Warning: This post contains spoilers for Hostage.
Netflix’s political thriller series Hostage follows the newly elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Abigail Dalton (Suranne Jones), as she faces an unimaginable threat: Her husband, Alex (Ashley Thomas), is kidnapped during a trip to French Guiana, where he and other doctors from Médecins Sans Frontières were providing vaccinations to a local community. The kidnapping quickly escalates into an international crisis when Abigail and French President Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy)—who had been visiting the UK to negotiate a political deal—are confronted by a group of masked kidnappers making impossible demands under threat.
Abigail must choose between saving her husband, which would require resigning as Prime Minister, and protecting her country. Vivienne, meanwhile, is blackmailed to refrain from interfering in Alex’s rescue. The kidnappers possess a compromising video involving her and her stepson, Matheo, threatening to release it if Vivienne helps Abigail.
The stakes are heightened by domestic turmoil. The UK is facing a severe national healthcare crisis, and Abigail is criticized by citizens for failing to deliver on her campaign promise to prioritize healthcare. Her cuts to the military budget have also created discontent within the armed forces, generating instability that the kidnappers exploit to advance their plan.
Let’s break down how all the major plotlines are resolved in Hostage, which dropped all five of its episodes on Aug. 21.
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Are Alex and the doctors rescued?
Alex and the doctors kidnapped in French Guiana are successfully rescued by a military unit coordinated by President Toussaint. Despite being blackmailed, Vivienne decides to intervene, fully aware of the risks to her political standing and personal safety. During the rescue, one of the doctors is fatally shot by a kidnapper, who is later killed by the French team.
After the rescue, the survivors return to the UK. Vivienne and Abigail manage to reach an important political agreement: France will supply vital medications to the UK, allowing the government to control the healthcare crisis, in turn helping to stem the tide of criticism of Abigail’s leadership.
What happens at 10 Downing Street?
After the doctors are rescued, the kidnappers leak the compromising video of Vivienne and Matheo to the press: It shows Matheo lying in bed next to Vivienne and giving her a kiss. Discovering the leak and seeing reporters outside his apartment, Matheo takes a laptop left by his girlfriend—containing sensitive files—to 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official residence, where his stepmother is present. At Downing Street, Matheo reveals that he discovered his girlfriend, Saskia Morgan, had begun spying on him months before they started dating. Saskia, a former British Army Corporal from the 3rd Battalion of the Highland Guards, had been dismissed along with her battalion due to Abigail’s cuts to the military budget.
Earlier, we learn that Vivienne’s chief of staff is in fact an informant for John Shagan (Martin McCann)—another former soldier who will turn out to be involved in this larger scheme of violence and destabilization. Saskia turns out to be connected to Shagan. But why would someone leave behind a laptop containing incriminating information against themselves? Before our protagonists have time to ponder this, the laptop explodes.
In the final episode, it is revealed that a fatality resulted from the explosion: Vivienne Toussaint has died. Abigail is no longer Prime Minister, and Dan Ogilvy, the Secretary of Defense, becomes the interim Prime Minister and declares a state of emergency in the country. As a result, the military is back under control, and Abigail secretly meets with her trusted team to try to uncover who is behind all the violence.
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Who’s behind the chaos and kidnappings?
The primary force behind the kidnappings is Shagan, a former British soldier of the 3rd Battalion—the same battalion Saskia served in— whose life was shattered years before Abigail became Prime Minister. As a junior minister, Abigail faced a military crisis in Belize. She was the most senior official available and authorized the evacuation of British troops, leaving behind local civilians, including Shagan’s pregnant fiancée. When she was killed in the aftermath, Shagan held Abigail personally responsible. Driven by grief and rage, he meticulously began planning attacks targeting Abigail and her loved ones.
Shagan, however, was not acting alone. General Joseph Livingston (Mark Lewis Jones), his former commanding officer in Belize, had his own motives. Frustrated by Abigail’s military budget cuts, Livingston sought to destabilize the country, believing it needed to be “brought to its knees” to prove what a blunder the cuts had been. He orchestrated events using Shagan and other former soldiers affected by the cuts to pressure Abigail politically.
Discovering Livingston’s involvement, Abigail infiltrates the Ministry of Defense to confront him with the help of a loyal staffer. During the confrontation, Ogilvy learns about Livingston’s connection to Shagan through Kofi, Abigail’s chief of staff. Furious at the accusations, Livingston orders Abigail removed but inadvertently reveals knowledge of the explosive laptop. Ogilvy then orders Livingston’s arrest, and Abigail returns to her role as Prime Minister.
What happens to John Shagan?
After Livingston’s arrest, Shagan and some of his team, including Saskia, remain at large. They locate Alex, Abigail’s husband, and Sylvie, their teenage daughter, along with Matheo, in an isolated house. Saskia is ordered to kill Sylvie and Matheo if necessary, while Shagan holds Alex hostage and forces him to call Abigail.
Unbeknownst to them, Matheo secretly contacts the police. When Saskia discovers this, it is too late: an armed unit is already approaching. During a physical confrontation, Matheo forces Saskia to retreat, and Sylvie seizes the opportunity to grab Saskia’s gun. Abigail arrives and heads directly to the room where Shagan is holding Alex. It is here that Shagan’s motive for revenge, the death of his pregnant fiancée, is revealed to the other characters.
As Shagan prepares to stab Abigail, he hears the police arriving. He wrongly accuses Abigail of calling them, unaware that Matheo is responsible. Alex attacks Shagan, starting a struggle. Sylvie, Abigail and Alex’s daughter, enters the room with a gun. Shagan deliberately provokes Sylvie, trying to manipulate her into shooting—even though he risks being killed—by bringing up her grandfather’s death, which he ordered and Saskia carried out, to destabilize her family. Unable to resist, Sylvie shoots Shagan in the chest, ending his campaign of vengeance. The police then storm the room and secure Sylvie.
How does Hostage end?
In the final moments of Hostage, Abigail addresses the nation outside Downing Street, announcing a general election and promising a mandate of transparency, honesty, and accountability. The finale highlights Abigail’s resilience: she has survived personal loss, political betrayal, and a national crisis, emerging stronger and determined to rebuild both her career and family life. Sylvie also appears to be coping well with the recent traumatic events surrounded by her family, implying that she faces no legal repercussions for the decisions she made while defending her loved ones