The Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). The instructor takes pleasure in making his students cry, laughing at their personal lives, and criticizing their music playing for not being quite his tempo, and Andrew is his biggest victim.

Despite the setbacks from Fletcher, Andrew gets his big chance to show Fletcher how perfect he can be during a jazz competition, an event where Andrew's original role was to turn Tanner's (Nate Lang) pages. He gets the opportunity because he lost Tanner's music folder with his sheet music, and out of all of the drummers, Andrew was the only one who had "Whiplash" memorized. However, nobody else was around Andrew when the folder went missing in the hall next to a vending machine, and how it got lost is left unanswered, but there are three main suspects.

Tanner Could Have Stolen The Folder

Did Tanner's Sabotage Of Andrew Backfire

Fletcher made a whole ordeal about the students keeping the music folders safe, all but threatening their lives. So it's possible that Tanner, another Shaffer drummer who was competing with Andrew, could have stolen the folder to make Andrew look bad. The competition between the students is what makes Whiplash so nerve-wracking, and if this was the case, it backfired, as Tanner didn't suspect that Andrew had "Whiplash" memorized. It's also unlikely that Tanner would have stolen the folder, as he didn't know how to play the piece without it.

Andrew Could Have Purposefully Lost The Folder

Did Andrew Take Ruthless Measures To Prove Himself

Tanner cannot play without the sheet music, which is why he's so aggressive when Andrew doesn't turn his pages at the right time. Given that Andrew is trying to get ahead of Tanner and prove to Fletcher how great of a drummer he is, it's likely that Andrew purposefully lost the sheet music to sabotage Tanner.

Andrew looked genuinely shocked and terrified when he turned around and the folder was missing.

As Andrew knew "Whiplash" off by heart, he knew that if he lost the folder, the only solution would be for him to replace Tanner onstage. However, while this is extremely likely, Andrew looked genuinely shocked and terrified when he turned around and the folder was missing.

Fletcher Is The Biggest Suspect

He Might've Done It To Teach Andrew A Lesson

Oscar-winner Simmons nails the role of Fletcher in Whiplash, as he's totally believable as the manipulative music teacher, and that's why he's the biggest suspect in the missing folder case. While both Tanner and Andrew are competitive, they wouldn't have risked sabotaging themselves. Fletcher had nothing to lose in stealing the sheet music, and it leans into his mind games and sadistic behavior too.

That's especially the case given that he gave a whole monologue about how important the music folders were. Fletcher likely stole the folder to teach Andrew a lesson when he saw it carelessly lying on a chair, only he didn't know that Andrew had "Whiplash" memorized.

The Whiplash Folder Question Is Better Left Unanswered

The Mystery Highlights The Twisted Environment Of Fletcher's Rule

While there are some intriguing and convincing theories about who stole the folder in Whiplash, the fact that the movie doesn't answer that question feels like it is a purposeful choice. It does present an enticing mystery, as evidenced by the fact that the audience is still debating the possibilities so many years later. It is easy to see all the suspects having motivations to do it, but the point is that it is the environment that makes the missing folder into a mystery rather than the "crime" itself.

The audience can look at the characters and assume that they were all trying to sabotage each other because that is what they are driven to do under his teaching.

The point of not knowing who took the folder highlights the kind of toxic environment Fletcher has built with his band. The audience can look at the characters and assume that they were all trying to sabotage each other because that is what they are driven to do under his teaching. The musicians are high-strung and stressed to the point that they would believably go to such extremes.

The fact that the audience could look at Fletcher and see him as a plausible suspect for the theft also highlights how overpowering a character he is. Director Damien Chazelle places the audience in the position of his students as they begin questioning everything as part of his mind games. While the theories about Whiplash's missing folder are fun to explore, it is hard to imagine the reveal would have improved the movie over keeping it a mystery.