How I Became a Gangster ending explained: What happens to Walden at the end of the Netflix crime-action movie?

How I Became a Gangster is a Polish crime-action movie that made its arrival on Netflix on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Krzysztof Gureczny has served as the writer of the action-packed movie, while Maciej Kawulski has acted as the director.

The official synopsis for How I Became a Gangster, released by Netflix, reads:

"An ambitious gangster works his way up the ranks of Warsaw's criminal underworld, and ultimately takes his shot at the big time."

Bartek Cierlica has served as the cinematographer of How I Became a Gangster. The movie has been co-produced by Marcin Ciolek, Rafal Biernacik, Adam Gudell, Robert Kijak, Maciej Kawulski, and Sebastian Kwiatkowski. Tomasz Wardyn has served as the producer of the movie.

The movie has opened to positive responses from the audience for its arresting and dramatic storyline, impressive acting performances by the lead cast members, and nail-biting ending.

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What does the protagonist do to save Walden's life?

The Polish gangster movie chronicles the story of an unnamed protagonist who works his way up to the very top of the Polish mafia world. For the most part, the movie puts its main focus on the lead unnamed character, played by Marcin Kowalczyk, making his place as a gangster leader with his trusted team.

However, towards the end of the crime-action movie, it shifts its focus to the friendship and loyalty between the protagonist and his closest gang member and best friend Walden, portrayed by Tomasz Wlosok.

After reaching a certain point in his journey into the Polish underworld, the protagonist decides to take a back seat and enjoy his time with his newlywed wife, while his team members keep on working for him.

During this time, his closest gangmate, Walden, becomes quite reckless and starts taking drastic decisions without the protagonist’s permission and stops following his rules as well.

This hinders the perfectly organized criminal world of the protagonist and starts creating issues for the entire gang and their families. The protagonist also gets arrested for possessing a stolen item in his house.

While in jail, he meets with Walden to warn him about the upcoming dangers due to his reckless actions and orders him to lay low.

However, Walden does not listen to him and plans to kill another mafia leader, Daniel, with whom the protagonist has been doing business. When the protagonist gets out of jail, Daniel tells him to end Walden's life in return for a huge business deal, and the protagonist agrees.

However, he does not want to kill Walden as he considers him his brother and organizes a brilliant and methodical plan to save his life. He pretends to kill Walden to gain Daniel's trust and then goes on to destroy Daniel's entire business of drugs.

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Does Walden die at the end?

After saving Walden from Daniel, he tries to move him along with his girlfriend, himself, and his wife on a boat away from Poland. To fake Walden's death, he injects him with sleeping drugs. When Walden wakes up, he realizes that the protagonist has saved his life and they are now moving to a different place for a fresh start.

However, Walden does not feel worthy of being saved as he has committed a crime for which he cannot forgive himself. He took the life of an innocent child to protect himself and his entire gang. He wants to return to Poland as he believes he should die there because of his actions.

At the very end of the movie, Walden somehow manages to grab a gun in the boat and commits suicide by shooting himself in front of the protagonist. As such, the protagonist fails to save his life in the end.

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Don't forget to watch How I Became a Gangster, which is currently streaming on Netflix.