The Madness season 1 ending explained: What happens to Rodney Kraintz?

The Madness season 1, the first instalment of the American conspiracy thriller limited series was released on November 28, 2024, on Netflix. The show consisted of eight episodes and followed Muncie Daniels, a media pundit who found himself at a crossroads after being framed for the death of a white supremacist.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Readers' discretion is advised.

As Daniels unearthed layers of the conspiracy scheme that attempted to paint him as the perpetrator, he realized that the problem was much bigger than he had anticipated. Multiple people in positions of power were responsible for the killing that Daniels had been framed for as well as several other wrongdoings associated with that.

A search for the truth led Daniels ultimately to billionaire data analyst mogul, Rodney Kraintz, whom he threatened to kill but eventually let go. However, that did not stop others from going after his life, as Bobby, one of the members of The Forge, eventually shot and killed Rodney.

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How was Rodney Kraintz killed in The Madness season 1?

Colman Domingo is Muncie Daniels in The Madness season 1 (Image via Getty)

At the beginning of The Madness season 1, Muncie Daniels (Colman Domingo) realized that he was being framed for the death of Mark Simon, a closeted white supremacist, whose body he had found in a remote Poconos cabin. He did not have much to fall back on to prove that he wasn't behind the killing.

However, as he set out to prove his innocence and gather information supporting his claims, he found some interesting details about things that shocked him. These included information about Mark, the organization he was associated with before his death, along with the people who were behind his killing, and the extent of their powers.

Daniels' research led him to the mysterious tech company Revitalize, which acted in nefarious ways. The firm's tactics included polarizing election results, and tampering with important political information, resulting in a uniform political view among the masses.

Bradley Whitford is Stu Magnusson in the show (Image via Getty)

Within the company, Daniels was led towards different people including hedge fund manager Stu Magnusson. He thought Stu was the one controlling everything from the top, including the killing of Mark. However, further research revealed that the main perpetrator was Rodney Kraintz, who was even more powerful than Stu or anyone he had encountered.

By the end of it all, Daniels did manage to have a one-on-one encounter with him. However, when the time came and he had a gun in his hand and the opportunity to kill him, he let him go. It did not mean that the others would remain quiet after all that Rodney did. When members of The Forge learnt that Rodney had killed Mark, they called a hit on him, which resulted in his death.

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Do Muncie and Elena reconcile at the end of The Madness season 1?

Marsha Stephanie Blake is Elena in The Madness season 1 (Image via Getty)

Muncie and Elena got off on the wrong foot at the beginning of The Madness season 1, with the two almost on the verge of divorcing each other. However, things took an unexpected turn for Muncie following the murder allegations and he led down a path of finding the perpetrators.

Therefore, when everything was over, Muncie became a new man with fesh thought processes. After having suffered such an ordeal, Muncie gained more clarity on the things that were more important than the others and one of them happened to be keeping his loved ones close to him.

At the end of episode 9 of The Madness season 1, it seemed that Muncie was ready to give his and Elena's relationship another shot.

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All episodes of The Madness season 1 are currently streaming on Netflix.