After a desperate search for answers and a missing body, Camilo León receives a strange gift that finally allows him to move forward. The ending of Netflix’s Fugue State 1986 closes the book on a horrific massacre while leaving one man’s fate a permanent mystery.
The Spanish-language psychological thriller is a fictional take on the real-life Pozzetto massacre that shocked Bogotá, Colombia, in 1986. While the show begins with the restaurant shooting, its true story is the complex bond between the killer, Jeremías Salgado, and his younger friend, León. The final episodes reveal it was not Jeremías but León who suffered from a fugue state, a period of lost memory triggered by repressed childhood trauma.
The Disappearance of Jeremías Salgado’s Body
A central mystery driving the final act is the complete disappearance of Jeremías’s body. After the massacre at the San Marzino restaurant, his physical remains are never found.
Investigators Indira Quinchia and León hit a dead end in their search. A pastor eventually tells León that the body was taken into custody by “unknown authorities”. This leads León to a significant conclusion: he believes the U.S. Army was involved in removing the body to cover up its secrets.
The circumstances of Jeremías’s death are intentionally left unclear. He is found with a gunshot wound to his left temple. However, since Jeremías was right-handed, a self-inflicted wound on that side seems unlikely. This detail, combined with the swift replacement of his briefcase and gun with fake evidence by police at the scene, strongly suggests an external cover-up. Major Guillermo, who confessed to the existence of a secret U.S. military program, is likely involved in this operation to hide the truth.
“We knew we didn’t want to narrate it from the perspective of the perpetrator of the massacre, but rather through someone who had known him: León,” said screenwriter Ana María Parra.
With no body to bury, León takes a symbolic step. He buys an empty grave for Jeremías, hoping this gesture will provide some closure to their turbulent friendship.
Jeremías’s Final Gift: The Five Audio Tapes
Closure arrives in an unexpected form. Jeremías posthumously leaves León a set of five audio tapes.
León shares four of these tapes with Indira and the police. These recordings contain Jeremías’s detailed confessions about the secret U.S. military “Program” and his account of the restaurant massacre. The Program, confirmed by Major Guillermo, was a real initiative involving psychological brainwashing designed to turn soldiers into efficient killers. Jeremías, a Vietnam War veteran, was a product of this training.
However, León secretly keeps the fifth tape for himself. This tape is different. It contains no confessions or military secrets. Instead, it holds personal, heartfelt words from Jeremías directed solely at León. On this tape, Jeremías speaks to León not as a recruit, but as a friend and fellow lover of literature.
León’s Fugue State and Childhood Trauma Explained
Throughout the series, León struggles with episodes of memory loss. The ending clarifies that these fugue states were not random but a direct result of severe, repressed childhood trauma.
A flashback reveals that a young León was forced to watch his father being abducted and tortured. To protect him, his mother lied and told him he was safe at home during the event. León carried this false memory into adulthood until a chance encounter unlocked the terrifying truth.
His fugue state, a dissociative condition, served as a coping mechanism. It allowed his mind to escape reality when faced with overwhelming stress, such as when Jeremías pointed a gun at him—an action that mirrored his childhood trauma. During one such episode, León even went to the San Marzino restaurant, coincidentally placing him at the scene of the future massacre.
The Motive Behind the Pozzetto Massacre
A key question the series explores is why Jeremías committed the murders. The show suggests his actions were the result of a fractured psyche, combining several destructive elements.
Jeremías suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his service in the Vietnam War. Moments before the shooting, he hallucinated Vietnamese soldiers around him, possibly believing he was back in a war zone. The psychological brainwashing from the U.S. military’s “Program” further twisted his mind, molding him to see violence as a solution.
The series also points to his narcissistic worldview and deep disdain for the people around him. In the end, the massacre was likely a horrific cocktail of psychosis, trained violence, and conscious malice.
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How the Ending Sets León Free
The series concludes with León finally breaking free from the shadow of Jeremías and his own past. The fifth audio tape becomes the key to his liberation.
Inspired by Jeremías’s personal words on that final tape, León returns to his original passion. The final scene shows him preparing a typewriter, ready to write his first literary work in years. This act is powerfully symbolic. Throughout the story, León was controlled either by his traumatic memories or by Jeremías’s manipulation. By choosing to write again, he seizes control of his own narrative through the power of words.
The show, premiering on December 4, 2025, uses its historical setting to reflect on cycles of violence. Executive producer Mario Mendoza noted the story is embedded in the tense atmosphere of 1980s Bogotá, a city reeling from political conflict like the 1985 Palace of Justice siege. This environment of pervasive tension directly shaped the characters’ psychology.
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Credits: The Cinemaholic
