'Under the Bridge' Ending Explained

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the finale of Under the Bridge.

The Big Picture

• Under the Bridge sensitively portrays the ripple effect of a brutal murder on a community with multiple perspectives.
• The finale features powerful scenes showing forgiveness, injustice, and closure for the characters involved.
• Each character's journey, including the victim's family, is given closure, highlighting the impact of the crime.

It can be difficult to effectively depict a real-life case for a television series. Events are often sensationalized or the victims' stories are not truthfully told. But every once in a while, a true crime project comes along that actually shows genuine sensitivity towards the crime that was committed. In Hulu's Under the Bridge, special care is taken to not only give proper attention to the victim, 14-year-old Reena Virk, and her family, but also to the many people who were affected by Reena's brutal murder (including those who participated in it). By providing these multiple perspectives, it's easy for viewers to see the ripple effect that one violent act can create on an entire community.

Under the Bridge consists of just eight episodes, but the series is able to deftly portray the points of view of the desperate teenagers who bullied Reena. Josephine "Jo" Bell (Chloe Guidry, in a scene-stealing performance) and her friends, Kelly Ellard (Izzy G.) and Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow), lure Reena to a party, where they viciously attack her. They eventually leave, but Kelly and another teenage boy named Warren Glowatski (Javon "Wanna" Walton), return to Reena in order to finish their brutal assault. They end up continuing to beat her, then hold her head underwater, leaving her to die. Throughout the series, flashes of these events are shown, but the series never relies heavily on depicting the violence. It is much more horrifying to see only glimpses of what happened; the viewer filling in the blanks leads to a respectful representation of the crime that never feels gratuitous. The final episode helps to provide more context to Reena's death and shows the aftermath of how her murder affected the people connected to her.

Under the Bridge (2024)

Reena Virk, a fourteen-year-old girl went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were accused of the savage murder.

The 'Under the Bridge' Finale Features Several Chilling Scenes

The last episode of the series starts with a flashback from before the murder occurs. It shows Jo convincing Dusty that they're going to initiate Reena into their girl gang, CMC, at a party that night in Shoreline. This explains part of why Dusty was okay with beating up Reena in the first assault; Dusty thought it was part of a twisted initiation rite. But it also provides the audience with the knowledge that Jo was always intent on 'jumping' Reena, and that she was happy to take revenge on Reena for rumors that she had spread about Jo to their friends. The show then jumps to several scenes that provide additional context about what has happened since Reena's death. Warren has been convicted of Reena's murder (which is depicted in Episode 7), and Cam (Lily Gladstone) goes to meet with Jo to convince her to testify in Kelly's upcoming trial. In a heart-wrenching scene, Cam plays a recording of Kelly saying awful things about Jo, including trying to pin the murder on her. Jo insists she still won't testify, clinging to the idea that she'd be a 'rat' if she did. But she asks Cam to play the recording again, simply because she wants to hear her friend's voice once more. This scene helps instill the series' empathy towards all the teenagers involved; it's clear to the viewers that Jo is just a broken kid who was motivated by trying to receive love from anyone who would give her attention or show her loyalty.

The Under the Bridge finale truly shines with two other powerful scenes: Reena's mother, Suman (Archie Panjabi) meets with Warren, and Kelly's trial takes place. Suman speaks with Warren while he's in prison to finally get off her chest what she'd like to express to her child's murderer. She conveys her disbelief and anger and enormous sadness, but then Suman also offers something unexpected to Warren. She provides mercy. Suman says she forgives Warren, and this show of humanity inspires Warren to testify truthfully at Kelly's trial. In the courtroom, Kelly takes the stand, only to completely lose her composure under repeated questioning from the prosecutor. She unleashes her terrifying rage, which allows the jury to see how it was possible for her to participate in Reena's murder. Kelly is convicted of murder, but is shockingly sentenced to just five years in prison because she is a "good girl" from an upstanding family. This injustice is upsetting for the characters (and the audience as well). Warren, who is alone in the world and comes from a background of poverty and homelessness, is sentenced to life in prison. Even though he expressed remorse for his actions, he was still given a much harsher sentence than Kelly, simply because he didn't have status or wealth.

2:26

If You're Loving 'Under the Bridge,' Watch Hulu's Other Twisted True Crime Series

This show tackles the real-life case of another troubled teenager.

Each Character From 'Under the Bridge' Gets Closure

The series finale is written so that every character is allowed to complete their journey (no matter how complicated their path might be). Cam confronts her father about the truth of her adoption (she was likely stolen from a Native American family when she was a little girl), and ends the episode by traveling to meet with her birth family. However, Cam is one of the few characters who was invented for the series and didn't exist in real life, so she doesn't get as clear an update as the rest of the characters. Rebecca (Riley Keough) sees her book about the crime published; it seems like she continues to feel conflicted with her role in investigating the case (especially the friendship she had formed with Warren). A title card at the end of the episode reveals that Rebecca died at age 54 in 2022, but not before contributing heavily to the adaptation of the Under the Bridge series.

There is one other truly touching scene included in the finale that honors Reena's memory. Her parents are cleaning out her room when they find one of her coveted Biggie CDs. They put it on, and have a moment of levity, where they dance a little to the music. Then the CD abruptly skips and then stops, and the camera pans to the doorway where Reena stands. It is a heartbreaking moment that reminds viewers that the loss of Reena will haunt her parents for the rest of their lives (even those rare moments of joy will be tinged with grief). The title card at the end notes that Reena's parents became huge advocates of the anti-bullying movement in her honor. Her father wrote a book (which was also utilized by the writers of Under the Bridge), and both parents actually worked with Warren in a restorative justice program.

The title cards also indicate that the girls all served less than one year in juvenile detention halls for their part in Reena's assault. The only one of them who expressed true regret was Dusty. In the courtroom scene she notes, "We were all a part of this," and later she would say that they had been "monsters." Warren was actually released on parole in 2010, but Kelly remains in prison. However, Kelly still receives some leniency; she is permitted to be on day parole and has given birth to two children while in prison. By providing conclusions for each of the characters, Under the Bridge is able to portray a complicated case with empathy for the victim (as well as for each person affected by the case). It is a balanced, in-depth look at how a vicious crime ended the life of a young girl. But the series shows that Reena was not just the victim of a group of angry teenagers; she was failed by a society that made those kids think that it was acceptable to take their desperation out on someone else. Reena deserved better, but Under the Bridge is a moving tribute to her memory.

Under the Bridge is available to stream on Hulu.

Watch on Hulu

ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kwq%2BwxKtkraCVYq%2BztcOgnGadnpm2r7OMnq%2BppJGeu6awjg%3D%3D