One cannot simply explain the ending of The Mire. The whole point of Season 3, subtitled “Millennium”, is to tie all three seasons – each set in a different period in the same bleak Polish enclave – together; that means events, characters, and crimes stretching back decades prior and intermingling to sometimes confounding effect. Unpacking it all is a nightmare, but let’s try anyway.
The Mire Season 3 Ending Explained
Does Wanda survive?
Central to Millennium is Anna Jass’s relationship with Wanda, Teresa’s daughter. Anna and Teresa’s relationship had come to an end in a car accident that took Teresa’s life, for which Anna blamed herself. Anna and Wanda, despite having been close before, struggled to connect after, despite Wanda openly needing Anna and Wanda never having blamed her for the loss of her mother.
With Anna keeping her distance, and Piotr busying himself with Joanna, Wanda’s isolation only worsened. Naturally, her precociousness got her into trouble with Donata and Filip, and she became a victim of their human trafficking ring. She ultimately survived, however.
Who is Filip and what was his connection to Stefan?
The Mire Season 3, like all the previous seasons, is kick-started by a murder. The manager of the Centrium Hotel, Kociolek, is murdered by persons unknown, and Anna’s father Stefan is particularly interested in the matter.
Kociolek was Filip’s father. He was also connected to Grochowiak, the man who was murdered by his wife Helena in Season 1. Back in the day, Grochowiak and Kociolek ran their own trafficking ring, with the former using his status as a swimming instructor to provide girls who would be trafficked through Kociolek’s connections.
By chance, Stefan had befriended Kociolek, without realizing what a sicko he was. He had promised Kociolek that, if anything should happen to him, he would care for Filip, hence his presence after learning that Kociolek had been murdered. Little did he know, though…
Who killed Kociolek?
As it turns out it was Filip who killed Kociolek, for reasons stemming back years. True to form, Kociolek, who was not Filip’s biological father, had been exceptionally cruel to his mother and had eventually killed her after she defended herself against a violent man he had forced her to sleep with. Filip witnessed this act.
After murdering his stepfather, Filip disappeared, changed his name to Albert, and married Donata. This is why Anna and her father had such a difficult time finding him.
The Necklace
Anna and Filip knew each other briefly in childhood, and Anna had bestowed upon him her mother’s expensive necklace as a gift. When Filip’s mother’s body was discovered, Anna recognized the necklace and put two and two together.
After confronting Filip at the shed where he used to take her, she found him trying to entomb his mother’s body in the backyard. After confessing to killing his stepfather and explaining the reasons why, he surrendered himself to the authorities. Donata was caught by Kinga, and the trafficking ring, at least locally, was closed. But the real string-pullers remain anonymous and at large.
How does The Mire Season 3 end? What happened with the letter?
The man Filip’s mother killed gave Kociolek a letter. It was intended for Witold, but never reached him. Kociolek kept it, perhaps as future leverage. The letter was sent by Else Koepke.
When Witold finally reaches the address in the letter, Else’s daughter informs him that her mother passed away a couple of years ago. There isn’t a happy ending in sight for anyone, but at least there’s some closure.
What did you think of The Mire Season 3 Episode 6 and the ending of Millennium? Let us know in the comments.
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