This article contains spoilers for the ending of Sleeping Dogs Season 1 Episode 6.
In the German Netflix original Sleeping Dog, a vagrant ex-cop teams with an up-and-coming prosecutor to investigate a presumed-cold case that reveals a much more insidious conspiracy.
Broadly, the setup for the series is as follows.
Mike Atlas bid adieu to his occupation and absconded from his family and responsibilities subsequent to providing incriminating proof against Mussa Basher in Judge Herres’ homicide case. Presently, following Mussa’s suicide in prison, his sibling, Abou, hunts down Atlas for revenge. Abou accuses him of orchestrating Mussa’s frame-up for the murder. This allegation jolts Atlas into a stark realization that he possesses no recollection of discovering the evidence, namely Mussa’s hairs in Herres’ driveway.
After delving into the matter, Atlas begins to entertain the belief that the evidence was planted, suggesting Mussa’s potential innocence. Simultaneously, Jule Andergast, a prosecutor, endeavors to unravel Mussa’s dossier, seeking the catalyst that triggered his self-inflicted demise.
These two team up just as more and more people connected to the case begin to meet grisly demises.
Sleeping Dog Season 1 Ending Explained
Why did Mike lose his memory?
Mike’s missing memories are established as a crucial component of the series early on, and as things progress in the case so too do his buried traumas begin to float back to the surface of his psyche.
The inciting incident occurred during a terrorist attack at a Christmas market but can really be traced back even further. Mike was already rendered vulnerable by the rigors of his job, the stress and the violence and the guilt, which led him to pills provided to him by Zaric.
Numb on these pills during that terror attack, Mike accidentally kills a homeless man named Polyphem, who was a frequenter of a homeless charity with connections to Judge Herres. Mike had suppressed these memories to help him cope with the trauma.
These revelations are arrived at gradually throughout the series with the aid of both reluctantly received professional help and developments in the ongoing case.
Who killed Judge Herres?
The 49th KDD covered up Polyphem’s death. However, a witness tipped off the homeless charity about the event, leading to Judge Herres becoming involved.
Zaric, blinded by ambition, tried to dissuade Herres from pursuing the corruption case, but when he realised he couldn’t do so, he killed him. With Atlas strung out on drugs, manipulating the case investigating Herres’s death is a rather small affair.
Steck’s prejudice against the Basher family makes for an easy fit. Zaric framed Mussa for the crime, and Socke planted his hair as evidence. When it turned out Mussa had a secret lover in the form of Idris, who would constitute an alibi, Zaric blackmailed Idris into keeping quiet by threatening to expose his sexuality.
When he’s finally confronted, Zaric confesses – which is recorded – and tries to commit suicide, but Mike intervenes.
Who committed the other murders?
With Zaric having framed Mussa, it stands to reason he’d be the one who killed Tom, Jürgens, and Idris as well. However, this is not the case.
The perpetrator of these murders was Socke, replicating Zaric’s method. He was attempting to tie off loose ends in order to, in his mind, protect Mike, Zaric, and the 49th KDD.
Socke was driven almost exclusively by an obsession with the department. Even in the final moments, he believes his actions were justified, though Mike and Zaric prevent him from killing Jule.
You can stream Sleeping Dog Season 1 Episode 6 exclusively on Netflix. Do you have any thoughts on the ending of Sleeping Dog Season 1? Let us know in the comments.
