Sandokan Ending Explained: Does Sandokan Become the Tribe Leader?

Created by Luca Bernabei, ‘Sandokan’ reimagines the classic tale of the eponymous pirate, whose legend echoes through all of Brunei. While he seems satisfied with a life of raiding British vessels and taking everything of value for himself, things take a turn when he encounters a man from the Dayak tribe, who claims that Sandokan is the chosen one who will liberate the masses. What follows is an adventure through the heart of the British settlement, where Sandokan forges alliances with the unlikeliest of forces, including the royal Consul’s daughter, Marianna. By the end of this Italian action-adventure series, the pirate finds himself compelled to pick up his weapons for a genuine cause and become the feared Tiger of Malaya. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Sandokan Plot Recap

‘Sandokan’ begins with a flashback to the colonial powers descending upon Brunei, mercilessly slaughtering tribal populations along the way. In the present, they control the land and the seas, except for rebellious pirates who routinely swoop in and seize all of their treasures. The most feared of these pirate crews belongs to a Portuguese man named Yanez de Gomera, whose right-hand man, Sandokan, is the most skilled combatant of the crew. However, when their ship is ambushed by a pirate hunter named James Brooke, Sandokan and a man from the Dayak tribe are separated from the group and wash up ashore. As fate would have it, they are rescued by Marianna Guillonk, the daughter of the British Consul, who believes him to be a lost trader.

The Dayak man believes Sandokan to be the tribe’s prophesied savior, and in his final breaths, he relays that idea to Sani, Marianna’s attendant and a Dayak slave herself. Sandokan and Sani secretly team up to rescue the rest of his pirate crew from certain death, in return for the freedom of her brother, who is a slave at the Sultan’s mines. During all of this, Sandokan and Marianna slowly begin to develop feelings for each other, and at the same time as Brooke asks for her hand in marriage. Suspicious of Sandokan, Brooke seeks to verify his claims, but by the time he realizes the farce, it is already too late. By the next morning, Sandokan and Sani appear to have vanished with the entire imprisoned crew, as well as Marianna, who is now being held hostage.

As Brooke gives the pirates chase, Sandokan and his crew return to Singapore, where he once made a living doing odd jobs. His mother is now a community leader, and spending time with her helps Marianna understand Sandokan’s perspective better. The pirates’ plan is to release Marianna after collecting an exorbitant amount of ransom money, and while Brooke is charged with completing the transaction, things go awry when the Sultan’s assassins launch a surprise attack, killing Sandokan’s mother in the process. With her final words, he learns that she is not her biological mother, and that he is, in fact, a member of the Dayak tribe himself. Hearing this, Sandokan returns to the tribal lands with Sani and Marianna, where he is eventually found and tested by the Dayak tribesfolk, until he is proven to be one of them.

As Sandokan spends more time with the Dayak community, flashes of memory begin to return to him, revealing that his father was once the tribe’s chief warrior. However, when the British forces, led by none other than Marianna’s father, stormed the forest, Sandokan’s father died in the resultant battle. All the while, the colonizers grew richer and turned hundreds of tribe members into slave laborers. Learning all of this, Sandokan vows to join the tribe and take revenge, but is abducted by the Sultan and returned to the Consul. Before he can be hanged, however, Sandokan and Marianna confess their love to each other and plan an elaborate escape plan in conjunction with Brooke. As Sandokan escapes and returns to his tribe, the stage is set for him to find his true calling.

Sandokan Ending: Does Sandokan Become the Tribe Leader? Does He Free the Slaves?

At the end of ‘Sandokan,’ the eponymous pirate becomes one with his heritage and claims the title of the chief warrior of the Dayak tribe. As the new leader, he immediately storms the Sultan’s mining island, cutting through the enemy forces and freeing the slaves one by one. While Sandokan and his pirate crew had the chance to save Sani’s brother way back, they hesitated due to the Sultan’s rule of punishing all slaves if even one escaped. The incident served as a valuable lesson for Sandokan, enlightening him on how change can only be introduced from the top down. In line with that, Sandokan makes his next target the Sultan of Brunei himself, setting sail with the hundreds of freed tribe members as a part of his new army.

For Sandokan, the attack on the Sultan’s palace is also a deeply personal one, as it is the royal assassins who ambushed him in Singapore, killing his mother in the process. As revenge, Sandokan strikes the king with his full might, letting his seasoned pirates make light work of the royal army. As it turns out, the siege also serves as an impetus for the Sultan’s personal slaves, who seize the opportunity and fight back, leaving him to fend for himself in the end. As the king meanders through the narrow underground tunnels, the Tiger of Malaya ultimately catches up to him, but is nearly outwitted when the Sultan creeps up behind him, with a pistol ready to be fired. Sandokan’s life is saved, however, by none other than Marianna, whose arrival is as unexpected as it is heartwarming.

As it turns out, Sandokan’s entire mission to wipe out the Sultan was already anticipated by Brooke, who decided to let the tribal and pirate forces do the heavy lifting. From the start, his plan had been to take the Sultanate for himself, and by merely killing Sandokan after the deed was done, he could have earned the public right to sit on the throne. However, Marianna learns of this plan and rushes to the capital herself, saving Sandokan’s life and alerting him just in time. In a way, this completes a transition for her character, from being at Sandokan’s mercy at the start of the show to joining him on equal footing by the end of it. Owing to her advice, Sandokan escapes with his crew just in time, having satiated his desire for vengeance.

Do Sandokan and Marianna Reunite?

Sandokan’s victory over the Sultan also means that one of his largest battles is over for good. By a curious cross of fate, this also facilitates his reunion with Marianna, and the lovebirds settle together at last. At the start of the episode, we learn that Marianna and Brooke made a secret deal to spare Sandokan’s life in return for her marrying the pirate hunter. However, with his real intentions now out in the open, she has no plans to keep up the charade and instead returns to her one true love. While Sandokan initially planned to personally return to Labuan to meet Marianna once again, in the end, the exact opposite happens, as it is Marianna who finds him in a life-or-death moment.

Sandokan and Marianna’s relationship throughout the season has been quite volatile, as it begins with him abducting her for ransom. However, as time passes and the duo begins to learn more about each other, Marianna realizes that the British colonization of Brunei, fueled by her own father, has engineered the complete destruction of indigenous life and culture. In the face of such injustice, Marianna aligns herself with the people of Brunei, and her unconditional love for Sandokan is a testament to that. In the end, she becomes one of his crewmates, as well as his partner for life.

Why Did Brooke Betray Marianna? Is He the New King Now?

Although Brooke initially appears to be a sympathizer of Sandokan and Marianna’s love story, his real plan is revealed to be something sinister. Letting Sandokan take the fall is a key step in his season-long plan to overtake the Sultan and become the sole leader of Brunei. However, he is not exactly hungry for power, and at least his original motivation for this elaborate game of chess is rooted in something far more personal. Over the course of the story, we learn that Brooke’s mother is an Indian person of the Hindu religion, which is considered taboo amongst the British colonisers. While this seemingly strips him of all of his social credit, he is still kept as a tactician and commander in light of his unquestionable skills. Enraged at this apparent injustice, Brooke is driven by a vendetta against the British forces.

Shortly after Sandokan’s victory against the Sultan, Brooke makes his entry into the palace with his entire fleet, hoping for a decisive victory against his former pirate nemesis. However, with Marianna’s timely intervention, this plan goes to waste, and Brooke is also denied the one thing he has truly been after this entire season: Marianna’s affection. From the start, Brooke has been driven by his love for the Consul’s daughter, despite appearances indicating this to be a political marriage prospect. However, his shrewd deal to protect Sandokan in return for marrying her shows that he is not one to shy away from exploitative means to exert his power over Marianna, in essence, repeating the trauma she has endured her entire life at the hands of men more influential than her.

Earlier in the story, we see Brooke get high on what appears to be opium, and in that dazed state, he protects a woman he hallucinates to be his mother. This scene, while brief, has great interpretative value and can serve as a stand-in for his original motivations for the siege: building a kingdom where he and his mother can live freely. However, despite now being crowned the Raja, Brooke is fixated on the next thing he cannot attain: Marianna’s hand in marriage. Brooke’s decision to abolish slavery in Brunei means that a part of him is indeed virtuous. Still, it is eclipsed by his darker shades, particularly when it comes to twisting the law to fulfill his self-interests. It is this distinction that separates him from Sandokan and also explains why Marianna develops feelings for the latter.

Where is Mompracem? What’s Next For Sandokan and His Tribe?

In the final moments of ‘Sandokan’ season 1, Sandokan and his pirate crew climb aboard their ship, full of freed tribe members and enormous riches collected from the Sultan’s palace. With enough resources to last them for quite some time, Sandokan suggests keeping a low profile and carefully planning their next attack, one that will be directed at Brooke. However, given his reputation as an expert pirate hunter, as well as his proven track record, the task of constantly evading his gaze is nigh impossible. It is at this point that Emilio suggests heading to a mythical island known as Mompracem, which cannot be accessed via maps. Given the complete lack of British intelligence about this place, Sandokan deems it to be the perfect hideout and sets sail on his next adventure.

While it is known that Mompracem is an island somewhere in the South China Sea, its hidden nature suggests a mythological or spiritual bent, in line with the Dayak tribe. Before Sandokan can begin his rule, however, his crew must find the enigmatic land, with no maps to help them out. However, given their expert command over the sea and the spiritual forces now guiding Sandokan, it is a matter of time before they find their next home. From there, the battle is no longer predictable, as Brooke is now simultaneously at his most powerful and his most desperate. It is possible that he may completely abandon his moral compass in pursuit of Marianna, suggesting that Sandokan’s future as the chief warrior is bound to be an eventful one.