Netflix’s new series The Glass Dome is a Swedish crime show that has unexpected twists and turns. The six-episode mystery is thrilling from start to finish, so it is no surprise that some viewers are astonished by the show’s ending. But if viewers are getting hints of true crime-level storytelling, its because it was written by someone who knows her stuff. Based on an original story from the screenwriter and crime novel author Camilla Läckberg, The Glass Dome delves into the secrets of a fictional small town in Sweden. The truth of a decades-long crime spree quickly unfolds and changes the life of Lejla, the bright but tormented protagonist.
Lejla (Léonie Vincent) is an expert criminologist with a dark past that is riddled with trauma and pain. Her searing sense of justice stems from her own experience of being kidnapped as a young girl. At the beginning of The Glass Dome, she has to go back to the fictional village she grew up in, called Granås. This decision to return was not made lightly since her home became a place of emotional turmoil, even so long after making her escape. She returns for the funeral of her step mother and soon tragedy strikes again. But will Lejla survive another dangerous encounter? We explore the conclusion of this intriguing show, The Glass Dome, in this ending explained.
Lejla’s Struggles With PTSD
While Lejla is in town, her close friend Louise (Gina-Lee Fahlén Ronander) is found dead. The death is labelled a suicide, but given her professional experience the leading lady grows suspicious. At the same time, Louise’s daughter Alicia (Minoo Andacheh) mysteriously goes missing. With that revelation, Lejla starts to put together the pieces and realize that the situation sounds all too familiar. So, she commits herself to solving the mystery. But the situation hits close to home and memories of her kidnapping and being stuck in a glass dome come flooding back.
As the investigation progresses, Alicia’s father, Said (Farzad Farzaneh), becomes the main suspect. Alicia’s clothes are left outside of his mine, leading people to assume played a role in disappearance. But when more clues pile up while he is held in custody, things start to point to other suspects. Lejla’s uncle on her step father’s side, Tomas (Johan Rheborg), is a police officer, but begins to eerily fit the profile of the kidnapper. With the similarities between her own case and Alicia’s, she returns to the evidence that was gathered when she was taken as a child. Lejla tries to cement her hunch on the culprit by cross referencing recordings and police reports. Instead, these help her to settle on the fact that her own kidnapper has to be the same one who took Alicia.
Tragedy Repeats Itself
During Lejla’s investigation, she steadily gets closer to the truth but also puts herself at risk to solve Alicia’s disappearance. She discovers that her childhood kidnapper, who she once called Ecki, had a penchant for brunettes. He also had the habit of cutting girl’s hair before killing them.
Around the same time, Lejla learns that her uncle Tomas (who is also the lead investigator for the case), had a secret affair with Louise, Said’s late wife. This makes him the number one suspect in her eyes. But just as she feels she has cracked the case in the last episode of The Glass Dome, Lejla herself gets kidnapped, again. She is drugged and returned to the glass dome, where she discovers Alicia is also being held. For her, this is a nightmare that has become real, but she must try to save Alicia. She is savvy and uses Louise’s phone, which she took from Tomas’ house after finding the suspicious object in his possession, to call for help. This desperate plea turns out to be what busts the case wide open.
Who Abducted the Girls in ‘The Glass Dome’?
At the end of the last episode, Lejla calls her step father, Valter (Johan Hedenberg), to tell him of her whereabouts and how Tomas has her trapped with Alicia. She awaits her rescue with the frightened young girl, but first the kidnapper pays them a visit. He comes down to the chamber in a mask, just as he had before. Lejla tries to plead with who she believes to be Tomas, asking that he just release Alicia. What happens next shocks Lejla as the kidnapper takes his mask off. After decades, she finally comes face to face with her kidnapper – and his identity shocks her.
In a turn of events, Lejla is met with the face of her own stepfather, Valter, who she had just called to save her. He tells her to give him the secret phone, but the protagonist is shell-shocked as she experiences flashbacks to her own kidnapping. Valter begins his ritual of cutting Alicia’s hair. During a flashback sequence, the criminal explains, “You were different from all of the rest. You fascinated me, in a way I had never experienced before.” So, he had planned her kidnapping as soon as he saw Lejla as a little girl and got close to her mother for that purpose. After killing her mother and kidnapping her, his plan was soiled when she escaped. In order to stay close to her and keep under the radar, Valter adopted her.
Were Alicia and Lejla Rescued?
All of these realizations justifiably shock Lejla, but it’s not the end of her story. While Valter is exposed as the kidnapper, Tomas is still trying to solve the case. After seeking out Lejla to talk about the case, he realizes she is missing. Upon arriving at Valter’s house, he discovers a dead police officer and calls for backup. Tomas searches his brother’s house until he discovers an underground chamber. This is where he finds Alicia and Lejla trapped, but he also realizes his brother is at fault. Tomas confronts his brother and fires two (non-fatal) bullets before saving them both.
One of the very last scenes of The Glass Dome shows Lejla visiting the now wheel-chair bound Valter in prison. She wants to find out what happened to the other kidnapping victims. In a cold tone he states, “It doesn’t matter who is behind the glass because you are in here in my head” before revealing that his victims were left at, “Our favorite spot. Our river. My river.”
‘The Glass Dome’ Ending Explained
The final moments of The Glass Dome mark a chilling conclusion to the crime thriller. Lejla finally gets the answers she sought out most of her life. But she also has to wrestle with the fact that she did not solve the crimes herself, despite proximity to the perpetrator. After the case is finally settled, she has to deal with the reality of being raised by such a sick man. With someone so close to her committing such heinous crimes, there is a lot for her to mull over. Her inklings about Tomas’ guilt of the crimes stemmed from his suspicious relationship with Louise and strange behavior. But what does her ruling out her stepfather that raised her as a suspect mean for her?
What she overlooked and didn’t know was that Valter and Tomas had come from an abusive childhood. Valter blamed his (brunette) mother for allowing the abuse to go on, which led to his controlling and murderous behavior. As Läckberg, the creator of The Glass Dome story, shares with Time, “The idea was from the start built on Valter being a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ and it comes from my fascination for killers and psychopaths who are capable of having normal lives, while committing horrible crimes.” So, the show explores the complexities of a secret life of crime from the viewpoint of those who are most impacted by it, the victims.
For fans of the dramatic show, there is no confirmed season two. If The Glass Dome does continue, it may explore how Lejla continues her investigations and brings closure to the other victim’s families.
