Warning: This article includes MAJOR SPOILERS for Netflix’s Vladimir!
Julia May Jonas’s Vladimir has a controversial ending, but the conclusion to the BookTok favorite story finally makes sense four years later. BookTok readers are some of the most powerful people in the book industry, and their value should not be underestimated. They are often the decision-makers on which literature will become popular.
After Jonas’s debut novel, Vladimir, was released in February 2022, it quickly went viral, becoming a BookTok favorite. The provocative novel’s cover was enough to turn heads, and readers were drawn into a story about sexual politics, the #MeToo era, and the world of academia.
Although readers largely praised the book, one thing quickly became clear: the ending was both controversial and confusing. Now, four years later, the Netflix adaptation starring Rachel Weisz clears things up.
Julia May Jonas’s Vladimir Has The Most Confusing & Controversial Book Ending
One of the biggest changes Netflix’s Vladimir makes to Julia May Jonas’s book is that the ending is very different. In both the show and the novel, Vladimir and M go to the cabin, she drugs him, the pair have sex, John comes, and a fire starts. The bare bones are the same, but the details and the aftermath change.
In the book, the fire destroys the protagonist’s book, and both the protagonist and John suffer third-degree burns. Sid gets pregnant and becomes a parent. Vladimir’s book fails, but Cynthia’s becomes a hit. John and the protagonist buy a home and settle back into an unhappy marriage. Then, one of John’s victims comes to talk to M at her home.
Based on the reviews and social media discussions, readers seem pretty split on the ending. Some feel the fire was a great plot device, while others think it was contrived and rushed. Sid’s pregnancy is pretty controversial.
There’s a lot of confusion about why Vladimir acts the way he does in the entire third act. Blowing off Cynthia and Phee doesn’t fit with his previous behavior. His decision to stay after getting drugged and his reaction to the “affair” are both out of character.
Additionally, most people don’t really understand what Julia May Jonas was trying to say with the fire and third-degree burns.
Many theories exist about the fire. The fire could have been intended to cleanse the characters. It might have represented the protagonist giving up on her desire to redefine herself artistically. Another possibility is that the fire represented Vladimir’s rejection of M. It could also be a meta-commentary on how literature often goes off the rails in the third act.
Ultimately, Vladimir has one of the most debated and divisive endings out of popular BookTok books. Luckily, Julia May Jonas went a different direction when making the TV show.
Vladimir’s Behavior In The Netflix TV Show Makes More Sense
In Julia May Jonas’s book, Vlad and the protagonist have shockingly few interactions before the third act. They don’t even have a real friendship, and he never does or says anything to imply that he’s interested in her. He doesn’t even bother to read her book before their lunch together.
This makes it all the more confusing when he agrees to blow off his family to go to a cabin with the protagonist. He is shockingly unbothered about the protagonist’s text to Cynthia, and he happily agrees to stay a few more days, even though he and M barely know each other. Then, he tries to come onto her. It’s all just very out of character.
In the Netflix miniseries, Vladimir’s behavior leading up to the drugging makes a lot more sense because he has a friendship with M. He isn’t just going with a random colleague to a cabin. As for after the drugging, the show implies that everything in the last two episodes is M writing the end of her story, so it’s distorted.
If it’s her telling the story, his calmness at the drugging situation and his coming onto her make complete sense. Even if the events shown are accurate, Vladimir actually flirted with her leading up to the cabin trip, which didn’t happen in the book. He seems attracted to her, so he might be acting out of horniness.
Netflix’s Vladimir Finally Gives The Fire A Clear Meaning
In addition to clarifying Vladimir’s actions, the Netflix show makes the meaning of the fire clear. The protagonist says in her voiceover, “A fire breaks out when we’re asleep, just like in a gothic novel. As though that obsession, that thrill of desire, goes up in flames. And, I understand that I have to make a choice.”
Based on this line, the fire is a physical manifestation of the obsession she has harbored throughout the miniseries. Fire is equally productive and destructive. The same thing that can keep people warm can burn down a cabin. Similarly, her obsession with Vladimir helped her write the book, but it also led her to commit crimes that could destroy her life.
On top of that, the fire provides a visual representation of the choice she’s facing at the end of Vladimir. M spends the whole series valuing her proximity to powerful men, even when it hurts her career and reputation. In the fire, the men are on one side with a jammed door, and her book is on the other side with the open door.
The protagonist can continue siding with men who behave badly and watch her life burn, or she can choose to be the main character in her story and save herself. Ultimately, in the final moments of Vladimir, she chooses to rewrite the ending of her story.
- Release Date
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March 5, 2026
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Julia May Jonas
