The Chestnut Man Ending Explained

Netflix's Danish crime thriller The Chestnut Man follows detectives as they search for a serial killer targeting mothers. Who is the Chestnut Man?

Netflix's The Chestnut Man is a Danish crime thriller that follows multiple murders leading to an explosive twist ending; here's that ending explained. The show was released back in late September of this year to staggeringly positive reviews, praising series creators Dorte Warnøe Hagh, David Sandreuter, and Mikkel Serup for their adapted tale of neo-noir mystery. The captivating streaming show is based on a Danish novel of the same name by Søren Sveistrup.

The Chestnut Man follows Detective Naia Thulin (Danica Curcic) and Europol Agent Mark Hess (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) as they investigate the murder of Laura Kjær (Marianne Søndergaard) where a small figurine made of chestnuts is found at the scene. The wooden chestnut man figurine leads Thulin and Hess back to exploring the case of politician Rosa Hartung's (Iben Dorner) missing daughter Kristine (Celine Mortensen). What the detectives find leads them on a trail that goes far back into the past and incriminates someone hiding in their midst.

The final episode of the short season reveals the identity of the Chestnut Man, features a tense capture-and-release conclusion, and ends with justice being served via a tree branch. Directors Kasper Barfoed and Mikkel Serup lead viewers through a winding tale that jumps from the past to the present and shows a number of different families going through a lot of grief. Fans of The Chestnut Man may find enjoyment in similarly paced shows such as True Detective, whose first season has a similar tone. Here's the ending of The Chestnut Man explained, along with answers to some of the major questions the show left in its wake.

What Happens In The Chestnut Man's Ending

The season finale of The Chestnut Man starts with Europol raiding Genz's (David Dencik) empty apartment after Hess deduces that Genz is the killer. He desperately tries to find the killer, and in the meantime, Genz checks out an abandoned chestnut farm with Thulin. In the farmhouse, Thulin discovers police tracking equipment and photos of the Chestnut Man's crime scenes. Simon Genz reveals to Thulin that he is the Chestnut Man in a scene that subtly references The Silence of the Lambs' ending. The police locate a picture of Genz's twin, Astrid, along with some German newspapers, showing that Simon still keeps track of his twin and that she is located somewhere in Germany. Meanwhile, Steen Hartung (Esben Dalgaard Andersen) recruits police to look for his wife Rosa.

Little does he know that Rosa is at the farmhouse with Thulin and Genz. She demands information about her missing daughter, and in turn, Genz subdues her and stabs her in the hand. Hess figures out the location of the chestnut farm and races to find Genz, but when he arrives Genz hits him over the head with a wrench. Like many thrillers (both fictional and true crime shows) before it, Genz decides to put Thulin, Rosa, and Hess through trial by fire and douses the house in gasoline before setting it alight. Thulin manages to escape the burning house but is quickly recaptured and shoved into Genz's car. Hess helps free Rosa and the two escape out of the basement window. Hess confronts Genz in the middle of the road, and he tries to run him over. Thulin grabs the wheel and runs the car into a tree, where the Chestnut Man is impaled by a branch. The police go to Germany where they find Kristine with Astrid. She is arrested, Kristine is returned home, and Thulin is reunited with her own daughter.

Why Did Genz/Toke Take Kristine?

Genz targets mothers he deems unfit so taking Kristine seems like a departure from his M.O. The missing child's disappearance is investigated heavily throughout the series, even though Linus Bekker (Elliot Crosset Hove) gives a false murder confession for the child. As it turns out, Genz kidnaps Kristine out of pure spite towards Rosa. When he and Astrid briefly live with Rosa's foster family, she becomes insecure about their presence. She lies to her family, claiming that he hurt her. Therefore, Toke/Genz, and Astrid get sent to the Ørum family where they are sexually abused. Genz blames his horribly tragic situation on Rosa and in turn, kidnaps her daughter when he gets the chance.

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How Does Linus Bekker Know The Chestnut Man?

Linus Bekker gives convincing testimony of Kristine's supposed murder, but he can't tell the police where the body is. The Netflix crime show carefully uses Bekker as a red herring up until the point that he reveals that he didn't kill Kristine, but he knows who the Chestnut Man is and he refuses to disclose the killer's identity. So how does Bekker know the Chestnut Man? Unfortunately, Bekker's connection to Genz is never explicitly revealed. Perhaps Genz meets Bekker while he is in custody and is drawn to his loyalty. Bekker revels in Genz's crimes and expresses feeling "honored" to be a part of the killer's reign of terror. The strange man could be a key player in a second season, possibly as a copycat killer fashioning himself after the Chestnut Man.

Did Genz/Toke Kill His Foster Parents?

The themes of child abuse and foster families, themes also found in Showtime's Dexter follow-up Dexter: New Blood, run rampant in The Chestnut Man. When Marius Larsen comes upon the bloody murder scene in 1987 at the Ørum residence, only Astrid and Toke are still alive. An unknown assailant kills Marius in the process and the scene ends. Since the family inflicts deplorable types of abuse on Toke and Astrid, it's highly likely that Toke kills his foster parents. The boy eventually turns into a psychopath, but there's nothing to suggest that he already wasn't one. Considering the fact that Toke and Astrid are the only two alive in the Ørum home it's plausible that Toke kills Marius out of fear that he will discover his first grisly homicides.

Why Did Astrid Get Involved?

Similar to the Dexter/Deb dynamic in Dexter, Astrid decides to keep her brother's crimes quiet. Consequently, she keeps Kristine and her adult counterpart only appears in two episodes of the show. Considering that Astrid isn't a psychopath or holding a grudge like her brother, what's her reasoning behind taking Kristine captive? Astrid keeps Kristine because she's afraid of her brother's wrath. She goes so far as to tell the police that she tries her best to take care of the young girl, even protecting her from Toke/Genz. Maybe Astrid feels sorry for Kristine and the fact that she got caught up in her twin's murderous plans. Either way, the series finale makes it clear that Astrid greatly fears her brother.

Thulin Finally Gets To Be With Her Daughter (& Maybe Hess)

Every good show needs an X-Files-esque Mulder and Scully "will they or won't they" dynamic. Thulin and Hess' relationship gradually grows into something tangibly beyond friendship as they solve the case together. At the same time, a major portion of Naia Thulin's story is her relationship with her daughter. Thulin tries to get a new job with cybercrimes in order to spend more time with her child because she feels guilty about how much time she spends away at her job. The most compelling evidence of Hess and Thulin's budding relationship comes when Le (Liva Forsberg) admits to her mother that she adds Hess to her family tree. Rather than protest, as she did before about her casual boyfriend, she lets Hess remain there.

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The Real Meaning of The Chestnut Man’s Ending

Following in the footsteps of movies like Gerald's Game, one of the biggest themes in The Chestnut Man is child abuse and grief. Various families in the area are found to physically and sexually abuse their children, truthfully bordering on what could be considered an epidemic. The killer targets unfit mothers as a general rule because of his own past abuse at the hands of his foster parents. As well, he questions Naia's own maternal instincts in regards to her frequent absences and how they affect Le. The assertion obviously haunts her, as her guilt over this fact is one of the main concerns of her character.

Anyone who loves The Chesnut Man should invest their time in other popular Netflix crime shows like Criminal, Bordertown, and Peaky Blinders. The adapted crime thriller takes audiences down a strange and creepy path, all leading up to a twist ending that's sure to shock viewers. There's no word yet as to whether or not there will be a second season. Ultimately there may not be because the book it's based on is a standalone work. If there is a second season in The Chestnut Man's future, hopefully, it will be just as gripping as the first.

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