The Surprising Ending of 'Electric State': Explained for Those Who Fell Asleep in Front of the TV

The Russo brothers invested $300 million in adapting Simon Stalenhag’s cult novel, but they ended up creating one of Netflix's most controversial projects. Despite the poor ratings, the finale of The Electric State leaves viewers with mixed emotions — somewhere between disappointment and cautious hope.

How did it all end?

The film's climax centers around Michelle’s (Millie Bobby Brown) difficult moral choice. To destroy the corporate system of Sentre, she must shut down her brother Christopher’s life, whose consciousness has been used as "fuel" for the neural network for years.

This moment becomes the emotional core of the film:

• Sacrifice for freedom — Christopher asks his sister to “let him go.” • The fall of the system — with the shutdown of the neural network, the corporation’s power collapses. • A bittersweet victory — Michelle loses her last family member. But in the final scenes, among the rubble, the robot Cosmo awakens — hinting that part of the boy’s consciousness may have survived.

What about a sequel?

The creators left the door ajar, announcing the prequel mobile game Kid Cosmo and stating that Cosmo’s awakening "was clearly not a coincidence."