The Ending Of Baby Reindeer Explained - What Happened To Donny?
Contains discussions of sexual assault, stalking, and emotional abuse.
"Baby Reindeer" has been making waves since it hit Netflix on April 11 of this year, and Richard Gadd's semi-autobiographical story centered around trauma, abuse, and obsession has clearly resonated with audiences around the world. Gadd, who created the series — which itself is based on his one-man show with the same name as well as his Edinburgh Fringe Festival show "Monkey See Monkey Do" — stars as Donny Dunn, a stand-up comedian who ends up attracting a stalker named Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) and watches as his entire life devolves due to her constant, terrifying harassment. Beyond that, Donny is also still grappling with past sexual abuse from his mentor and hero, comedy writer Darrien O'Connor (Tom Goodman-Hill), which he hasn't fully dealt with by the time Martha comes into his life.
So how exactly does "Baby Reindeer" end, and what does its murky, upsetting ending really mean? Does Martha face consequences for her crimes, and does Donny's life get any better when all is said and done? It should be said that "Baby Reindeer" is an incredibly difficult watch and contains some unbelievably upsetting scenes, so it's definitely tough to get to the end — let's unpack exactly how it all shakes out.
What you need to remember about the plot of Baby Reindeer
At the beginning of "Baby Reindeer," Donny, a down-and-out stand-up comedian in London, is working as a bartender at a small local pub when Martha walks in and orders a cup of tea, only to reveal that she can't afford it. Donny, feeling bad for Martha — especially when his coworkers mock her — gives her the tea for free, and her obsession takes root in that very moment. Strangely, she tells Donny that she's an extremely successful lawyer with high-profile clients and multiple enormous apartments (despite apparently not being able to pay for a cup of tea at a pub), but after she starts sending Donny endless emails and spending nearly all of her time around him, he decides to investigate. Martha actually lives in a run-down, cluttered apartment and leads a dismal life — and when Donny spies on her in her home, Martha's stalking intensifies.
As Donny tries to lead a normal life, attend stand-up competitions, and carry on a relationship with Teri (Nava Mau), a trans woman he met on a queer dating site, Martha keeps showing up over and over again, even going so far as to attack Teri when she sees her and Donny on a date together. Because Donny waits so long to report Martha's stalking to the police, he has trouble making a case, pushing him to the very brink of his own sanity as Martha goes further and further. Donny also has skeletons in his closet; as the fourth episode reveals, Darrien repeatedly sexually abused Donny years prior to the events of the narrative, and his guilt and shame over that abuse seems to be part of what's stopping Donny from truly ridding himself of Martha.
What happens at the end of Baby Reindeer?
In the penultimate episode of "Baby Reindeer," Donny enters the final round of a comedy competition and ends up delivering a searing monologue about his past abuse and Martha's stalking — which goes viral after an audience member records the whole thing. When Donny makes a mistake and lets his guard down, he posts his phone number on his email's auto-reply — which he only puts up because he's so inundated with new opportunities — and Martha starts calling him, abusing him with homophobic slurs and threatening both him and his family. In one of the show's most touching scenes, Donny goes home to his parents to explain his past abuse and his sexuality, and they embrace him fully before he returns to London ready to face Martha.
Donny has to do this alone — Teri, frustrated by his unwillingness to deal with Martha in a sensible way, has already ended their relationship — and thanks to the fact that Martha has recorded all of their prior interactions, the police don't initially believe him. It's only when Martha threatens to stab Donny's parents that she's finally taken into custody and sentenced to nine months in prison. Unfortunately, Donny continues to obsess over Martha, making diagrams related to her voicemails and emails and even separating them into categories, before he's confronted by his ex-girlfriend Keeley (Shalom Brune-Franklin). Donny then speaks to Darrien again — and gets a writing job in the process — but is shaken by the experience, retreating to a pub to listen to a voicemail from Martha where she explains the nickname "baby reindeer" (it has to do with her traumatic childhood). Crying, Donny is offered a free drink by the bartender.
What the ending of Baby Reindeer means
"Baby Reindeer" is a show about trauma — and ultimately, the ways in which hurt people turn around and hurt others. When we first meet Donny, he's hurting — and hiding things about himself. Despite the fact that he's clearly in love with Teri and full of admiration for the way in which she lives her authentic and true life, he's ashamed that they met on a dating website that prioritizes transgender people and only meets her in dark bars. He's struggling with the fact that Darrien assaulted him time after time and Donny returned each time (in voiceover in Episode 4, Donny tells the viewer that after Darrien's first assault, he stayed in the apartment for days and even took care of Darrien's cat). His career is going nowhere, and Martha does something very simple: she laughs at one of Donny's jokes when they first meet. Donny likes the idea that she finds him charming, clearly — and he even fantasizes about her more than once and pleasures himself to a photo of her. The fact that Donny is confused and ashamed of his sexual desires in the wake of his abuse quite clearly affects every single aspect of his life, and the addition of Martha only makes everything worse and harder.
Though Donny succeeds in putting Martha behind bars, he's still alone — the last glimpse we get of Teri sees her happy with a new partner — and still obsessing over Martha's voicemails and various missives. The ending at the bar brings everything full circle; Donny is no different than Martha, a damaged person who hurt others, and someone who sees him struggling gives him some kindness.
Another possible explanation of Baby Reindeer's ending
There's another possible take on the ending of "Baby Reindeer," and it's really upsetting. When Donny sits down, orders a drink, and presses play on Martha's voicemail about her beloved stuffed toy, he realizes he's forgotten his wallet and is given a drink on the house thanks to the bartender, who sees that Donny is crying. Yes, this moment could just be about how everyone needs help from time to time, but there's a darker interpretation, which is that Donny takes after Martha and starts stalking the bartender who's nice to him.
Does that feel likely? Not necessarily; the look of abject horror on Donny's face as he takes the free drink is the last thing that we see in the series, and it seems as if he understands the gravity of the moment. Still, if we take this theory a bit further, we could imagine a world where, just like Martha, Donny fixates on the bartender as a distraction from the difficulties in his life. Donny is clearly capable of dark, deep obsessions, considering that we see him cataloguing thousands of communications from Martha (and horrifying the people in his life), so there is certainly an interpretation where Donny, exhibiting an alarming lack of self-awareness, repeats Martha's horrific abuse.
What has Richard Gadd said about the end of Baby Reindeer?
Sadly, would-be internet sleuths have been trying to figure out the real figures behind Richard Gadd's story ever since "Baby Reindeer" came out, surrounding the series in an unfortunate controversy. Clearly, anyone in Gadd's real life who put him in these situations hurt him, but trying to search for them is doing more harm than good. Aside from a woman who claims Martha is made in her likeness, one of the creator's real friends has been adversely affected. On X (formerly known as Twitter), Sean Foley — who has been accused of being the real-life version of Richard Gadd's abuser — reposted a note from Gadd that the showrunner posted on Instagram. "People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly caught up in speculation," Gadd wrote in the since-deleted Instagram story. "Please don't speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That's not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard x X."
Obviously, viewers shouldn't be doing that, and aside from clarifying that the story is based in his lived experiences, Gadd has mostly spent his time after "Baby Reindeer's" release dissuading fans from solving any "mysteries." In any case, his work speaks for itself ... and it's a searing depiction of how trauma can ruin multiple lives at once.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).