Caution: This article contains plot revelations for .
By the time the eighth and final episode of Black Rabbit concludes, it’s difficult to imagine how brothers Jake () and Vince Friedkin () could possibly extricate themselves from the immense predicament they’ve created. Yet, as the show progresses towards its poignant conclusion, the audience strongly hopes that the fragile yet undeniable connection between the siblings will endure until the Netflix limited series’ end credits roll.
Now available for streaming, the intense crime thriller from husband-and-wife creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman focuses on the Friedkin brothers’ dealings surrounding their downtown Manhattan eatery, the eponymous Black Rabbit, which we learn began as a joint venture between them. However, accounts differ on whether Vince, who struggled with addiction, was bought out or compelled to relinquish his ownership of the Rabbit a few years prior, following a series of missteps that culminated in a drunken wager leading to an employee’s paralysis. Upon Vince’s return to town, Jake and his renowned musician business partner Wes (Sope Dirisu) have transformed the Rabbit into one of the city’s most fashionable establishments. Nevertheless, Jake faces his own challenges, including escalating financial woes and a tendency to overlook the misconduct of powerful men exploiting vulnerable young women on his premises.
“It truly explores these brothers who share a deep affection but are fundamentally different—one is a troublemaker, the other far more composed,” Bateman conveyed to . “That’s something everyone can relate to. Everyone has either a sibling or a friend with whom they love spending time, but it carries a certain risk; that person often gets you into scrapes, yet they’re incredibly stimulating to be around.”
Following the revelation that Vince was one of the masked perpetrators behind the violent robbery of the Rabbit’s upscale jewelry display—and the individual who fatally shot Junior (Forrest Weber), son of crime boss Joe Mancuso (Troy Kotsur), to prevent him from murdering Jake alongside Wes—the brothers’ predicament becomes more perilous than ever. Jake initially conceived the idea for the robbery in a desperate bid to clear Vince’s debts to Mancuso. However, he cancelled the entire plan after Campbell (Morgan Spector), the fixer for VIP Rabbit regular and repeat sexual assaulter Jules Zablonski (John Ales), offered Jake $500,000 to delete surveillance footage of Jules illicitly putting drugs into the drink of Rabbit bartender Anna (Abbey Lee), who subsequently died accidentally due to the brothers’ errors. Jake used the bribe money to pay off Mancuso, but he hadn’t anticipated Junior’s view of the robbery as an opportunity to prove himself to his father, leading him to recruit an enraged Vince for the endeavor.
After Jake betrays Vince by tricking him into disclosing his location to Mancuso and his associate Babbitt (Chris Coy) to safeguard Vince’s daughter Gen (Odessa Young) and ensure her escape, Jake once again rushes to help Vince evade Mancuso’s vengeance. He then contacts Campbell and reveals he kept a copy of the footage of Jules drugging Anna, intending to blackmail Jules into allowing Vince to use his private plane to leave the country. As the brothers await Campbell at the Black Rabbit, Vince confesses to Jake that he killed their abusive father during their childhood by dropping a bowling ball on his head, prompting Jake to reveal that he witnessed the event that night and had known all along.
Convinced that Campbell will not arrive and that he doesn’t merit escape, Vince seizes the opportunity to call the police and confess to his transgressions. However, upon realizing that Jake will relentlessly attempt to protect him, likely leading to his own ruin, Vince steps back off the Rabbit’s roof and plunges to his death.
What is the conclusion of Black Rabbit?
Following Vince’s demise, Jake provides the footage of Jules drugging Anna to the detective investigating Anna’s death. A concluding montage of scenes, fast-forwarding in time, then reveals that Jake has closed the Rabbit, while his head chef, Roxie (Amaka Okafor), has ventured out independently to open a new restaurant named Anna’s. Jake has also abandoned his opulent lifestyle, returning to work as a bartender, a choice that seems to have brought him greater contentment.
“It’s about accountability. It’s about recognizing, when you assess your life, whether you are pursuing someone else’s aspiration or your own,” Law stated to Netflix. “I believe that encapsulates the core of Jake’s journey, certainly.”
