The new Benedict Cumberbatch-led crime drama Eric is currently the No. 2 series on Netflix in the U.S. If you finished the emotional thriller, you might have questions about Eric’s ending, including whether Edgar made it home and what happens to 14-year-old Marlon.
The six-episode limited series follows Vincent Anderson (Benedict Cumberbatch), a father and struggling alcoholic who runs a children’s television show called Good Day Sunshine in 1980s New York. However, the puppeteer’s life unravels after the mysterious disappearance of his nine-year-old son Edgar, who vanishes on his way to school.
Set to uncover the whereabouts of his son, Vincent becomes increasingly anxious and volatile. To him, the answer lies in his son’s drawings of a blue puppet named Eric. Vincent is convinced that his son will return if he can get the puppet on TV. Throughout his journey, he “battles his demons on the vibrant, dangerous, and intoxicating streets of ’80s New York” — all while alienating those trying to help him, per Netflix’s Tudum.
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While grappling with his deteriorating marriage to his wife, Cassie, Vincent is teamed up with Detective Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III) from the NYPD’s Missing Persons Unit. Throughout the series, Ledroit is also searching for another missing person, a Black teen who disappeared 11 months earlier but whose case did not receive public attention. The Detective is concealing his sexuality at work and caring for his long-term partner, William (Mark Gillis), who has AIDS.
Eric Ending Explained on Netflix
If you’ve made it to the sixth and final episode of Eric, keep reading to dive into how the gripping series concludes and whether Edgar and Marlon were found. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Eric on Netflix.
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What Happened to Edgar in Eric?
Vincent and Cassie’s son, Edgar, goes missing while walking to school. He wasn’t kidnapped, but the young boy began following Yuusuf Egbe, a homeless man living in an abandoned section of the NYC subway tunnels.
While Yuusuf watches over Edgar, his drug-addicted friend, Raya, wants to sell the boy to a pimp at The Lux nightclub. Yuusuf, however, wants to claim the reward money for Edgar’s return, so he contacts Cassie to propose a deal. The plan unravels when Edgar’s grandfather informs the NYPD about Yuusuf’s demand, leading to Yuusuf’s identity being exposed on the TV.
Yuusuf has no other option but to leave Edgar with Raya, and he’s unaware that she still plans to sell the boy to TJ. As the police begin raiding the tunnels to clear out the illegal colonies, Edgar and Raya are forced to flee. During their escape, they both slip from a ladder; Raya drowns in the water, but Edgar survives and eventually finds his way to a local diner.
How Does Vincent Find Edgar At The End of Eric?
At the start of episode 6, Vincent is exhausted and passes out in the subway tunnels after his desperate search for Edgar. When he wakes up, he notices a drawing by his son on the wall. Shortly after, he encounters Yuusuf, the man Edgar had initially followed. Seeing Edgar’s drawings inspires Vincent to put Eric the puppet on TV, hoping it will encourage his son to come home.
Vincent heads to the studio and steals Eric's costume. He puts it on and runs in front of a camera at a large protest, hoping to get on TV. “We see the full weight of Vincent’s psychological breakdown, but we also come to see that this is a man who’s starting to make sense of his own role in his son’s disappearance,” showrunner Abi Morgan told Tudum.
Vincent removes Eric’s head and delivers a message to his son, “Race you home,” which is the “code” that Vincent and his son used with each other. “He comes to realize that he would never let Edgar win, and that was a key thing he learned through the journey: It’s time to try and let Edgar win,” Morgan added.
Is Edgar Found In Eric On Netflix?
Yes, Edgar is found safe at the end of Eric on Netflix. While eating French toast at a diner, the young boy sees his father's live performance as Eric on the TV. Hearing the message, he races home. Meanwhile, Vincent, still wearing the Eric puppet costume, also rushes towards their house. As Vincent rounds a corner, he spots Edgar running in the same direction. The father and son are finally reunited.
What Happens At The End of Eric?
At their house, Vincent tells Cassie that he is going to rehab to get help for his addiction and behavior problems. Cassie moves on from Vincent to be with her new love interest, Sebastian. Viewers also find out that Cassie is pregnant with Sebastian’s child.
“This episode is really about Vincent very narrowly losing his son, but in regaining his son, he also regains himself,” Morgan told Tudum. “There’s a key line when he says goodbye to Cassie, preparing to go into rehab, where he says, ‘I’m that toxic thing. It’s me.’ While everyone else was looking for the monsters, for the motivation for what had happened to Edgar, the motivation and the monster is within [Vincent] — he’s Eric.”
After rehab, Vincent reaches out and reunites with his father in Central Park so his character can “say goodbye to the shackles of being his son,” director Lucy Forbes explained to the streamer. “His father is never going to give him the things that Vincent so desperately wants of him.”
What Happened To Marlon In Eric? Who Killed Him?
Despite Edgar’s joyful reunion with his family, fourteen-year-old Marlon, who had been missing for 11 months, did not experience a similar outcome. In the series, Detective Ledroit worked alongside his former partner and The Lux owner, Alex Gator, to acquire a VHS security tape that provides crucial details about what happened to the teenager.
In the tapes, Ledroit discovers that the missing Marlon was ‘just a New York kid who is coming to terms, probably, with his sexuality,’ and had been turning tricks at The Lux nightclub,” according to Tudum. Upon closer examination of the footage, Ledroit identifies someone involved in Marlon’s disappearance: Deputy Mayor Costello, a prominent civil leader.
The security camera footage shows Marlon taking Costello in an alleyway to engage in a sexual encounter. Marlon is then tragically attacked by two corrupt NYPD officers, Nokes and Kennedy, who didn’t like “the fact Marlon didn’t go through them to meet Costello, so they attack and beat him to death,” according to Netflix. Nokes is ultimately the person responsible for Marlon’s death.
The series ends with Ledroit and Cecile, Marlon’s mother, sharing a meal after finally learning what happened to her son. In the background, Cecile’s grandson is watching Vincent’s puppet show, Good Day Sunshine.
“It’s a kind of hopeful message about, this child might be different, the world might be different for this boy when he grows up,” Morgan told Digital Spy about the meaningful full-circle moment.
All six episodes of Eric are streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.
