Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato, Netflix’s ‘Billionaires’ Bunker‘ tells the story of multiple billionaire families who take shelter at a private bunker facility in the face of a nuclear war threat. Max is a former prisoner whose wealthy father takes him to the safehouse, nestled hundreds of feet underground. However, life there is far from a utopia, as the protagonist is forced to confront his past mistakes. With each passing day, fear, hatred, and paranoia take root in the families, forcing many to lash out. Originally titled ‘El refugio atómico,’ this Spanish thriller pits some of the wealthiest people on earth against each other and then traces the gaps left behind in this mixture. To that end, the finale, titled ‘Two Minutes without Roxán,’ opens Pandora’s box, expanding the mysteries of this world while also bringing many to a close. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Billionaires’ Bunker Plot Recap
‘Billionaires’ Bunker’ begins with a montage chronicling the fairy-tale love story of Max and Ane from childhood to adulthood. The two are the children of billionaire friends, but their life of luxury is turned upside down on one fateful night, when they end up in a car crash that results in Ane’s death. Given that Max was inebriated while behind the steering wheel, he is sentenced to prison, where he is routinely bullied and abused. However, the protagonist refuses to give up and, over time, becomes a legendary inmate known for his fighting prowess. After three years in jail, Max is released on account of good behaviour, but fate has another trick up its sleeve. Max’s billionaire father, Rafa, reveals that the world is currently at war, and the entire family is going to hide in a private bunker facility designed specifically for such an occasion. This bunker, named Kimera Underground Park, serves as the home to several billionaire families as the world is seemingly burnt to a crisp.
Behind closed doors, however, Kimera Underground has a secret, and in a shocking turn of events, we see that the entire idea of the nuclear apocalypse is fabricated, designed specifically to lure all the wealthiest people underground. The leader of this project, Minerva, reveals the painstaking steps that were taken to add believability to this scam, and with all their targets stuffed hundreds of feet underground, victory is all but assured. Over time, the bunker’s claustrophobic environment begins to take a toll on the inhabitants, as well as some of the brains behind the lie, such as Dr. Julia Baldini, who is not fully on board with the plan. When she confronts Minerva and her brother, Ziro, the latter throws her to her death, triggering a chain reaction drenched in blood. Meanwhile, Max faces the heat from Ane’s father, Guillermo, and sister, Asia. Above all, the two hate him for running away from the scene of the crime, and a flashback reveals that it was Rafa who suggested that course of action, but ultimately caved and testified against his own son out of pressure from Guillermo.
As the show progresses, friends turn into foes, and the loving bonds between people begin to deteriorate. In the face of crises, many people give in to their impulses, and Frida, Max’s mother, calls it quits with Rafa. In the meantime, Guillermo and his second wife, Mimi, separate as well, and this creates the perfect room for him and Frida to get together. However, beneath the familial drama, Max begins to pick up on the odd happenings in the bunker, many of which have to do with its authoritarian structure. His investigation leads him to join hands with Asia, who is secretly starting to develop feelings for him. The two cleverly avoid surveillance and hatch an escape plan, which involves creating a bomb explosion. This act has far-reaching consequences, disabling the AI network known as Roxan, which has been keeping Minerva’s entire plan in place, including her elaborate con on Guillermo’s business partner, Oswaldo. Both of these threads find their intersecting point at the finale, with the truth nearly within grasp.
Billionaires’ Bunker Ending: Does Max Make it to the Surface? What Does He Find?
In the final moments of the season, Max’s odyssey to the top of the bunker ends with a triumph, with only a metal door lying between him and the outside world. With a hazmat suit on, Max prepares to face a potential nuclear fallout head-on, not knowing that the state of the world is nothing like the horrors that he imagines. However, the scene cuts right as the sun hits his eye, and before we are not even given a peek into what he sees. This cliffhanger ending leaves his fate in the dark, as Max is not alone, and a team of enforcers led by Minerva and Yako is right behind him. Nonetheless, the taste of the outside world pulls the story in a completely unpredictable direction, birthing a possible cat-and-mouse chase between the bunker’s creators and the protagonist, who is the only person so far who might know the truth. Additionally, there is also a chance that this is just one more part of Minerva’s grand network of illusions, and Max isn’t on the surface in the first place.
Max’s journey out of the prison also works on a symbolic level, as the story begins with him exiting the prison after three long years. The fact that he is swooped right back into another institution adds to the character’s trauma, and this is only magnified when the bunker’s characteristics begin to overlap with those of a prison. As such, Max, being the vessel to the outside world, has a poetic edge to his arc. Notably, it is also his time in prison that truly helps him hone not just his combat skills, but his quick thinking and rule-breaking antics. As such, the entire sequence doubles as a kind of prison escape, with the protagonist using every last ounce of what he has learnt in the past. However, his intentions deep down remain noble, as the path outside marks the ticket to the truth, which can then be used to save the lives of his family and everyone else trapped inside.
While Max is firmly on his way out, the first step he might take will only make things infinitely harder. To begin with, he has no real way of escaping the compound when faced with the physical and technological might of Kimera Underground Park, and that can lead to dark consequences. As we have seen the lengths to which Minerva and her allies can go to protect this secret, it is possible that Max’s life will be on the line. However, Asia’s final lines of the season draw attention here, as she promises to find Max in case he does not return. Conversely, Max assures her that it won’t be the case, which adds a narrative backbone to his future trajectory. Whether he manages to claw his way back to civilisation and alert them about the horrific abuse that is being conducted hundreds of feet underground entirely depends on the protagonist’s first step back into the real world.
Is Oswaldo Dead or Alive?
While Max and Asia make great strides from inside the bunker, on the other end of the world, in Bangkok, Oswaldo digs into the truth on his own. Although Minerva’s plan of lowering his guard and weakening his critical thinking is a near success, the only crack appears purely by mistake. While aboard the private jet, Oswaldo’s eye goes to a billboard featuring the same old lady who appeared to be Mae’s mother. This elevates his suspicion, and he does a quick search to verify every detail from last night. Very quickly, he realizes that not just Mae, but the entire last night was a fabrication, likely to disable his senses just enough to sign the contract with Nexusthai. Oswaldo’s suspicions are soon confirmed when he returns to find the company floor entirely deserted, and not long after, he confirms that the version of Guillermo he’s been talking to is a fake. However, moments before he is able to report this scam to the higher authorities, Mae and Luca locate Oswaldo and waste no time in killing him.
The true irony around Oswaldo’s death lies in the fact that it is presented as an accident, with Luca snapping his neck in one breath and pretending to be a concerned onlooker in another. Given that Luca confidently walks away from the scene shortly after, we can expect Oswaldo’s final visuals to be a confirmation of death. With this, Minerva not only secures her secret, but also estabilishes the lengths she is willing to go for them. Worse, as the entire sum is already transferred, the organization suddenly has a lot more tools at its disposal, and that only means more trouble for the wealthy elites who are trapped inside this labyrinthine construction. Oswaldo brings to the story the only semblance of an outsider’s perspective on this mystery, and with him gone, the narrative is bound to tighten its knots even more.
Does Asia Confess Her Love to Max? Does He Reciprocate?
In the midst of one tragedy after another, Asia finds her sole respite in the form of Max. What starts out as unbridled hatred for the death of her sister gives way to a more complex set of emotions, as over time, Asia realizes that she is in love with him. To that end, the finale brings this dynamic to a climax, and Asia confesses her love to the protagonist while he is on his escape journey. Asia goes a step further to reframe the entire time she has spent with him, since childhood, announcing that a part of her has always had romantic feelings for him. This sensation accelerates when the two find themselves within the same bunker, and each interaction only increases the potency of her feelings. The finale confession, as such, serves as not only a watershed moment for the character but also a marker of her growth, giving way to an increased clarity of emotions.
Asia’s love story is not complete without the role her sister played in the story, as for the longest period of time, Ane and Max were two inseparable entities. Although there are many conflicting emotions involved, Asia’s complete transparency helps even things out, and she brings an honest admission of fear about the mission and what it means for their future. However, she also acknowledges that both her actions and the spirit behind them are driven by the same engine, her love for Max. In turn, Max vaguely confirms that he has similar feelings for her, and while it is not outright confirmed to be love, at the very least, he bears strong emotions about her. Though Max regrets his involvement in Ane’s death every day, his newfound companionship with Asia provides a second chance at life and love, returning a portion of the happiness he lost years ago.
Is Mimi Dead? How Did She Die?
Although Asia’s arc in this season ends with a romantic climax, it is directly informed by the reality check that is Mimi’s death. Although Mimi enters the story as Guillermo’s second wife, Asia does not bear her any ill intent, and the two have a loving relationship. This, in turn, makes her eventual fate all the more hard-hitting, especially for her step-daughter. Earlier in the story, Mimi’s growing abdominal pain gives way to a more serious illness, and with no doctor on board, Asia steps up to the challenge, quickly diagnosing a rare liver illness. To that end, Mimi is given a very specific path to recovery, and while things start out well, she ultimately ends up entangled in the allure of drugs and takes a high dose of heroin along with Veronica. While the exact reason for Mimi’s death is never made explicit, it is possible that she passed away due to a drug overdose, which leads to cardiac arrest.
Mimi’s arc within the narrative is defined by how other characters often manipulate her to their advantage, leaving her more hurt at every turn. As such, her dynamic with Asia stands out as the only exception, built on selfless foundations. In the end, Mimi’s death serves as a critique of how those in power often trample over innocent lives with no remorse, as her illness is only worsened by the circumstances brought about by Minerva and Veronica in their own respective ways. An enigmatic scene earlier in the story also adds a symbolic edge to Mimi’s fate, as she accidentally makes her way to a screen projecting Mickey Mouse animations, which can potentially be interpreted as her desire to go back to a simple lifestyle, away from the chaos and paranoia that the rich are constantly enveloped in.
