Abhiroop Das
Created by Matt Charrman, Netflix’s political thriller ‘Hostage‘ follows the story of Abigail Dalton, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Vivienne Toussaint, the President of France. The two powerful leaders’ paths intersect when Abigail’s husband, Alex Anderson, is kidnapped on French soil. At the same time, Vivienne is subjected to blackmail, and it becomes apparent that the two incidents are not isolated. Desperate to bring Alex back to safety, the protagonist goes to unprecedented lengths, tackling attacks from multiple fronts to find the solution she needs. However, in her way stands the mysterious group of kidnappers, who always seem to be one step ahead of her. The subsequent back and forth brings the past and present together, peeling the layers off many secrets. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Alex Was Kidnapped by a Former British Soldier
Alex, a doctor by profession, was abducted along with four of his teammates while volunteering in French Guiana as part of the Médecins Sans Frontières organization. The abduction plot takes up the bulk of the narrative in ‘Hostage,’ with several nail-biting twists and turns along the way. In the finale, the main perpetrator is revealed to be John Shagan, a former member of the Highland Guards regiment of the British army. After the entire regiment was retired as part of Abigail’s decision to cut down the military budget, Shagan, along with many of his peers, was recruited by General Livingston. From there, they hatched an elaborate plot to sabotage Abigail’s prime ministerial career, ending with her resignation. Additionally, the plan was to create enough chaos to return the military to its former glory.
While Shagan was successful in kidnapping Alex and his team, holding them in place proves to be a much more difficult task. This is in large part due to Abigail’s resistance coinciding with the captives, led by Alex and Thomas Mercer, rebelling against their captors. When Shagan’s team is neutralized by French operatives, he decides to carry on the offensive from within the United Kingdom, repeatedly inciting mob violence and spreading false information about the government. This culminates in him planting a bomb in the laptop that Matheo unknowingly brings right next to Abigail. The resultant explosion is intended to take her out, but instead kills the French President, Vivienne Toussaint. Despite this drastic mistake, Shagan refuses to give up.
Shagan is Motivated by a Need for Vengeance
Shagan’s acts of terror are rooted in a long-standing hatred towards Abigail, which can be traced to his past as a soldier. Over the course of ‘Hostage,’ we learn that in 2017, when the protagonist was a junior minister in the Foreign Office, Guatemala suddenly launched an invasion of Belize. Since British troops were stationed in Belize at that point, she had to make the difficult decision of evacuating them en masse and abandoning the locals who had supported them this entire time. In the present, Shagan reveals that his wife was one of the locals left behind, and in his absence, she was labelled a traitor and executed. Worse, we learn that she was pregnant with his daughter at the time of her death, and this fact tipped him past the breaking point.
The official records state that Shagan’s mental health deteriorated significantly, following which he was medically downgraded from the army. However, he never left his desire for revenge, and this culminates in his present actions. Notably, the extent to which his emotions warp his psyche is expressed through minor details, such as his gunning down a French translator at the start of the abduction plot. This act gains a saddening tint when it is revealed that his deceased wife was also a translator, and more importantly, innocent. While Shagan still shows hints of humanity, his actions confirm that the idea of revenge has blinded him. To that end, he realizes that the best way to get back at Abigail is to harm her family and bring the story full circle.
Shagan Holds Alex Hostage Twice
When all of Shagan’s plans fail, he resorts to his final move, tracking down Abigail’s car with the help of his ally, Saskia, and hunting for the prime minister out in the open. Together, they make their way to the mansion where Matheo, Alex, and Sylvie are hiding, but are surprised to find Abigail missing. However, this gives him another opportunity for revenge, as he then rings her up, announcing that he has her loved ones hostage. He then demands that she come alone with no protection, so that he can have his fill and put an end to things. When Abigail complies and reaches the place, Shagan finally has his watershed moment and confronts her for playing God with innocent lives. He promises to give her a taste of how that feels, but at that moment, he is stopped by Alex, and later, Sylvie, who has a gun.
With the gun pointed at him, Shagan realizes that his time is nearly up. However, he changes this moment to an opportunity once again and begins to coach Sylvie about aiming and shooting the right way. His real intention is to traumatize the teen for life, and in turn, leave Abigail with guilt for corrupting her own child. He is ultimately successful in his provocation, as Sylvie is the one who kills him. While Shagan’s hostage plans never truly come to fruition, they still lead the path to the larger threads in the narrative, shedding light on his true motivations. His actions, in turn, end up being more than just a retaliation for the past; they are also a study into how a person turns to a life of committing evil.
Read More: Hostage Ending Explained: Who is Behind the Abduction?
