomes increasingly entangled in the events and ends up becoming a prime suspect for Indira Quinchia, a former psychiatrist and forensic specialist and her police friend Mario Polania, who are investigating the massacre.


Fugue State 1986 ending explained: What is the program? Exploring the truth behind Jeremias' mass murder

Officer Mario Polania uncovers a string of evidence that connects Jeremias' massacre to a secret US program, confessed to by Major Guillermo himself. The program involved a training regimen and psychological brainwashing of soldiers like Jeremias, which essentially transformed them into killing machines. While the details about the program were not revealed in Fugue State 1986 and it did not reach Columbia, Jeremias was likely operating under the influence of the program and wanted to recruit Leon.

One of the harrowing mysteries about Fugue State 1986 is the reason behind Jeremias' mass murder that led to the killing of a dozen people. Through various small details, the show hints that the Vietnam War veteran was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and likely committed the massacre in a hallucinatory or confused state. Additionally, the brainwashing in the program and Jeremias' narcissistic beliefs about humanity further drove him to the edge and he committed such a vile act. The veteran soldier even hallucinates about the battlefield and Vietnam War soldiers, moments before the massacre, which suggests that the mass murder was partly driven by Jeremias' consciousness and partly due to his frenzy state.


Jeremias' death (and body) remains a mystery in Fugue State 1986

The final moments of Fugue State 1986 feature Jeremias' death as we see a gunshot wound on his left temple. While many intricate details suggest that the soldier took his own life after completing his mission and likely realizing the horrors of it, Jeremias was a right-handed man and thus could not have fired at his left temple with accuracy.

This gives room to Leon's suspicions that the US government and the police were likely involved in Jeremias' death, especially because they replaced his briefcase and gun with fake counterparts. Additionally, since Major Guillermo wanted to keep the details of the program secret, he was likely involved in the cover-up of Jeremias' death but the show does not provide definitive answers.

To make the mystery surrounding Jeremias' death even more riveting in Fugue State 1986, Indira and Leon fail to locate his physical remains and the latter concludes that his body was likely taken care of by the US army.


What happened to Leon in the Fugue State 1986 finale?

In Fugue State 1986, Leon was inadvertently caught up in Jeremias' volatile actions that essentially ruined his life. His lifelong dream of becoming a successful writer took a back seat and he was instead piecing together the mystery of Jeremias' death with Indira, desperately seeking closure in the process. However, when all hope was dead, he bought an empty grave for Jeremias in hopes of finding some closure over his friend's death.

To his surprise, Jeremias posthumously left him with five audio tapes, detailing everything about the program and the restaurant massacre. Leon shared those tapes with Indira and the police, except for the fifth, which became an inspiration for him. The fifth audio tape was especially meant for Leon, containing heartfelt words from Jeremias about his former friend, which inspired Leon to finally write his first literary work.

Throughout Fugue State 1986, Leon was either in control of his traumatic memories or Jeremias but his return to the writer's chair was symbolic that he finally took charge of his life by the power of words.


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Edited by Aashna