Upamanyu Biswas
The inaugural season of Netflix’s ‘Bet’ concludes bombastically, signaling new troubles and opportunities on the horizon for Yumeko and her friends. While the show constantly throws things off balance with a healthy dose of plot twists, it reaches a fever pitch in the final portions as the proverbial tables are turned on the protagonist and her bid for vengeance. After enlisting the help of her friends, Yumeko makes some inroads into finding the truth behind her parents’ killers. However, the mystery remains intact until the final moments when a series of mounting gambles pay off in her favor, leading to more answers. Still, it only opens up more wounds from the past and seeds doubts in her mind about a seminal incident in her childhood and a game-changing revelation around it. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Bet Season 1 Recap
After getting kicked out of her high school for engaging in gambling, Yumeko Kawamoto transfers to St. Dominic’s Prep, an elite school where students are only accepted based on their wealthy family ties. The institute is also characterized by a ruthless hierarchical structure where those who can beat others in competitive games are given status. If one loses these games, they risk turning into “house pets,” a colloquial term reserved for those who must enter involuntary servitude under the victor’s thumb. Additionally, the games are ranked based on income from bets, side bets, and gambling behavior. The higher one ranks on the leaderboards, the more likely they are to enter the student council, which comprises the top ten individuals on the list.
Soon after arrival, Yumeko attracts the attention of Ryan, a newly appointed house pet under student council member Mary Davis. While he despises his situation, he accepts that nothing can be done about it and advises the protagonist to keep her distance from the student council. However, she seems to have secret plans as she deliberately crosses paths with the elite members, who are led by the student council president, Kira. Although the latter can intimidate almost everyone at the school, Yumeko proves to be immune to her tyrannical regime. More support gathers around her as she befriends Michael, another school resident who likes to steer clear of the council because it will only lead to more trouble. However, neither he nor Ryan can faze her from her goal.
As her first order of business, Yumeko challenges Mary to a game of cards, putting everything on the line. Despite everyone thinking that she has no chance, the protagonist bests her enemy. Both Michael and Ryan are stunned to witness her victory, even though the latter helped Mary cheat during the match. Following the round, Mary ends up as a house pet to Ryan, a role reversal that also expels her from the student council. Subsequently, Yumeko’s notoriety becomes the stuff of legends as everyone starts seeing her as a disruptor to the established authority within the school’s rigid boundaries. However, as time passes, Yumeko’s secret agenda comes to light as we learn that she is at St. Dominic’s to avenge her slain parents, who were killed in a car blast.
Bet Season 1 Ending: Who Murdered Yumeko’s Parents? Why?
The murder of Yumeko’s parents (Keiko and Jo) defines much of the central narrative in ‘Bet’ season 1. They were killed in an orchestrated car blast when Yumeko was still a child, an incident that left an indelible impression on her young mind. As such, she grows up obsessed with the idea of revenge and finding out exactly what happened to her parents. However, her only clue is the name “Ray.” It belonged to a mysterious man who visited her parents just before they died. After probing into the mystery, Yumeko learns that her parents likely met this Ray while they were both in the Kakegurui Club in St. Dominic’s. As she unravels the man’s identity, she realizes that he is actually Michael’s father. While he may have been the person pulling the trigger on Keiko and Jo’s life, the real responsibility for their murder lies on the entire St. Dominic school board members.
It turns out that Keiko and Jo were incredibly tied up with the Kakegurui Club. As a part of the school council, they were significant contributors to whatever plans the club’s foremost leaders wanted to implement. To that end, Keiko and Jo decided to create a program that would take the group’s earnings and distribute them to others in the world who needed it more, an idea that went against their elitist sentiments. They even went ahead with the plan, even though not everyone was convinced about it. Worried that they were swindling valuable cash and fortune away, the board members decided to take them out before any serious damage was done to their wallets. Ray was tasked with carrying out the murder, using his gang affiliations to murder his old friends in a brutal incident.
When Yumeko learns the truth behind the matter, she is infuriated and taken aback by the depth of the conspiracy that led to her loved ones’ murder. She realizes that even though Ray may be the one who killed them, the blood of Keiko and Jo is in the hands of everyone who runs St. Dominic’s. Therefore, her revenge mission changes from targeting one individual to effectively wiping out the whole board. However, the mission may be difficult considering the influence held by each person on the board. Still, she begins the cycle by murdering Ray, who is surprised when she stabs him with poison and leaves him for dead. With him removed from the equation, the protagonist can take some solace in the fact that the main perpetrator of her parents’ death has been killed.
Is Yumeko’s Mother Still Alive?
While killing Ray sates her thirst for vengeance, Yumeko slightly regrets it when the former states that Yumeko’s mother might be alive just before he passes away. When Ray steadily succumbs to the poison’s effects, he tells the protagonist that she was mistaken about her parents’ murder because her mother survived the fire. The information stuns her, leaving her desperately clinging to his last words and asking him what he means. She even shakes him repeatedly to find out what he knows. Alas, he passes away before any headway can be made into her mother’s perceived survival. If Ray’s words are true, it has the potential to change Yumeko’s mission objective, as reuniting with her mother would become her top priority, superseding her lust for revenge.
The bigger question that arises from Ray’s claim about Yumeko’s mom is that something much larger and insidious might be at play that is hidden from the protagonist’s eyes. Although she has been fixated on the idea of revenge, she may have been wasting her time for years on the wrong problem. Had the information about Keiko reached her sooner, she would have spent her efforts tracking her down rather than planning ways to kill the unknown “Ray.” However, it is worth accepting that her animosity towards the killer would have remained to some degree because that person stole her chance to have a normal life and spend time with her parents. Instead, Yumeko spent years preparing herself mentally, emotionally, and physically for the purpose of exacting revenge.
With Ray dead, Yumeko’s queries about her mother will likely remain unanswered, at least for a short while. A second season could answer the mother’s “survival” questions and why she may have decided to keep herself hidden from the world following her passing. It is possible that she may have felt in danger because the murder attempt on her life was orchestrated by those she called friends. There might have been no guarantee that if she went back to Yumeko, they would have tracked her down and tried to kill her again. To avoid such a fate, Keiko likely kept a distance from her daughter. Still, the protagonist may see this as a dereliction of duty because she grew up as an orphan, believing she had been abandoned.
Why Does Kira Help Yumeko?
As the final moments of season 1 turn into a chaotic flurry of action, loyalty shifts, and deception, Yumeko finds herself surprisingly siding with Kira and vice versa. The change happens because during the event at the retreat, Kira’s dad, Arkadi Timurov, decides to break her eldest daughter’s trust and hands over the school representative position to Riri, her sister. The decision completely revamps Kira’s mindset, even though moments before, she threatened to reveal Yumeko’s secret agenda to avenge the deaths of Keiko and Jo to the school board. The relationship between the duo is tenuous at best and antagonistic at worst. So, when Kira decides to help Yumeko escape the house after killing Ray, it shows how much their differences have given way to understanding by the end.
When the show begins, Kira immediately presents herself as Yumeko’s long-term rival for dominance in the school’s hierarchy. As the school’s de facto leader, she holds immense power over how everyone behaves and adheres to certain policies she makes. It creates a tyrannical environment, especially when considering the stratified nature of the school’s inner dynamics. Kira is at the center of all the injustices and runs a tight ship for one reason: she wants her father to nominate her as the school representative. Her father’s approval is the most important thing in her life and defines her entire worth. Thus, when he rejects her as a potential candidate and appoints Riri instead, she is disgusted and finds herself completely shunned by him.
After the rejection, Kira heads over to the restroom to wash her face and vomit out her depression. Sensing her crushing disappointment, Yumeko accompanies her and holds her hair up while she cleans herself. Ironically, the two were at each other’s throats earlier in the day, trying to win a blackjack game that could decide whether they live or die. However, moments later, they found themselves leaning on one another as they realized that the enemy was someone else – the vindictive parents. As such, the coalition between Kira and Yumeko is easy to understand when seen through the lens of “an enemy of my enemy is a friend.” Both of them realize it is more beneficial to work together than to constantly undermine the other, which they had been doing previously. It opens the door to more intriguing developments in the future.
Will Michael Seek Revenge For His Father’s Death?
Ray’s death is one of Yumeko’s central achievements at the end of the season. However, it will likely lead to serious repercussions moving forward because of the effect it has on Michael. Losing Ray is something Michael wanted to primarily avoid, even after he learned that his father might be the one involved in killing Yumeko’s parents. His hand in the whole incident is undeniable. This becomes all the more clear when the protagonist questions Ray and figures out the details of everything that transpired before. Yet, Michael finds himself unable to bear the thought of losing his father. On the other hand, Yumeko is hell-bent on exacting some form of vengeance for her parents. The clash of ideologies on the two sides rips apart their former friendship, which is a huge part of season 1.
It is safe to say that without Michael’s assistance in crucial moments of the season, Yumeko would have been unable to wriggle herself out of impossible situations or overwhelming odds stacked against her. He is also the first person to learn about her deceased parents and the murder conspiracy that cost them their lives. As a result, he starts actively helping her in any way he can, including the procurement of important documents and books that are vital in the investigation. Things only hit a roadblock when Michael realizes later that the person he and the protagonist are looking for could be his own father, which is an absolute game-changer. The emotional tie is far too strong for him to simply allow Yumeko to kill him. To some extent, she understands this, too.
At the retreat party, Michael uses Ryan’s help to break into the place, fearing that Yumeko is going to kill his father. However, the plan fails almost instantly because the protagonist sics the security on him, who escorts him outside. She says that she cannot have Michael witness the next part of events, indicating that she wants him to avoid seeing the grisly sight of his father being murdered. While it may seem considerate on Yumeko’s part, it also shows her ruthless edge when it comes to serving her revenge mission. Her previous friendship with Michael disappears because she is far more concerned about achieving what she set out to achieve. Unfortunately, it could have dramatic consequences because Michael immediately blames her when he sees Ray’s dead body, meaning he might now be on the same path of revenge as the protagonist.
Read More: Where is Bet Filmed?
