Into The Dark: A Nasty Piece of Work Ending Explained

WARNING! Spoilers for A Nasty Piece of Work ahead

Christmas installments always have high expectations, but Hulu’s Into the Dark does not disappoint with their latest, A Nasty Piece of Work which delivers a strong ending that is both cathartic and an extremely satisfying surprise.

A Nasty Piece of Work takes The Most Dangerous Game, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, and Ready or Not and throws them all into a blender with mescaline for good measure. Ted (Kyle Howard) is the typical overworking and underappreciated employee who’s desperate for a raise and a boost. When what initially looks like his big break transforms into an increasingly masochistic job interview, Ted must prove he’s emblematic of the company’s values in the most morbid way possible. The final layer of this test culminates around the pageantry that’s been placed around two rifles. All hell breaks loose and the confusing chaos that ensues finally sees someone truly stand up to Steven Essex (Julian Sands). It’s just not who you might expect. Essex’s execution results in the film’s final surprise, that all of this has been sanctioned and under the thumb of some Eyes Wide Shut inspired secret society.

On the surface, it appears Essex is the big guy in charge at Ted’s company, but the society’s members are power players who go beyond him and orchestrated the entire event.

Who Wins The Competition And Who Are The Secret Society?

A Nasty Piece of Work only provides a glimpse of this secret group, but they could be involved with a whole lot more. The secret society doesn’t exactly anticipate the conclusion of the night’s events, but are true to their word and honor the arrangement that their order appears to have had in motion for ages. Since Tatum (Angela Sarafyan) eliminated Essex and was the true winner, she is now in charge of the corporation. It’s unclear if she is entirely out of the woods or if she’ll have to deal with these individuals again in the future. Tatum certainly seems content with her promotion, but with the initiative she exhibits, maybe she could even rise to the ranks of the company’s secret society in time. Into the Dark has yet to feature any sequels, but A Nasty Piece of Work is one of the few that necessitates a second chapter (or even a prequel that explores Essex’s rise to boss).

The Real Meaning Of A Nasty Piece Of Work’s Ending

Christmas is a time of giving and yet A Nasty Piece of Work provides commentary on turning people and their humanity into some kind of game. The film repeatedly toys with the idea of whether a killer instinct can be forced upon someone and what level of perversion is necessary to acquire the “American dream”. It’s extremely telling that those that play the game the hardest seem to lose the most and it’s someone that’s not even in the interview that takes home the ultimate prize. But honestly, with the problem solving and insight that Tatum displays over the course of the evening, it does feel like she’s truly the most qualified for the position. At least now she has a better understanding of her husband’s work.

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