Under the Bridge ending explained: What really happened to Reena?

On May 29, 2024, the audience finally received all the answers to the questions they had about Reena Virk's death in Hulu's Under the Bridge. After seven episodes, in the eighth episode titled "Mercy Alone," they finally learned about the person responsible for the youngster's death.

In the conclusive episode of Under the Bridge, it was revealed that Kelly Ellard was the mastermind and perpetrator behind Reena Virk's killing. Additionally, it was exposed that Warren Glowatski, who had adamantly maintained his innocence, had been deceitful throughout the entire trial process. His falsehoods were a deliberate attempt to conceal his deeper involvement in Reena's tragic fate.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Under the Bridge episode 8. Please read at your discretion.

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Kelly Ellard killed Reena Virk in Under the Bridge

The season finale episode of Under the Bridge finally puts to rest all the questions the viewers had concerning Reena Virk's death. Throughout the show, the audience was left to play a guessing game of who the real culprit was. While sometimes the weights were heavy on one side, at other times, they were heavy on the other.

Having said that episode 8 of season 1 of the show finally revealed that Kelly Ellard was the prime conspirator and executor of Reena's killing. Here's how the events leading to her death had unfurled.

After having a brief fallout with Reena, Josephine called Kelly, who was also present during the incident, to rant about the same. During the conversation at one point, Josephine jokingly remarked: "Let’s f*****g kill her." This comment although made during a friendly encounter was taken in all seriousness by Kelly, who then called up all her friends to beat Reena.

Then on the day of the incident Kelly, Josephine, and Dusty were joined by six of Kelly's friends, who took turns to land blows on Reena. After hitting her several times Reena was finally let go of. However, Kelly Ellard and Warren had followed her to the side of the bridge where they again took turns to hit her. The two then dragged her towards the water where Kelly submerged Reena's head underwater for a considerable period, resulting in her death.

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Warren Glowatski finally reveals the truth behind his involvement in Reena's death

Throughout Netflix's Under the Bridge, Warren Glowatski maintained that he had no direct connection to Reena's killing. However, his claims were found to be untrue in the final episode of the season. While still in juvie, Warren had a change of heart after he had a close one-to-one with Reena's parents. Following the encounter Warren appeared in court and spoke about his involvement in the murder.

He admitted that he got involved in the killing of Reena without knowing anything about her. He also said that Kelly was the one who stole Reena's boots and kicked her continuously. He also admitted to having followed suit and joined Kelly in jumping and kicking at her. He also helped Kelly drag Reena into the water and did not say anything when the former started downing the latter.

On being asked why Warren participated in the beating despite not knowing Reena, he said in court:

"I had a lot of negative s**t going on in my life. There was something about it that felt good…to get out all that anger."

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Dusty was a bad friend to Reena in Under the Bridge

Among Josephine, Kelly, and Dusty, Dusty was the friend Reena partially relied on. This was mainly because, like Reena, Dusty also had a lot of problems with the other members of the group. However, she never expressed that in front of the others.

On the day of Reena's killing too, Dusty decided not to take a stand for Reena when the others were chasing her down the bridge. When she turned towards Dusty for comfort she completely ignored her existence and went about on her own.

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Mr and Mrs Virk find solace in the memories of their daughter

In the final few moments of the finale episode of Under the Bridge, Reena's parents Mr and Mrs Suman & Manjit Virk can be seen reminiscing the memories of their late daughter Reena Virk. After all is said and done, the two are found smiling and dancing to the tunes of “Kick in the Door” by Biggie, a song that Reena loved. It is a bittersweet moment for the Virks and the audience as Reena's parents finally reach a level of acceptance concerning their daughter's death.

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All episodes of Under the Bridge are currently streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.