“Rabbit Hole” is a corporate espionage thriller that sends our protagonist, John Weir, a pro in corporate espionage, on the run after being framed for murder during one of his assignments. Who framed him and why? Episode 1 is the mere beginning of John realizing that, despite being in the game for so long, there is someone who is better than him and perhaps hates him.
Spoilers Ahead
Another Accomplishment
John Weir, a private corporate espionage specialist, is at a bar having his drink and watching football on the television. This is when a guy walks up to the counter and asks the barman to put on the news. On the news, it says that a leading drug manufactured by a pharmaceutical company named Esper-Ethika, based in Tokyo, has been found to have high cancer rates as a side effect. Taking this to be a tanking of the company’s stocks, the guy makes a call and orders the sale of his stake in the company immediately. John then meets a woman there named Hailey, and they end up sleeping at her hotel. The next morning, he wakes up, dresses up, casually rips off a camera hidden inside the digital clock on the bedside table, and tells Hailey to let Madi know that she has to try harder to get proof that she can use as leverage against him, and leaves. Hailey, still in her bed, is left baffled.
On the way to his Office, he observes a blue car following him. He gets out of the cab and encounters Special Agent Madi of the FBI Financial Crimes Unit. They seem to know each other very well. She tells him of the call she got from a guy named Barry Merril the same morning. Merril notified her of the stocks he sold of Esper-Ethika after hearing a rumor at the bar the previous night as well as seeing the same in the news. As it turns out, the news was false. And as soon as Merril sold his stocks, KOT Capital, one of Weir’s clients, bought them all. Weir denies knowing anything about it and simply walks into his office. Madi leaves knowing that Weir is the one who pulled the trick, but she has no evidence whatsoever to even question him further. Inside his office, Weir and his team celebrate their latest win. Later that night, he goes to his son’s concert and meets his wife. They are apparently separated. After the concert, as his wife and son leave, Weir notices the same blue car that he had observed earlier parked nearby.
Get Colluded
The next day, he arrives at Arda Analytics, a data analytics company, and his former office, to meet his friend Miles Valence, who gives him his next assignment. Unbeknownst to Weir, someone is keeping an eye on him through the security feed. After the meeting, as he waits for a taxi outside, he meets Madi again, who warns him about Valence. Weir, yet again, takes her casually and walks away.
After returning to his office, he tells his team about their upcoming assignment. Luxbrant, a luxury brand, has claimed that the recent allegations against it by its competitor Banomar Group, accusing them of child labor, which has launched an investigation by the Treasury Department, are false. Banomar Group is doing this so that the stocks of Luxbrant can fall and Banomar can buy them cheaply. The allegations are true, which is why Luxbrant has hired Weir and his team to find proof or create proof, which suggests that Banomar Group and the Treasury Department are colluding against Luxbrant. Simple stuff, and they will be more handsomely compensated for the job.
Calls For Clicks
Dana Heinrich, CEO of Banomar Group, is on her way to the office in her car when a semi-truck (driven by team member Manfred) breaks down in front and leads to a traffic jam. She takes a cab, whose driver is Hafiz (a team member), who, to her utter disgust, takes her through confusing routes and shrewdly drops her, after her constant wailing, in front of the hotel, where Edward Homm, a Treasury Department Investigator from Washington DC, is waiting for his car to go to the Treasury Department office. As they are standing on the same side of the road, Cara (a team member) ensures that Dana gets close enough to Edward by using dogs that she has on leashes. Dana hates dogs and takes a few steps back, thereby diminishing the gap between herself and Edward. Manfred [now dressed as a cop], whom Weir has already driven with to the location, approaches them and quietly drops an envelope with the name “Banomar Group” on it. He then asks Edward if it is his and walks off. Weir watches from his car as Edward picks up the envelope and asks Dana if it is hers. Seeing the name on it, she takes it. This handover was captured on camera by Kyle (team member or intern). The deed is done. The next day, Weir gives the photos to Miles Valence. Miles assures him he’ll get the money wired asap. As Weir comes out of Arda Analytics, he sees the blue car for the third time. As he starts walking, he notices Hailey, the woman from the bar, as she gets into a cab. Once back at his office the next day, he finds out that Hailey Marie Winton is a lawyer for The Homeless Aid Network, hailing from Pittsburgh. She has no criminal record, and her office is at Times Square, which is quite a distance from where Weir saw her. So the question is: what was she doing near Arda Analytics?
‘Rabbit Hole’ Episode 1: Ending Explained – Is Edward Homm Dead?
Weir meets Hailey, whom he saw the previous day. She doesn’t want to talk to him. As he tries to find out more, she reveals that she saw him on a dating app, which is weird because he is not on any dating apps. He then realizes that she is staring at one of the giant screens nearby. He turns and sees the news that’s showing his face. The police are looking for him for the murder of US Treasury Officer Edward Homm. He runs from the spot and takes a cab to reach his office, where his team is in a panic. But before he could enter the building, the floor on which his office was was blown up. Weir’s whole team is dead, and he has no idea what’s going on. Still trying to wrap his head around it, he heads straight to Arda Analytics and into Miles Valence’s office. Valence also seems to be in a state of panic and walks out to the balcony to take an important call. Before Weir can do anything, Valence gets on the balustrade and jumps to his death. On his laptop, Weir finds an anonymous message saying, “Do it. Now.” The alarm at Arda Analytics goes off. Weir somehow manages to escape from the location and reach his secret house. He walks down to his basement. Staring at him, tied to a chair, is Edward Homm.
Why did John Weir kidnap Edward Homm? And when did he do it? Is Homm somehow connected to Valence’s death? And who framed Weir for Homm? Who sent the blue car after Weir? Is it the same guy who was keeping an eye on him at Arda Analytics through the CCTV? Or did Weir intend to kidnap Homm but become compromised afterward? Episode 1 of “Rabbit Hole” is just the beginning of this conspiracy, seemingly against John Weir.
