Upamanyu Biswas
Netflix’s ‘The Gardener’ ends with Elmer resolving to escape his life as an assassin, only to realize that he can never run away. The character goes through a series of transformative moments mainly triggered by his newfound love for Violeta. However, their precarious relationship takes a complex turn when the truth emerges about who Elmer is. As such, the couple must decide what is best for them individually while ensuring they do not jeopardize a perfectly loving bond. Matters are further complicated by Elmer’s mother, La China Jurado, who cannot bear to lose her son no matter what, even to the throes of his passionate affair with a target. The show’s cliffhanger ending leaves the door open for a potential new season while also serving as an ambiguous conclusion to Elmer and Violeta’s murder-ridden story. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Gardener Plot Recap
The show begins with a murder on a beach as Elmer kills an unknown man by sticking a poison injection into his neck. Subsequently, he gets in his van and drives to the town of Pontevedra, where he lives with his mother, La China Jurado, at a local garden center. At night, he buries the dead man’s body in a grave dug within the garden’s premises. The following morning, Detectives Torres and Carrera look into the man’s murder at the beach while we learn that the man’s wife was behind his death. She hired Elmer to kill her abusive husband by getting in touch with China, which runs a murder-for-hire business for special customers. China is collecting cash through these murder jobs so that she can one day buy her old house in Mexico and move in with her son. We also learn that Elmer is unable to feel any emotion.
One day, a wealthy client named Sabela Costeira arrives at the garden center. She offers a great deal of cash to China for murdering her son’s alleged killer, Violeta, his ex-girlfriend. China tells Elmer that this job could be his last because of the money on offer. Subsequently, he begins conducting his research into the target. He finds that she is a seemingly generous soul who teaches in a preschool for kids. She is also part of a rowing club called the Lourido Rowing Club. Soon after his preliminary homework on Violeta, Elmer faces some personal issues as he constantly gets headaches and surges of emotions. This gets particularly pronounced during a judge’s event when Elmer is compelled to walk out of the place due to an overall sense of wooziness and light-headedness. He loses consciousness in an alley, where Violeta finds him and keeps him company for the evening.
Following their initial meeting, Elmer starts to get confused about killing Violeta because of his feelings. His mother gets angry at him for being naive and desperate for him to carry out the job just like any other. Elmer loses consciousness again and is taken to the hospital immediately. The doctor finds a tumor in his brain, which could be linked to his recent mood changes and headaches. China reminds her son that his hospital treatments and health are more important than his feelings for Violeta. Thus, he decides to take her advice and prepares to kill her once and for all. However, things take a turn when, during the so-called mission, Violeta kisses him before he can stab her with the poison needle. Elmer decides to postpone her death as a newfound emotion of love takes root in his unfeeling heart.
The Gardener Ending: Why Does Violeta Come Back? Will She and Elmer Get Together?
At the end of ‘The Gardener,’ a lot of things take place between Elmer and Violeta that push them away. For one, he watches her briefly cheat on him only to realize she loves him anyway. Secondly, she learns the truth about his role as an assassin who was actively on the job to hunt her. However, he ignored the mission because he fell in love with her, which was unprecedented for his otherwise emotionless self. The same happens to Violeta to some extent. After her previous relationship with Xoan, which ended in murder, Violeta is afraid of attracting more damaged and unstable men into her life. When she realizes that Elmer could be the same, she tries to run away from him, especially after Sabela turns up murdered soon after she learns he was hanging around her place later that night.
Later, when Violeta gets into trouble with Orson, she is desperate to find someone who can help her. She knows she is already walking a tightrope with the law because of how she killed Xoan, a secret she kept from everyone. In her desperation, she calls the one person she trusts the most to make things right – Elmer. He comes to her aid without hesitating. After fixing the Orson problem, he and Violeta go their separate ways, which is unfortunate for their relationship. Subsequently, Violeta leaves Pontevedra while Elmer is forced to stay because of his mother’s backhanded tactics and his tumor surgery. Months later, Elmer is surprised to see Violeta in the garden center, waiting to speak to him. Her reason for coming back is simple – she wants his help in making someone disappear, suggesting that Elmer’s days of killing are far from over.
While Violeta’s cryptic request could mean a huge number of things, it also opens the possibility for a reunion of sorts between her and Elmer. They had to leave each other’s sides due to many circumstances. But if she is back for a while and needs his help, it means that they could rekindle their passion. Additionally, the story makes it evident that their love for each other is genuine and does not die out so easily. Violeta even states that she feels differently about Elmer than anyone else in her life. Meanwhile, for the protagonist, Violeta is his first love and the one who made him feel something in his cold heart. Thus, a relationship between the two is not off the cards just yet and may be explored in a future season. Still, for the time being, they could have some time together while Elmer targets another poor soul for his old lover.
What Happens Between Elmer and China?
While Elmer’s relationship with Violeta is of utmost importance, his bond with his mother is almost equally influential, if not more because of its complex nature. By the end of the season, we see China use several manipulative methods to keep her son as close to her as possible, especially with his increasing interest in pursuing a relationship with Violeta. The closer Elmer gets to Violeta, the more China fears that she is losing her son. As a result, she tries to keep them separate by either feeding Elmer his tumor medication in secret or plotting a way to kill Violeta directly using poison. Although neither method is successful in the long run, it showcases the pull China has over her son and how insecure she is about losing him. In many ways, he is everything she has left.
Owing to the conflicting nature of China’s feelings, it is hard to discern at times whether she genuinely cares for her son’s well-being or sees him as a way to make money through the assassination jobs. In the final parts, China decides to take her controlling nature even further by attacking Elmer while his back is turned to her. The boy is almost about to leave the garden center for good, only to be hospitalized by his mom. Subsequently, he is trapped in his bed for weeks while the doctors perform the tumor surgery and remove his newfound emotions for good. When Elmer returns to life in the garden, China realizes that her son is forever changed and does not look at her the same way. Despite going back to his old self, he remembers his mother’s betrayal and what she did to keep him wrapped up around her finger.
How Does Orson Die?
When Violeta continues to evade all efforts to kill her, China avails the help of an old assassin associate named Orson to kill her. The mission kicks into gear once Violeta leaves the house after learning that Elmer may have killed Sabela. He follows her out of town until she calls Elmer from a secluded spot. Once the call is over, Orson knocks her out and drags her to some ruins in a forest to kill and bury her. However, he gets distracted during the mission, which allows a freshly awakened Violeta to mount an escape. While looking for her in the ruins, Violeta comes out of the dark and hammers Orson in the back of the head with a heavy rock. She then continues to smash his head with the rock, as blood splatters all over her face and clothes. In the aftermath, she contacts Elmer to come and help her.
While sitting in wait for Elmer, Violeta receives a call on Orson’s phone from China, who wants to know the status of the mission. A triumphant Violeta tells her attempted murderer that she thwarted Orson. Later, Elmer arrives to clean up Orson’s murder and hide any evidence that could link him to her and Elmer. On the ride back to Pontevedra, she asks Elmer all sorts of questions about his job and why he could not kill her. He tells her the truth behind his actions, and the two part ways. Meanwhile, Orson’s body is discovered by the authorities, where Elmer and Violeta left him. They pin all the recent killings on Orson, which is what the protagonist wanted in the first place. Therefore, Orson ends up solving a lot of problems despite his original intention to kill Violeta.
What Happens to Detective Torres and Carrera’s Investigation?
Amidst the murderous antics of Elmer and Violeta, we also follow the journey of Carrera and Torres, the two detectives trying to piece together the mystery of the recent deaths. Although they work in the Missing Persons unit of the police department, they get pulled into the murders because of Carrera’s enthusiasm for a good, juicy murder investigation. She also starts taking a lot more liberties with her methods, which irks Torres. However, she does manage to deduce that a practiced killer is on the loose in the town of Pontevedra. After digging some more, they narrow the killer’s identity down to Elmer. Subsequently, they start keeping a tab on him everywhere he goes, hoping they can catch him in action red-handed.
Later in the story, Carrera realizes that the bodies of all the murder victims are likely buried within the garden center’s premises. While Torres is prepared to wait for a warrant, Carrera breaks into the center by herself and uses UV light to find out if a body might be buried in the garden nursery. She finds traces of blue dots on the flower petals and leaves that seemingly confirm her theory. However, when the warrant comes through, the detectives’ feeling of triumph is replaced by a sense of defeat because the entire garden has been upheaved, and nothing has been left to implicate China or Elmer in the murders. In truth, China saw Carrera break into her garden and picture her flowers. Subsequently, she employed Orson’s help to dig up the whole place and clear it of any incriminating evidence.
The two detectives are reprimanded by their boss for going after a case that should have been handed over to homicide. Carrera and Torres accept their defeat and decide to spend their time elsewhere. However, in the mid-credits scene, they get excited as a new body washes up on the beach, suggesting it must be Elmer’s latest victim. It could even be the person Violeta wanted Elmer to “disappear.” Thus, the detectives have another chance to reopen their investigation, look into the case once again, and find a way to pin the blame on Elmer and his mother. However, owing to their wily nature, additional hurdles may still exist. For now, they are excited to be part of an investigation, making them both feel alive and engaged.
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