Warning! This post contains major spoilers for Netflix's Rebel Ridge.

Although Terry Richmond struggles to find justice throughout Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, Rebel Ridge begins with former Marine Terry Richmond arriving in the small town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, Mike. However, moments after he enters the town, a police vehicle rams into his bike and two police officers unjustly seize his bail money in the name of civil asset forfeiture.

Despite knowing how the police unfairly snagged his money, Richmond keeps his head low and tries to stay out of trouble. To his dismay, no matter what he does, he does not get the bail money back, preventing him from saving his cousin. Towards the final moments of the Netflix action movie, Richmond reaches the end of his wits when his cousin dies and the police try to harm Summer, the only person in the town who dares to help him. As a result, he unleashes his fury at Shelby Springs' law enforcement and sets out to expose their criminal activities.

Why Terry, Evan, & Summer Get A Police Escort In Rebel Ridge's Ending

The Police Force Realizes Chief Sandy Burnne Was Wrong

In Rebel Ridge's ending arc, Richmond (Aaron Pierre) finds himself surrounded by police officers outside Shelby Springs' police station as he attempts to execute his final plan to expose them. However, things take a grim turn when Officer Steve Lann (Emory Cohen) drugs Summer (AnnaSophia Robb) and decides to kill Richmond there and then to prevent him from causing any further damage. Luckily for Richmond, Officer Evan Marston (David Denman) takes his side, which leads to a conflict between Marston and Lann.

DID YOU KNOW: John Boyega was initially cast to play Terry Richmond in Rebel Ridge, but he abruptly backed off from the project due to "family reasons."

Although Chief Sandy (Don Johnson) shoots Marston's leg, Richmond takes the injured police officer to safety and sets out to single-handedly take down the police force using the non-lethal weapons from Sandy's storage. He even manages to escape in a police car with Marston and Summer. However, a blown-up tire slows his vehicle down, allowing the police officers to catch up with him. To his surprise, instead of following Chief Sandy's orders, Officer Jessica Sims (Zsane Jhe) derails Chief Sandy off the road and goes to his vehicle to arrest him.

...when Sandy shot a loyal police officer like Evan Marston, the police force realized he did not deserve their .

Meanwhile, the other police officers give his vehicle a police escort instead of attacking him. This establishes that even though the town's police force was in on Sandy Burnne's criminal practices, they were growing increasingly frustrated about paying for the consequences of his actions. Therefore, when Sandy shot a loyal police officer like Evan Marston, the police force realized he did not deserve their . They also noticed that Terry was putting his life on the line only to take Evan Marston to the hospital. As a result, they defied Chief Sandy's orders and gave Terry's vehicle a police escort.

The Real Reason Why The Police Seize Terry's Bail Money Explained

They Were Using The Money To Fund The Town & Their Department

Although Summer and Terry initially struggle to understand the true motives of the local police force, they suspect they are up to no good based on a few clues. For instance, Summer notices that all sentences for misdemeanor charges go on for 90 days even though the town is too broke to keep the felons imprisoned for so long. Things make a lot more sense when Terry Richmond notices heaps of cash and bundles of non-lethal weapons in Chief Sandy's police station.

When Sandy attempts to "de-escalate" the situation with Terry, he even tells him that all the cash in the station was legally seized to fund the police department and sent back to the community. Terry, however, does not buy his claims. The Chief further adds that the weapons he saw at the station help them sustain themselves because the state does not fund them. He says they outsource the non-lethal weapons to other PDs, which helps them derive profits. However, this still does not reveal why the police department and the town are going broke.

The Judge discloses that an illegal search orchestrated by Chief Sandy snowballed and led to a wrongful death.

Towards the final arc of Rebel Ridge, Summer and Terry visit the town's Judge, who finally tells them the truth about what is happening. The Judge discloses that an illegal search orchestrated by Chief Sandy snowballed and led to a wrongful death. After the Chief was personally named for the crime, the settlement led to the town's bankruptcy. To ensure the police department remains out of legal jeopardy, they kicked every charge down to misdemeanor possession so that the case never leaves the town court.

Rebel Ridge is not as gory as Jeremy Saulnier's other films, but the potential for violence looms over every scene, which helps elevate the tension of its drama.

With no public defendant in the town to contest the bail, the arrested individuals remain in limbo for 90 days, which is the retention period for misdemeanor possession. This offers the police department a win-win situation where they minimize the risk of external intervention and exert control over the town's financial state. Sadly for Richmond, he and his cousin got embroiled in the convoluted legal and political web surrounding Shelby Springs.

Terry & Summer's Plan To Expose Sandy Burnne Explained

They Find The Video Footage Of Mike's Arrest

In the scene where Officer Steve finds Terry back in the town despite warning him to stay away, Steve reveals that they avoid turning on their car lights because they automatically switch on their dashcams. This prevents them from recording their unlawful acts. When the duo meets the Judge, he reveals that Mike's arrest was recorded on one of the cameras and was problematic enough to land the police officers in trouble. Therefore, Terry and Summer head to the town's catacombs, where the drive containing the video footage is stored.

While Chief Sandy's fate remains unknown after Officer Jessica arrests him, he was likely given a long prison sentence after the dashcam footage proves that he assaulted a fellow police officer.

Although the police officers try to stay ahead of them by burning down the catacomb, Terry and Summer acquire the storage drive in the nick of time. Unfortunately, towards the end of the film, Steve takes the drive from Terry and breaks it before he can expose the police department's crimes. In Rebel Ridge's final moments, Officer Evan asks Terry to switch on the dashcam of his police vehicle, revealing that it has a recording feature that allows it to record two minutes before it is activated. He asks him to do this to ensure the dashcam contains footage of Chief Sandy shooting him in the leg.

While Chief Sandy's fate remains unknown after Officer Jessica arrests him, he was likely given a long prison sentence after the dashcam footage proves that he assaulted a fellow police officer. The other of the police department will also likely confess against him, given how they Terry in the film's final moments. This, unfortunately, does not bring Terry's cousin back but gives him a semblance of justice.

Why Terry Initially Agrees To "Deescalate" Things With Chief Sandy

He Believes In Tactical Retrograde

Even though he loses his cousin, Terry agrees to step back from his conflict with Chief Terry when Terry offers him $26,000 and even assures him he will get his truck back. When Summer tries to question why he is backing off, he explains that what he is doing is called tactical retrogradation, a deliberate withdrawal in the military context where a party slowly moves backwards to avoid a more significant threat. He realizes that acting out of impulse after his cousin's death will only land him in more trouble. However, soon after, he is forced to change his mind.

Who Killed Terry's Cousin, Mike, In Rebel Ridge?

Chief Sandy Burnne Was Responsible For Mike's Murder

During his first interaction with Summer, Terry reveals that long before his cousin was arrested for possession of drugs, he was a cooperating witness on a capital murder charge. Since the man he helped put away was one of the leading of a gang, going to the state-run facility would instantly put a target on his back. This is why Terry wanted to bail him out before he was shifted to the state prison. Unfortunately, after his money was unjustly seized, Terry could not bail him out, leading to Mike getting attacked by the gang he helped put in prison.

Why Marston Teams Up With Terry In Rebel Ridge's Ending

Marston Realizes Officer Steve Is Taking Things Too Far

Throughout Rebel Ridge, Summer hints that she has a secret lead in the police force who has been helping her navigate what has been happening in the town. Since she does not reveal his name, Terry codenames him "Serpico." When Officer Evan Marston goes out of his way to protect Summer and Terry in the film's final arc, Terry realizes he is "Serpico." The revelation is surprising because Marston rammed Terry's bicycle in Rebel Ridge's opening moments before seizing his money.

The fact that he protects him towards the end suggests that he has always been split between doing what is ethically right and following the unlawful methods of Chief Sandy. Although he wanted to protect innocent citizens like Summer, he, too, was slightly drawn to the idea of acquiring more profits by maintaining his position in a corrupt system. However, when Officer Steve took things too far by drugging Summer and nearly killing Terry, he decided to take a stand.

How Rebel Ridge's Ending Sets Up A Sequel

Rebel Ridge 2 Can Happen

Rebel Ridge has a conclusive ending, which leaves little to no room for a sequel. However, the film's sequel could take the Jack Reacher route, where Terry Richmond finds himself in a whole new town and he sets out to tackle a new set of criminal injustices and criminal activities. With his impressive screen presence in Rebel Ridge, Aaron Pierre proves that he can lead a full-fledged action franchise. Rebel Ridge's almost-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score also proves its potential for expansion. However, Rebel Ridge 2's fate will ultimately depend on how well Rebel Ridge will perform on Netflix.