Painkiller Ending Explained Netflix Series: What Happened with Glen? What Happened with OxyContin?
A new drama series Painkiller has arrived on Netflix that has definitely raised the level of Netflix titles of the last period. Let’s talk about Painkiller, a series announced two years ago that has finally arrived on the streaming platform’s catalog to tell one of the most interesting stories so far at the center of a Netflix series: the opioid crisis in America in the 90s and the diffusion of the drug OxyContin which claimed thousands of lives from overdose and addiction. This Netflix miniseries, with producers Eric Newman, Pete Berg, Alex Gibney, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster as showrunners and creators, explores the origins and aftermath of America’s opioid crisis in fictional form, highlighting the stories of perpetrators, victims, and truth seekers whose lives were forever turned upside down by the invention of OxyContin. Analysis of crime, accountability, and systems that have repeatedly failed to protect hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Based on The New Yorker article by Patrick Radden “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deception and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic” by Barry Meier, Painkiller is a Netflix series that explores some of the origins and consequences of the opioid crisis in the United States. Though the Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster-created drama tweaked some characters and story details, it highlights the stories of perpetrators, victims, and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin. Richard Sackler tops the list of perpetrators, since after assuming command of Purdue Pharma later, companies founded by Arthur Sackler, he sees an opportunity and bets on an opiate that can relieve pain. When he finally has OxyContin, he does everything he can to get FDA approval and uses the best marketing tools to make the world see it as a miracle pill.
Painkiller Series: Summary Recap
When the powerful US pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma decides to market the revolutionary Painkiller OxyContin, it will be the beginning of one of the most serious and unexpected opioid epidemics ever recorded in the history of contemporary humanity. Painkiller, a six-episode miniseries that illustrates its origins, creation, and shocking consequences, tells the victims and the real characters involved with tact and clarity, bringing to Netflix a gripping insight into a story of drug addiction that most of us don’t know. knew inside out. Painkiller, a six-episode miniseries created in tandem by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster and directed entirely by Peter Berg, will debut on Thursday, August 10 on Netflix.
An artistic team that has chosen to follow the content and target steps of two other multimedia products that in recent years had already faced the lights and shadows of the terrible opioid epidemic generated by oxycodone: the miniseries Dopesick (with Michael Keaton, currently found on Disney+) and the documentary film All beauty and pain, triumphant at Venice 79 with the prestigious Golden Lion. The story of the diffusion of the drug OxyContin, the Painkiller of the opioid family which has caused more than 300,000 deaths from overdose and addiction to date, becomes in Painkiller a metaphor for a contemporary world where pleasure is one of the most coveted values by human beings together to wealth. And so, addiction to drugs, suffering, and even death is a risk to run to have more and more social recognition and experience even that single moment of pure pleasure.
Painkiller Series Ending Explained What Happened With OxyContin?
Painkiller ends with one last episode showing the Purdue Pharma trial which, even before starting, ended with a plea deal arranged the night before with a phone call from Richard Sakler that even reached the White House. Thus, by paying a “fine payment”, the pharmaceutical company avoided all charges on the drug OxyContin and continued to produce and sell it. Also, an accomplice in this plea deal was the lawyer John Brownlee who had collaborated with Edie Flowers to put the prosecution against Purdue thanks to the testimony of Shannon Shaeffer who repented and decided to do the right thing by handing over all the documents that fit the agency.
Meanwhile, Glen, who had managed to be sober for a month, finds OxyContin pills in the apartment next to his and falls back into the vortex of addiction ending up in sight, in an overdose. And Edie makes peace with her brother in prison who, once released from her, returns to live with her. The series ends with Richard Sakler imagining a fight with his father Raymond, founder of the Sakler empire with whom he has imaginary conversations for the entire series, who punches him for tarnishing the legacy of his work that he had worked so hard on. And to the tune of The Sound of Silence, with an elderly Richard Sakler in his luxury home, alone, full of remorse and annoyed by that sound of the fire alarm that characterized the entire series, Painkiller concludes.
Does Glen Die? What Happens to Edie Flowers?
Edie Flowers, an investigator for the Roanoke federal prosecutor’s office, is another of the protagonists of Painkiller. In fact, the new Netflix series opens with Edie meeting with a team of lawyers and experts, and talking about everything she did to bring Purdue Pharma to justice. When Edie discovers the existence of OxyContin, it is already the number one drug for pain control. At first, he believes that the doctor he is investigating tampered with his numbers and committed fraud, but it does not take him long to understand that in almost all offices the dangerous drug is prescribed in excessive amounts and after witnessing the adverse effects of the drug, he decides to act accordingly immediate.
OxyContin’s popularity is also partly down to the drug’s promoters. A group of attractive young women is in charge of convincing doctors to prescribe said drug to their patients. One of them is Shannon Schaeffer, a young college girl desperate for a job who comes to Purdue. As she advances in her career, she begins to question the true effects of the drug she promotes, but the large amount of money she earns causes her to ignore the warnings. On the other hand, Glen, a mechanic who suffers a work injury develops an addiction that leads him to lose his family.
In Painkiller Series, Edie understands how drugs destroy a family since her mother died due to her addiction and her brother is in prison for dealing. Therefore, she undertakes to demonstrate the damage that OxyContin does and that those responsible were aware of everything. Maine’s federal prosecutor is the first to denounce the problem publicly, but Richard Sackler cleverly responds by blaming addicts and eventually the prosecutor goes over to Purdue. However, Edie takes advantage of false witness statements to build a case against the company.
What happened to Richard Sackler?
Of course, Richard, who imagines that his Uncle Arthur is advising them, does not provide any statement and leaves the confrontation in the hands of his lawyer. Which motivates Edie’s team to look for an employee willing to testify. Although the company’s head secretary offers to testify in a fit of anger, she is passed over due to her addiction to her opioid. As Glenn battles his addiction, Shannon realizes the damage she’s caused and seeks out Edie to help with the investigation. Meanwhile, Richard and Purdue hire the best lawyers to prevent their empire from collapsing and Arthur Sackler’s legacy from being sullied. Due to pressure from the right politicians, Brownlee is forced to accept a deal with Purdue, which involved burying the investigation.
As Glenn battles his addiction, Shannon realizes the damage she’s caused and seeks out Edie to help with the investigation. Meanwhile, Richard and Purdue hire the best lawyers to prevent their empire from collapsing and Arthur Sackler’s legacy from being sullied. Due to pressure from the right politicians, Brownlee is forced to accept a deal with Purdue, which involved burying the investigation. At the end of Painkiller, Glenn relapses into drugs and apparently dies; Edie concludes her statement, wishes the lawyers luck, and returns to the house she shares with her brother who is now free. In October 2020, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice, paid $225 million to the Department of Justice for involvement in the opioid crisis, and filed for bankruptcy. Neither of the Sacklers was convicted of advertising OxyContin.
Who is Glen?
We begin this drama from the perspective of Glen, an addict to the opioid OxyContin. Medical prescription ends up becoming a dependency. When he realizes the lack of control, Glen throws the medicine away and ends up realizing that the health problems that made him take the substance are back. Glen’s wife initially understands the situation, but later becomes incomprehensible in the face of the unrestrained consumption of OxyContin. Glen reaches a point where he has to sell everything to buy the substance and, without his wife’s help, he asks Tyler for help. After spending a month in detox, Glen is back with his wife and daughter and feels perfectly fine. Glen’s hopes are dashed when he finds a family passed out in a motel, with OxyContin capsules. Glen has a tragic relapse, which ends up leaving him in an overdose. Glen is hurriedly rescued and soon, the plot is directed so that the viewer reflects on the impact that dependence on opioids has brought on thousands of families.
Result of Investigations
On the other hand, we see Edie Flowers investigating the opioid epidemic. The mission is tough, as she faces giant pharmaceutical conglomerates. Edie was incessant in the objective of bringing the discussion to the forefront of common sense but bumped into the illegalities of an unfair system. Purdue Pharma and Richard Sackler are confronted by investigations, and the more Edie investigates, the more she uncovers evidence against the business owners. Despite all her efforts, the investigator realized that all efforts were in vain. The grandeur of Sackler and his allies was unbeatable, which becomes more evident when Edie tries to look for someone to support the advancement of her investigations and ends up being demobilized by the large number of negatives received by the authorities.
As a result, Edie is left to quit her career and focus on changing what she can change. The lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and Richard Sackler fall through the cracks and the culprits are cleared of all blame. Despite closing an agreement to regulate the supply of opioids, in practice, they ended up ignoring all negotiations. In the last scenes, Edie appears years later being summoned to testify about a reopening of the lawsuit against Purdue and Sackler. Despite being held responsible, the secrecy of the case protects Sackler from any impact. A billionaire fine is negotiated, and everything ends with a handshake, without major consequences for those responsible for destroying thousands of lives.
