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Confused about the ending to #MadDogs? We can help!

30/12/2013

We've had several messages both on Twitter and through this site from confused fans asking us to explain the ending to Mad Dogs.

It's not been easy (we were as confused as you were on first viewing) but after a bit of thought and some (okay, rather a lot) of help from the internet, we think we've finally got it and will post it below for the benefit of our visitors.

Obviously this will contain spoilers so please don't press the button below unless you've seen the final ever episode. We cannot be held responsible if you spoil it for yourself.

We should also say that this theory has the Max Beesley seel of approval. It was tweeted by @Annabelle_BCFC and the Max retweeted it, adding the comment, 'BANG ON'.

So thanks to Annabelle (and the other members of the twitter-verse for helping us out. We sure needed it.

Does this help? What were your thoughts on the episode? Did you think the ending was fitting to the rest of the series. Let us know below.

And if you missed it, you can see both episodes again on Wednesday 1st January at 10pm and 11pm respectively on Sky 1 / HD.

119 Comments

Susan

30/12/2013 02:10:46

I sort of understand the ending now. Also there was at least one or two other things I noticed in one of the scenes as well. All in all it's sad to see Mad Dogs end but I think they ended it at the right time.

Bradthelad72 . North East

4/12/2018 00:13:53

Mad dogs . Great veiwing . When I saw boys drive off end of road I suspected it was another bad choice by them . Although still a bit confused checked out this site and all was made clear . So thank you .. really good story . Well done to writers

becca

30/12/2013 08:26:29

So what was the eye that Rick found in the toilet all about then?

Susan link

31/12/2014 03:56:35

Ben

18/1/2015 19:15:51

It represents the saying "an eye for an eye" presumably.

afghan

28/6/2015 18:40:56

Good bloody question

Jenny

13/5/2016 13:00:18

Maybe the eye was a tracking device?

Mr nutter link

16/11/2016 22:24:05

Fuck off

Catherine

25/1/2017 07:21:15

It seemed to me the midget dervish had become more tamed once he had the one eye only. I thought it meant the seeing, or intuitive part of the couples had gone ,,, the mates or loves of each of the guys lives. having come up with this, it did not satisfy as the women were equally unaware , in reality of what was coming down upon them so they were not really seeing at all.

Spicopate

30/12/2013 09:04:56

Hey, thanks for the analysis.
Not sure I agree though : I think that the bad guys wearing the masks are from the imagination of the four characters. They symbolize the inability the four have not to manage their life. The ending for me is a suicide scene.

sven

9/1/2014 13:29:10

i thought that at first...but then how do you explain the beach scene? one moment they had guns pointed at their heads. the next moment the bad guys with guns had disappeared. how do you explain that?

Catherine

25/1/2017 08:14:38

It seemed to me that the man who had become so badly crippled wicked to terrorise them before killing them. So to believe you were being shot then left as they were was rock bottom point.
Suicide: no `i think it was murder still engineered by the very powerful "bad" guys. The fact that the characters were seeing look alines of themselves only meant they saw what they had become; killers on their own, criminals, drug makers dealers etc.
The Talking hEADS SONG , WERE ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE was very good and apt touch.

sven

9/1/2014 13:29:57

.but then how do you explain the beach scene? one moment they had guns pointed at their heads. the next moment the bad guys with guns had disappeared. explain that?

Ste

20/5/2017 22:34:11

Well how would you explain a driver vanishing into thin air when the vehicle breaks down or numerous other impossible acts..

Ben

18/1/2015 19:17:20

Well if you read the forum correctly, it states that the creator of the show agreed that their analysis was apt. So you're wrong...

George

22/5/2016 23:01:24

After reading the comments below, I now don't think they necessarily died but more symbolic death of the good in themselves. The evil side of Baxter was alive and in the other car. Some cultures believe in the "Evil Eye", I am not sure if that was the context of the eye here.

Holly

16/4/2022 19:37:57

This is exactly what I thought.

MrManj

31/12/2013 09:06:26

Um, not sure i buy that explanation.

But anyway how did the gangsters know where to find them? There was some lame mention of tracking them by phone but even if that were the case, how would they get to the exact spot in advance with enough time to dig those graves? They guys themselves didn't seem to know where they were going!!

sven

9/1/2014 13:27:52

It was suggested that They were going to the beach to meet one of rick's mates who would get them out of trouble. My guess is that the baddies were tapping the phone, so when Rick made the phone call, they heard it and knew where to go

Sarah

31/12/2013 16:58:15

They were shot by the bad guys and as stated the scene of them driving away was symbolic to them driving to not hell but heaven, though sadly their souls were not allowed entry hence the end of the road (to hell).

Shane

1/1/2014 04:12:34

Finale was rubbish. Utter cop out by the writers. Monster waste of time watching the two episodes. Viewers conned.

lorraine

2/1/2014 12:28:31

Bang On Shane. Total shite

Shanks

9/4/2014 20:57:51

It was as if they just ran out of money or couldn't be arsed to come up with a decent ending

afghan

28/6/2015 18:42:06

Agreed

Alex

10/2/2016 21:57:30

Massive thread revival, I Watched all 3 seasons of Mad Dogs, and thought the ending was great, the bad guys were all dead, a helicopter turns up to take them all home and the credits roll... Happy ending, everyone's a winner!

WELL TURNS OUT THAT WASN'T THE FE**ING END!!!! I"D MISSED THE 2 FINALE EPISODES AND WATCHED THEM TONIGHT......THE END WAS TERRIBLE! ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE AND SAD AND TERRIBLE!!!

TERRIBLE!

DID I MENTION TERRIBLE

9/6/2018 21:58:44

Bang on

Chris

2/1/2014 08:57:06

I've not worked the ending out but I think I've worked out what it's about. Baxter and alvo are the only real people. all the others are in Baxters head..and when he's talking to them he's talking to himself. It's hard to work out what's real. I think the drug money's real so I assume he steals it and goes to South Africa then runs out of money and decides to go back to Spain and sell alvo's house cause he put the house in baxters name. I still haven't worked it all out. Maybe baxters got a multiple personality disorder. What you've got to do is what I'm doing. Watching it from the start and watch everything through baxters eyes. When woody, Rick or Quinn speak it's him talking.

Drew

13/1/2014 02:31:08

I think someone has found the missing drugs...!

Denty

31/5/2014 08:31:33

If that was the case how do you explain his imaginary friends driving the cars they were in

chad

26/10/2014 00:01:44

its actully baxter driving think fight club

Bev Denley

9/1/2017 09:22:26

Now you're talking 'Fight Club' , FYI another movie I didn't 'get'.
I just watched the boxed set of Mad Dogs as didn't get to see it all here in Australia.
I had to rewatch that last scene of MD as I didn't get it. Sorry folks, your 'we are all dead and on the way to hell' isn't cutting it for me but that's OK. I'm going to post the set to my younger son so we can have something to 'argue' about for the next ten years or so. LoL

Colin Henry

22/3/2019 22:50:08

when it ended I was thinking something the same but it's not Baxter its alvo he destroyed everything he was and hated everything he become.

only true things in his life was his mates so he created image of each personality in his head. that's how alvo new so much about them when they arrived like quin seen the wife he didn't speak to them for years how did he no so much.

Chris H

17/11/2021 22:35:55

So how do you explain everything that happened after Alvo was shot in the head?

Andy F

2/1/2014 13:55:01

My thoughts - the four arrive at the end of the road at the disused fun park / beach... Remote. After the four characters have their final discussion re their past Woody fires the shotgun and the gun would have been found on the beach. Did Woody shoot them and himself as a final act to escape? The final scene is them leaving this world - flashbacks and seeing themselves behind the masks as a symbolic "own worse enemy"

chris link

19/5/2016 20:21:29

I like that explanation. Also I am glad I wasn't the only one confused by the ending. Thought I'd missed an episode.

Naisy

3/1/2014 14:36:16

i agree with the explaination, it obvious although simplistic. Hey, not as bad as Lost, that ending was really lame!

karlos baxter

3/1/2014 14:59:27

i just think its very good story a life on mars twist and would explain the them already being dead idea

weezeg

3/1/2014 19:56:51

I was disappointed with the end. I wanted them to be happy.
My ideal ending would have seen them at a tapas bar with Alvo so they would never have met Tony Blair or other bad guys. A twist of fete if you will. Parallel universe. Wouldn't be any stranger than what we saw.

billyfiz

4/1/2014 06:02:17

I watched every episode thinking it would go back to beginning with Alvo laughing joking , then baxter coming through saying hef had this mad dream .lol

sven

9/1/2014 13:32:39

id have wanted it to end happily too, but would that really have actually satisfied the viewer? if that happened, id be worried - what would happen to the guys afterewards? completely traumatised, especially baxter and quinn. i did feel sorry they went to hell tho - their choices actually weren't generally bad

Marty Smith

4/1/2014 16:09:16

Far too complicated ending. Really spoilt the whole series - we aren't university students doing a degree in waste of time literature ! Also what happened to the black girl who drove off - did she die. And the eye in the toilet? How did the gangsters have time to dig 4 graves? Car was out of fuel so we must assume they were dead when they drove off. However ten out of ten to writers getting people all going on the internet to debate the ending.

Toby

14/1/2014 09:36:45

"Far too complicated"

Yeah. How dare TV writers stimulate thought instead of encouraging people to zone out in front of mindless tosh.

Brennan

4/1/2014 19:56:17

I thought it was a pity the wasn't a clear conclusion to the series and many important questions were left unanwsered in my opinion. However on the whole I though that mad dogs was a fantastic show but unfortunately lacked the ending everyone was highly anticipating

Mark

5/1/2014 13:54:14

Just caught up with the final episodes after the Christmas break. Really disappointed.

Naill

5/1/2014 14:10:22

Far too many people nowadays expect a simple, explained ending. What the writers have done here is really clever; people will be trying to understand this far into the future and with every repeat that Sky show. It's similar to the Italian Job; do they end up getting their gold or do they end up plummeting to their deaths? For me, the finale episodes were outstanding and the perfect way to end the show.

mickT

6/1/2014 13:29:21

To me the ending was pretty much an Ashes to Ashes rip off but not written with the same intelligence. Astoundingly bad for a program which showed so much promise.

Vic Newman link

7/1/2014 08:49:59

Very disappointing end to a good series.
Too many Tony Blair's and what was the eye
And drive off unfinished road about?
I watch to be entertained not guess what
Happened! Spoiled it for me shame.

Nelson Gabriel

8/1/2014 15:45:17

You've summed it up for me. Waited until the Christmas rush was over so that I could enjoy the finale but the ending was so disappointing. Great acting performances throughout but the writers must have been having a laugh when they presented the last script.
Write to entertain and not to show how clever you can be.

Rick

27/2/2020 18:46:25

Lol. Then maybe you should just stick to watching telly tubbies or soap operas then : /

Frazer

7/1/2014 09:25:57

The ending was ok I suppose but they could've explained it more. Mind you I did wonder how they just disappeared after bags were taken off

Harry Briscoe

7/1/2014 14:45:56

I think it's agreed that they were all killed in the end but I don't think it happened on the beach or when the car ran off the motorway. I believe that the writer had them killed off by the experienced and world weary ex CIA at his house in the bush. He told them he had to reluctantly kill them - if he didn't then he would himself become a target - whilst they were just 'coming down' from the effects of the mind bending drug contained within a local fruit he a persuaded them to sample.
This was when they were shot and everything from that point was the last reflections and imagination of a dying man - Baxter.

Do you think an experienced CIA agent with a machine gun would be overpowered by four 'herberts' tilting a table in his direction! Don't think so.

The clues?

Why would the girl soldier friend come looking for them when she had already said her goodbye's?

Wasn't it too convenient that she had a friend with a helicopter, who just happened to drop the the lads off at a spot where the nutty CIA woman was waiting for them?

Did they really return to London for the wedding or did Baxter just imagine it in his mind?

For example, why was he running and in a panic to get to his daughters wedding in time and look so dishevelled. It was 2 years later after all.

Why was his wedding speech so poor and awkward and focused mainly on him being 'away'? The whole wedding scene was a bit surreal focusing on Baxter and his mates and they're inability to agree on anything.

As he was dying Baxter would have known he would not see Carmen again and him shooting her was his way of saying he thought he was too blame.
It's no coincidence that Carmen of the opera of the same name was killed by her lover. Baxter was an educated man.

Why was the villa in South Africa so similar to the villa in Majorca?
Maybe because you rely on old memories during dreams to fill in the blanks but perhaps you may miss out on details like bullets for the guns in the panic room.

Once again the crazy CIA woman made an appearance at the villa gates.
She must have made quite an impression on Baxter's memory.

After they were shot at the former CIA agent's house, everything that follows is Baxter's imagination and the memories of a dying man who blamed himself for their deaths, the reason he see's himself being unmasked in the 'baddies' car driving alongside them on the motorway. He thinks he has let his friends down and betrayed them.
Is this why the 'Tony Blair' masks worn by the thugs by now are two-faced (back and front)?
I'm sure the mask worn by 'Tiny Blair' who shot Alvo in Majorca was a conventional single sided mask.
Baxter even felt guilty about not returning the rented car in Majorca hence the
ludicrous summons to appear in court.

There are other clues too that the guys where dead in the final scenes.
For example, would Rick really have returned to South Africa and served out a community order doing hard labour on mountain roads. Don't think so, although I'm sure Baxter would have liked to have seen that!
Also, the 'Road to Nowhere posters', the car running on an empty tank, the over elaborate execution and grave scenes on the beach and the ultimate view of the car flying of the unfinished road with apparently not a warning sign in sight.

Sean

31/3/2015 21:37:15

Brilliant explanation. I think you're spot on. Although there is something I'm not sure about, how did Mercedes find them all in South Africa? Seems too good to be true to me.

Gary

16/5/2015 19:57:48

I've read a lot into the ending but after studying your description I'm actually convinced you're 100% correct! The only doubt that I have is why would Max Beesley agree that the ending was written in exactly the way another poster described?

Ben

30/8/2015 11:51:45

I like your explanation. You addressed a lot of my questions that the above ending did not. I think you're 100% spot on.

rob

2/2/2016 16:43:11

Actually I like your theory, you may be correct, because 2 clues support this, 1) after that scene, a lot of 'fish-eye' camera work was used on the 4 guys, unlike before. and 2) characters look into the camera at the audience when before they didn't.

Luobaoluo

2/6/2018 20:20:45

Yes. That's roughly what I thought.

Nicola

12/9/2021 21:26:09

This is what I thought too. The entire series became symbolic and Baxter focused from the CIA house moment. I agree with your points. Why did Rick never mention the eye or the tikoloshe. The series beyond this point was like a purgatory for Baxter.

Alex

5/7/2023 09:09:22

You make some very good points there and I have often wondered whether they died a long time before the ending as you suggest.

Only thing is that the CIA woman appeared after the scene with the at the ex CIA man's house, when they get off the helicopter.

Adam

9/1/2014 08:57:18

I just think it was all a dream by Baxter....it was the finale...but watch out for a prequel!!

James

25/2/2019 21:00:23

Dreams often end by falling

Sue

13/1/2014 08:35:21

I was rather disappointed with the ending and as there were only 2 episodes, I found the wedding scenes annoying. Kept thinking there wasn't enough time to have a good ending and wished they would move on from the wedding.

Interesting to read other viewers points of view and now I wish I hadn't deleted it and could watch them both again. In fact I want to watch all of it again!

Matt

14/1/2014 14:22:49

Right, the only thingI have to add that nobody else has is that the phones weren't being tracked it was that eyeball thing, and it was Rick that was being followed all the way from London where he got it in the toilet to South Africa where he still has it in his pocket.

Old Nick

16/1/2014 10:09:55

This is a reasonable explanation, but my take is that all the events involving gangsters etc, were schitzophrenic delusions created by the main characters. A bit of an angelheart story, the real perpetrators were the victims. The 'mad dogs' murdered their friend to get the villa, and they had a group delusion that it was done by gangsters, but it was themselves all along.
In the end they admitted to themselves what they had done, and commited suicide.

Chresto

16/1/2014 15:32:21

I never like it when scripts end with a miserable ending and pass it off as deep. Funny how artistic/metaphorical/complex endings are always the ones where everybody dies. I could buy that they died at the end of 3. Their entire lives after they arrive at the villa in 1 are utterly pointless descent into misery with no redemption, no growth and the bearest minimum of companionship.

I don't know how many people agree with me though. I would have liked for them to have had a happy end. One which showed how they had grown, leaned something, become better happier people. Maybe it is just me. Maybe there is still pressure on film makers to never show criminals prosper, or maybe the writers really were satisfied with that. It is a little bizarre that I seem to like Baxter et al more than the writers do.

kinchas link

19/1/2014 06:24:54

I could not agree more society today seems to think everything has to end bad.
What is it with script writer's thinking we need complex endings.
As you state people can learn from their mistakes.
Why don't these writer's do the same and next time give us something to hope for rather than dispair

West22200

21/1/2014 16:22:09

I think it was very Thelma and Louise. There was no way out. So they ended together

Simon

28/1/2014 14:20:57

I just don't buy that explanation.

When the four of them were on the beach they looked out over the sand. Then when the text was received they looked again and the party of men had appeared. So could they have really been killed on the beach? By invisible / appearing hitmen? Even if they had missed them how did all of the 'bad guys' arive so far ahead of them?

The first series was very good but from then on it came across as something that was a hit so got recomissioned and from that point on didn't have a clear idea of where it was going.

Far from being deep or beyond the comprehension of most it was just an old fashioned farce. Grown men chasing around, stumbling from one blunder to the next. It was okay as light entertainment but lacked any real depth. The acting was however superb from beginning to end.

imeee

30/1/2014 08:34:29

Everyone can have their opinions and theorys, how bax or someone is just crazy and imagined all or it was a someones dream etc... but that is stupid. And everything is explained. Everything happened just as it happened, they were shot at the beach and died. The ending scene is symbolic and it shows how their own mistakes led them to their death and through all their bad desicions they were their own enemies (bax seeing himself in tony blair car ).
How they found them on the beach ?
Carmen is from Mallorca and she helped them to sell house. On the start of 4th series that woman detective told them to stay away from some places but they do it and sold the house on Mallorca. Dominic and gansters knew that and they tracked the Carmen cellphone all the time.
Sorry if my english is bad :)

debbie

1/2/2014 08:34:32

Ahhhh....finally we understand. After saving the last episodes we were looking forward to watching the next escapades....at the end we felt cheated but now we have read the above....makes a lot of sense...we'll done. ...

ian

20/5/2014 22:07:21

i think it was a cop out, just like lost and the sopranos, its like "well we cant think of a good ending so lets make one where no one actually knows whats happened and they can make their own up" its utter crap. i also got the feeling it was a hit first season and they just rolled with it. Granted they had to have a bad ending, it should have been that they all got killed. then it flashed back to the scene where phillip glenister was on the train thinking about wether they should sell the villa, and instead of saying it was a good idea he changes his mind. None of them meet again and live their lives as they did before. I dont get the thinking behind killing off major characters to end a series for the shock factor. The only series of programmes that got the ending right this decade was Dexter.

Simon Robshaw

12/8/2017 17:58:43

I thought the end was terrible. Just watched them back to back on sky box sets. Thoroughly enjoyed 1-3, but 4 was awful. Not watched Dexter, but have been disappointed many times, by Lost and the like. House was a fantastoc ending as was Bones, but life is a start, middle and end. These writers who try to be clever are spoiling programmes and films for the majority. Everyone wants a happy ending, with the tough lives we have, if not we'd watch the news. The ending could have been fantastic if the writers hadn't used the drugs from the series.

6/7/2014 16:03:17

Them driving off the road at the end was very Thelma and louise, but ambiguous. what happened to shani?

John Tolson

6/8/2014 09:14:34

Ok now i`m even more confused about the ending lol

Alun

29/9/2014 07:19:37

I agree with Ian above, too many series today "end?" with the viewer having to make there own mind what happened, and with soo many unanswered questions. I like programs that make the viewer think, but this can be done in clever and creative ways during the series, At the series end it should be all tied up, any story should have a beginning and a END.
If you take the explanation above as the real end with being shot on the beach, the scene should have included four gun shots, and perhaps four graves in the background as they walk away?
As said above the acting was excellent throughout, and the first three series were very entertaining, just a shame the end seemed a bit rushed and confused many people.

Billy Ballsack

4/10/2014 09:48:35

I think two ended up living & two died. The remainder went to the ballet, then watched the barber of Seville before arguing over the money and shooting each other but one survives whilst the other doesn't, then he meets Bosley in Covent Garden and shares the money 40 / 60

Dan

20/10/2014 16:55:52

I've just watched this after waiting ages since season 3 and it is like the writers just thought fuck it! I mean shooting the Spanish bird in the face. And max aiming the shot gun and hitting nothing.!! You would at least run or creep up on then and I don't believe it was a dream or dying sequence when they arrived at the beach.
The ending I was proper gutted I liked the characters didn't want too see them die 😞😞

Cathy

7/12/2014 17:12:21

Could the next series starring Philip Glenister and John Simm please have a less esoteric ending? Please! Please! Or ... could we have ever so slightly more obvious clues?

terry

13/12/2014 16:47:17

did it ever occur to you that this is all just someones warped imagination from start to finish -all totally implausible, impossible and unreal. So what!!! It was just a bit of entertainment so the last episode was about as real as the first. Don't take it so seriously! If you liked it fine! If you didn't fine too. it doesn't matter one iota to your life so get over it!

Tolly

14/12/2014 11:43:31

Wow get over yourself Terry. Clearly you have nothing better to do than troll posts of things you have no interest in. Get a life and go away these people are all fans of the show merely discussing the ending. Your the sad one because your simply a sad troll whose up their own as@

terry

15/12/2014 21:12:24

Hi Tolly. I apologise if I caused you any offence. My point was that in reality we are simply watching pixels which take the shape of the writer's ideas and which sometimes don't gel with our ideas. But in the end it matters not!
Cheers

Stevie

22/1/2015 17:53:07

Diabolical 6th form drama study esque finale. Lazy, devicive plod, plod, plod. What a shame. After spending so much time creating great characters which were all portrayed so finely by an excellent cast. Talk about no balls.

Wayne

6/2/2015 07:33:09

Never since lost have I been more disappointed by an ending! It's just a massive up yours to the viewers to leave them guessing and reading between the lines! Everything else about this series was explained and gone over! It literally just felt like they could not be arsed at the end! X

Mary J

13/2/2016 00:29:01

We watched the full series and really enjoyed it, but the ending was so stupid, why carry on with it when they could have ended it at the beach, once the bags had been placed over their heads we all knew that it was over, they could have just left it with the sound of the guns going off one after the other, at least that way it would have been a proper ending, instead of make us, the audience having work hard to make spence of their failure to give us a proper ending

Matt

23/2/2015 05:42:01

Extremely disappointing. 14 hours of my life I will never get back. They should have stopped after the 2nd episode.

Jermain Defoe link

10/4/2015 07:12:41

first series absolutely superb. 1st episode of the finale was very good too and the 2nd episode started with promise. The rest, including the ending was garbage.

Mary

17/4/2015 18:53:37

Thank you so much for clarifying this for me!

warbie

11/6/2015 10:11:34

I believe they died in S3 after eating the fruit...the rest was their mind playing out scenes

Pat

30/6/2015 19:31:39

I like this explanation to the end. Abit of analysis and thinking never hurt anyone! I first thought it was a suicide scene, with the Blairs finally being revealed as symbols of the characters guilt, only ever in their minds and tormenting them towards their inevitable deaths... But I'm swayed towards the more simplistic ending and the message about consequences for your actions is still the same! And without all that, just an entertaining series! Waited too long to watch! :D

Chris

17/7/2015 16:36:05

After reading the above comments earlier today and re-watching the program tonight I have come to the conclusion that the different dimension of Baxter's personality are portrayed by the other 3 characters and they aren't in fact real people.

Ben

30/8/2015 12:42:36

For me, the show ends after S3E2. They all reunite after 2 years, the CIA thingy's been disbanded, Mackenzie is dead, they rescue Rick from druggies anonymous and head home. If you want a happy ending, stop watching right there.

Stephen

7/11/2015 21:16:04

Deuteronomy 28

Tolly

7/11/2015 21:18:43

What?

Stephen

7/11/2015 22:49:59

correct me if i am wrong but this show; in my opinion was a demonstration of Deuteronomy 28.
Breaking Bad was similar..

Mick

27/2/2020 23:15:32

Wrong

rob

2/2/2016 16:39:12

You are all wrong, Dominic and his men got on the beach well in advance of the 4 lads because they weren't real. The ending was a cop-out, it tried to make it that Dominic and his men were all in Rick and his mates heads, they were scitzo's. Dominic really did die after the car hit him in season2. Baxter saw himself in the other car with the mask off, because he really did kill Alvo in series 1 episode 1. They wanted the high life for themselves when they saw Alvo's villa. So they took on the gangsters and CIA. If you remember the flashback showing David warner, with Alvo and the CIA lady and Dominic, Alvo took the boat where he was supposed to, go back and watch episode 1, the boys saw the drugs in the bag and they decided to kill Alvo then. It's a bad ending, it's a lazy ending. The last shot is them killing themselves by driving off the bridge, because their dual personalities could survive.

Cris

1/3/2016 02:39:46

Just finished watching.
I think the tinY blairs and the 2 headed masks cleverly represent their split personalities.
The gun Baxter had shot Carmen with had shot just enough bullets to have been able to kill them all once they realized they are in hell. It sure seemed like one. It was a hopeless situation.
The little black child/dwarf symbolizes death. Him conveniently being in that hole with them seemes to have slipped everyone's mind. I think Baxter killed them all then and there. And he finally took of his mask . saw himself for who he really is. A murderer. The other car he saw just before he drove the actual car of the road is him owning up. I think everything from the point after they " leave that underground'' was just how he saw it ending in his head so he ended it before any of it happened. Then finally killed himself driving off the road.

Dave Tomlinson

15/3/2016 22:43:45

Ok... So I am a late viewer to Mad Dogs and watched all 4 seasons in 3 days. Firstly thanks to Harry Briscoe clearly a very educated and insightful individual. I like a lot of your thoughts... ultimately it is like many films of late and some series
... it had ended well with conjecture as is still being discussed endlessly. My thoughts are you choose what ever theory or ending satisfies your needs. Don't moan the endings shit . Simply let it be s simple or as insightful as you like.
:-)

Dave

28/3/2016 23:21:06

I finally watched the finale, what a load of rubbish. I hate psychological and symbolic endings, it's someone else's symbolism not mine and by the comments not their symbolism either. The writers could well be laughing all the way to the bank knowing full well they've left us with a pile of shi*.

Tony

6/4/2016 15:28:53

Interesting comments by everyone. And thanks for explaining the ending

All I am going to say is that this ending left me as confused as the TV series "Lost" did. Thankfully I didn't waste anywhere as much time on this show as I did on Lost, only to get a crap ending.

Andy

20/5/2016 18:48:57

I thought the whole series was griping with great acting and perfect locations. The ending was a little confusing after watching it the first time but I like the fact it left it open to debate.They died and the 4 head into the sunset. Whether it's heaven or hell is for you to decide but they ran out of luck due to what Woody said bad choices.
My only question that remains unanswered is who was the CIA agent that reinstated their kill status after Lazaro cleared them? Was it Carmen?

Matt

14/6/2016 18:18:33

Anyone bothered to watch the Amazon Prime version? I watched the Pilot but have been too scared to return, not sure if I'm worried that I'd like it or that I wouldn't. Might have to stay up for a few night's beforehand so I can forget it if it's terrible (which I won't be too surprised if that is the case)

Spencer

25/6/2016 23:28:03

For me Mad Dogs nose-dived after 3 episodes into the first series. Far too often after this it was spoiled by a disjointed story line, far fetched plot and numerous encounters with third rate actors.

It's a shame because the central characters worked with great chemistry and made me want to believe that the series would improve.

It didn't and sadly it culminated in an ending which would have us believe we were watching something far deeper than whatever it was we just wasted our time viewing.

Trust me, the plot wasn't that deep and the ending was a cop out. Really disappointed, I feel cheated at such a cheap shot.

Rob

2/10/2016 18:33:32

Just watched this. They were killed on the beach and the car ride is them leaving this world together. Great series , great acting. Would have liked them to get away but at the same time they were warned to use their names wisely. And they fucked up.

Ste

20/5/2017 22:51:15

Use your names wisely.. consequence through greed and unwise decision making took them all to that beach and what left it was nothing more than spirits heading off to another place.

Matt

9/8/2017 20:09:21

I strongly agree with the theory, they themselves are their worst enemies. Still a pretty shit ending to be honest, I feel like TV Series dig themselves a hole with the show over time then struggle to develop a good meanful ending so they create some bullshit ambiguous finale for the viewers to interpret in different ways as they can't be bothered to think of an ending. I would've loved to of seen Alvo appear at the end, no idea how that would've worked out as he was shot in the head, but could've been a big twist. Maybe his death should've been different...
But hey what do it know, I'm a 18 year old awaiting his A level results.

Nat

27/9/2017 19:45:49

I may have missed a something but I thought also reappeared later after being buried in the orchard so I was assuming he was perpetrating the kill contract to save himself

Nat

27/9/2017 19:48:51

Alvo

loz

7/11/2017 22:35:26

Methinks the question marks were always over the dodgy lawyer and the dodgy accountant. Ultimately, I think Baxter was the dodgier of the two and ultimately caused the chain of events leading to their death. I don't think it was explained why his career was in freefall but clearly something had prevented him from succeeding/practising law . The accountant arranged the trip, the lawyer stole the money. The accountant advised Alvo on his finances. One of them (cannot remember which but I think Baxter) also directed the car on to the wrong ferry. The question of which was to blame stayed throughout - with the accountant seeing the odd guy without an eye. Ultimately however, I believe the baddie was Baxter, the lawyer who was driving with the tiny blairs in the car. Maybe they'll be a prequel - it's crying out for it.

Gaz

18/11/2017 01:25:36

For the LAST TIME he's NOT an f...ing accountant !!!!

Lianco

13/7/2019 00:48:23

I know I’m late but I watch the show every year at least once, any media product that can make you nervous even when you know everything that’s going to happen is an excellent piece of work.

I’ve remembered this interpretation ever since I googled for answers when I watched this live with a group of friends, way back when. I’ve explained it to people but they didn’t like it much. A cold, single shot of the 4 graves would have been more striking, considering how morbid the entire show was. Why get all ambiguous now?

I remember when they were talking about it being ‘fate’ or a ‘curse’ back in season 2 that the whole consensus of people I talked to said that would be a cop out way to go about things. I wouldn’t mind if the whole series was set up like that.

Yeah, they made bad and silly decisions but I don’t think they deserved any of the bad things that happened to them. As they say, they’re just 4 herberts on holiday.

It’s not like they’re bad people that wiped out orphanages or smuggled guns. They lied here, had their own vices there but nothing terrible. And everything bad they did do was either by accident, self defence or they didn’t even know they were doing it.

Should they have sold the villa and gone back to Africa? No, they shouldn’t but it was a silly decision, nothing bad. I’d go back there as opposed to staying in England any day of the week lmao. Especially if I could sell a villa that’s in my name! They deserved something nice after everything.

It’s crazy how some of the funniest moments in the show come from the second to last episode whereby in a space of 15 minutes it all goes terrible again. Some things need answers too lol.

I watched the American version back in 2016 and I have no desire to watch that ever again. THEY seemed like bad people that hated each other through and through with hardly any redeeming factors. Not to mention it was all over the place and had no tension at all.

Alex Gawthrop

16/5/2020 13:22:17

I watch it every week

Alex Gawthrop

16/5/2020 13:22:45

EVERY WEEK!

Kelly

25/4/2021 19:12:12

I don't see what the point of series 4 was... it wrappped up nicely and ended well in series 3 didn't it??? What was S4 all about? At the very least they could of kept in keeping and written 4 episodes... A bit weird to resurrect it to kill it again and take away the happy ending of S3... Great acting by the guys though. Loved them all even Alvo ... game on

Kelly

25/4/2021 19:22:31

Tikoloshe is a South African dwarf zombie that hides under children's bed bit like a bogey man

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikoloshe

John Citizen

20/6/2021 11:58:56

They died before the end of episode 12 when they ate a poisoned psychedelic. The rest of episode 12 and the last two episodes was their trip.

Nora

20/6/2021 15:07:07

I only just got round to watching this series almost 10 years after it commenced. I binged it in 3 days! Of course they all died on the beach and their spirits drove off to their final destination. They definitely didn't deserve all the bad stuff that happened but it still happened regardless. Continuous poor choices can lead to ill fated doom. Perhaps they'll meet up with Alvo in the afterlife and relive the nightmare all over again. Or perhaps they'll all finally RIP!

Lianco

23/4/2022 18:43:33

Back again after watching it once more as I mentioned just above lol but I paid more attention to the tone of season 4 this time.

And honestly I dont really understand the point of bringing it back. Season 3 ended a bit abruptly I'll give it that so maybe they had some intention of bringing it back instead of just making up something else afterward but the entire tone is off.

Bad things happened to the boys from the outset and yes the series is darkly comic in its morbidity but it was never outright nasty like it was in these last two episodes. I heard there was a budget cut halfway through filming? I never thought that originally but I do think its odd they brought it back just for 2 episodes and its not like they have longer run time to make up for it. Its just nasty things happening to people that didn't deserve it right up until the end. Having 4 episodes and having the first episode be them coming home and or just explaining how they even attempted to explain where they've been would have been a good setup. But then again, just jumping right into the action is also a good way to go. Seeing the families of these people that have been names only until now is one of those things you'd never expected to see and I wonder if they ever saw the video from the first episode lol.

They really didn't do anything wrong and once again I don't understand why the story went in a direction to make them seem like they were deserving of what happened. Are they their own worst enemies? Sure. But they're good people that really didn't do anything wrong. That was the most compelling aspect of the show was that good people were in this awful situation. The police in the first season were messing about with them for no good reason.

Maria says they should have just gone to the police in season 1 but halfway through it they see Tiny Blair in the freezer with a note saying "we told you not to go to the police" what were they supposed to think to do? They're getting the run around.

People seem to think that was a plot twist that didn't do anywhere but I think Alvo being set up was the intention from the start tbh.

Cathi Smith

29/12/2024 20:10:09

Did I imagine this? I saw it on sky years ago and thought it finished with them all buried up to their necks in sand with someone saying “ I’ve got a good idea , lads!”
Was I dreaming? Just bought the boxed set and the ending is not what I remembered at all!

Jose

18/3/2025 01:54:55

@Cathi Smith You may have mixed memories.
The quintessential cliffhanger ending (The Italian Job, 1969) concludes with this: "-Hang on a minute, lads. I've got a great idea."
Secondly, the guys buried up to the neck may come from Creepshow (1982), exactly from the 3rd story, featuring Leslie Nielsen and Ted Danson.
Feedback welcome!

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