Summary
The Journalist manages to get to the root cause of the issue and the emotions surrounding this series.
This recap of Netflix’s The Journalist (2022) season 1, episode 6 — the finale and ending explained — contains spoilers.
Read the review of The Journalist.
We had every expectation that the final episode would be emotional, and it delivered. The Journalist manages to get to the root cause of the issue and the emotions surrounding this series.
The Journalist (2022) season 1, episode 6 recap – the finale and ending explained
At the start of episode 6, Ms. Matsuda meets Murakami (from CIRO) in Kohei’s hospital room, which is an excellent starting point for the finale — Kohei raised the Whistleblower complaint regarding AI Subsidies, and Mr. Toyoda shut it down. Murakami reveals that Mr. Toyoda tried to bury everything. Murakami wants to bring Mr. Toyoda down, so Matsuda asks for his testimony. This is vitally important as we reach the finale; the news reporter needs a smoking gun from the inside.
And then the finale flits to Mayumi wanting Matsuda to meet someone; they meet Mr. Mouri, formerly the leader of the Finance department, who immediately tells the two women to leave him alone. Mayumi wants to know the reasons behind altering the documents, which ultimately led to her husband committing suicide. They ask for his testimony, and Mr. Mouri admits to giving orders. This series once again highlights how a well-oiled system works. It’s all about hierarchy and power. There’s always someone higher up.
Murakami angrily confronts Mr. Toyoda about his decisions and how it forces the lower people in society to suffer. Mr. Toyoda claims that Kohei withdrew the whistleblower complaint himself as it would have harmed his colleagues. What Mr. Toyoda does not know is that Murakami recorded the entire conversation.
With Matsuda’s help, Ryo meets Murakami as he becomes accustomed to the life of journalism — he has one final request for the man; he admits he doesn’t blame Murakami for the death of his uncle and asks why he became a bureaucrat. Murakami claims he has nothing to tell him, but Ryo remains optimistic and asks the man if he’d like to change things with him.
The ending
The next day, Matsuda receives a transcript of the reinvestigation of the finances regarding the subsidies, authored by Kohei. Murakami has also sent the recording of his angry confrontation with Mr. Toyoda, and another news report follows, detailing further corruption by the government. The end is night.
As the episode ends, Matsudo, the veteran at journalism, thanks the rookie Ryo for his help. The episode ends with a sense of hope that they can fight for a better political system.
Additional points
- Ryo spends time with Mayu, who’s having a tough time with job hunting. A job offer she had was cancelled due to an impending pandemic. Ryo asks Mayu if he can write an article about her.
What did you think of Netflix’s The Journalist (2022) season 1, episode 6 (finale), and the ending? Comment below.
