The Night Agent ending explained – what happens in Netflix's FBI thriller?

Netflix's latest twisty thriller series begins with FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) preventing mass loss of life after he spots a bomb being placed on a Washington DC Metro train.

Far from being rewarded, he's actually suspected of being in on the crime, partly because his own father was arrested years before for selling government secrets, and he died before he could clear his name.

With accusations hanging over him, Peter takes a job on the Night Watch, supervised by both the FBI and the President's Chief of Staff, Diane Farr. His job is to read over files in a windowless room while waiting for a special phone to ring and, of course, one night it does.

On the other end is tech expert Rose, who has just seen her aunt and uncle murdered in their home by unknown assailants, and now they are after her. Before she died, Rose's aunt gave her the Night Watch phone number and a set of code words which she relays to Peter, and he comes to her rescue, saving her from the bad guys.

Except, of course, the baddies aren't deterred that easily, and over the next nine episodes, as Peter and Rose discover that her relatives secretly worked for the government, they find themselves on the run from a couple of very determined hitmen.

On top of that, they also uncover a conspiracy tied into the metro bombing to kill a foreign leader named Omar Zadar and make it look like a terrorist attack, a plot that involves not just Peter's boss Farr, but also US Vice President Redfield.

The only person who believes them is Secret Service agent Chelsea Arrington, but she has her own problems, as the woman she was supposed to be guarding – the Vice President's daughter, Maddie – has been kidnapped.

By the end of the penultimate episode, Maddie has been rescued and she and Chelsea are reluctantly en route with Maddie's extremely suspicious-looking father to Camp David, where the President is due to meet Zadar for a friendly chat. Chelsea and Maddie's plan is to get away from Maddie's dad so they can warn the President and Secret Service head Almora that Zadar's life is in danger.

Meanwhile, Rose and Peter have convinced Farr to help them, after she realises her fellow conspirators have gone rogue and are planning to kill not just Zadar, but the President as well. So they're off to Camp David, too, to hopefully foil the plot, save the President and clear Peter's name. Sounds simple enough...

The Night Agent ending explained: What happens?

Everyone is off on their jolly trip to presidential hang out Camp David – Rose and Peter are hiding in the trunk of Farr's car so she can get them past security, while Maddie and Chelsea are on a private plane with Maddie's father Vice President Redfield (who is well and truly in on the plot to kill the President, especially as it will mean he would take over the role if she dies) and a handful of Secret Service agents Chelsea has never seen before who are carrying suspicious-looking large black briefcases.

As they arrive at Camp David it emerges that all communications are down – meaning Chelsea can't get in touch with her boss, Almora, or the President, to warn them – and Maddie's dad whisks his daughter away down some dark tunnels before locking them both in a (presumably bomb-proof) bunker.

Chelsea finds herself being guarded by an agent, but realising he is a bad guy and that the plan to blow up Camp David is already in motion, she bashes him over the head with a presidential ornament, and starts a frantic search for the bomb.

Farr, meanwhile, goes to Almora to tell him of the murder plot so they can save the President, but they are both shot by one of the rogue Secret Service agents – Almora is dead, but a wounded Farr manages to tell Peter and Rose when they arrive on the scene where they need to go to restore communications.

After despatching another bad guy at the communications hub – just how many compromised agents are there? – Peter leaves Rose to work on the comms while he goes to stop the bomb.

In their bunker, Maddie finally realises just what a sleazeball her father is, and decides to leave him there and take her chances with the bomb above ground. Having found the bomb, Chelsea has evacuated the President and Zadar, and she and Maddie make their escape just before the building explodes.

Unfortunately, as well as having a seemingly endless supply of operatives, the bad guys also have a back-up bomb, and it is rigged to explode the Presidential helicopter just as it takes off. No prizes for guessing where the President is being escorted to.

Peter runs to stop the President from boarding the chopper, but her Secret Service detail think he is there to kill her, not save her, so he has to hold a gun to the President's head and demand they search the helicopter for the bomb. They find it and flee the craft before it explodes, and after a few minutes of shouting, everyone finally realises that Peter and Rose are the good guys, and yes, they have saved the day.

Farr is still alive and will stand trial for her part in the plot, as will the Vice President – especially as Maddie is ready to testify against her dad. For her role in catching the bad guys, Chelsea is offered the top job of being one of the President's personal Secret Service agents.

Rose and Peter refuse to be publicly acknowledged for their roles, but Peter asks the President if she can do one thing for him – he wants to see the secret government files about his father so he can finally learn the truth.

A video reveals that Peter's dad was guilty of selling secrets, but that he had agreed to become a double agent for the US government before he died – and it turns out he was murdered, not accidentally killed as Peter had always believed. (Luckily, the President tells Peter that his dad's murderer has handily been killed, so Peter won't have to head off on some mad revenge mission).

The President still wants to reward Peter for his bravery, so she offers him a job – as a Night Agent – one of the special secret agents he used to monitor the Night Watch phone for.

In a final scene, he reluctantly says goodbye to Rose, promising to call her when he can, and steps on a plane to start his first secret assignment.

The Night Agent is available to watch now on Netflix.