The ending of Scoop (2024) is a reminder of how important and impactful the truth can be, and how telling it is sometimes a very challenging endeavor.
The Netflix movie tells the story of Prince Andrew’s infamous 2019 Newsnight interview from the perspective of BBC producer Sam McAlister. Throughout the film we watch Sam chase the story while she negotiates the terms of the interview with Buckingham Palace. At first, neither editor Esme Wren nor show host Emily Maitlis seemed interested in a story about His Royal Highness’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. But after Epstein’s arrest and subsequent death, securing the exclusive interview swiftly turned into a top priority.
The movie’s final act recreates the bombshell interview and follows the characters in the immediate aftermath of its airing.
The Interview
Emily and Prince Andrew both spend the day before the big interview preparing. While the Duke of York seems to think this will be his chance to tell his story and make the whole unpleasant business go away, Emily is well aware that messing this up could potentially ruin her career.
It’s the big day and Emily is beyond nervous about finally getting to interview the prince about his continuous friendship with a convicted sex offender. Prince Andrew notices Emily is wearing trousers and finds it amusing. The night before expressed disdain at the thought of him looking at her knees. The movie then recreates a good chunk of the infamous interview and Rufus Sewell’s impression of the royal is so spot on I had to double check I wasn’t watching the real thing.
“You Know, I Thought That Went Very Well.”
Funnily enough, neither Prince Andrew nor Amanda seems to realize how bad his answers to Emily’s question made him look. Amanda smiles at Sam as if to thank her for allowing him to tell his side. As Sam and Emily exchange knowing glances, the prince happily prances around and offers the crew a little tour of the Palace. He even tells Emily, “You know, I thought that all went very well,” a line one might interpret as the very definition of “famous last words.”
Back at the BBC’s studio, Sam congratulates Emily for how she got the prince to show himself in the interview. But Emily thanks Sam for her part in securing the scoop. However, as the Queen’s man was also in the room recording the interview, Esme is worried the monarch might stop it from getting broadcast.
That’s not the case and Emily successfully announces the release of her exclusive interview with the Duke of York for the following evening. Meanwhile, Sam is thrilled about Esme giving her credit for securing the interview on Twitter.
Prince Andrew’s Reputation Is Ruined
Prince Andrew is in good spirits on the day his big interview is about to air. The articles in the press discussing his upcoming episode of Newsnight are complimentary and praise him for deciding to honestly share his side of the story.
Both Sam and Prince Andrew are watching the broadcast from their respective homes. He did take a moment to straighten out one of his stuffed teddy bears first.
The public’s response to the interview is nothing like the duke imagined, but it’s everything Sam wanted it to be. While the show is still live, people are taking to social media platforms to express their disgust or post memes poking fun at his ludicrous claims.
Scoop (2024) Ending and Epilogue
The following day, both Prince Andrew and Amanda are anxiously waiting to see the Queen. She loses her job, he loses his public duties.
Newsnight receives a written statement from the Palace about the prince’s withdrawal from public life. Esme praises her team for their hard work in getting the story out to the public.
The film ends with Sam walking around London (where the movie was filmed) feeling proud to see how impactful her story is.
According to the epilogue:
- Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview was the most watched in the show’s history and it earned several awards.
- Within days of the interview airing, Prince Andrew stepped away from public duties and was stripped of royal titles.
- In 2022 he settled the lawsuit against him by accuser Virginia Giuffre for £12 million
- Jeffrey Epstein’s victims are still fighting for justice and to date $550 million has been paid out to them.
- Sam McCalister left the BBC in 2021 and moved on to teach negotiation skills at the London School of Economics.
You can check out my thoughts on the movie overall in my Scoop (2024) Review.
