Aniela season 1 ending explained: Does Aniela return to her old life?
Aniela season 1 is Netflix's latest original release, a Polish comedy-drama about a high-society Warsaw woman forced to upend her life after her wealthy husband leaves her with nothing. Armed with sharp wit and resilience, she has to leave behind her lavish lifestyle and wealthy community to start from scratch in a rundown neighborhood, working in a soon-to-be-torn-down school.
As she continues to tackle the ups and downs of her new life and connect with the people in her new neighborhood, Aniela's goal is to earn her way back into the life she lost. She wants revenge on her ex and wants his money, and at the end of Netflix's Aniela season 1, she is presented with a shiny offer that will bring her back to her luxurious lifestyle.
However, Aniela decides not to return to her old life and remains in Praga with a newfound purpose in her life. She has a potential new job, a new man, a good relationship with her daughter, and students who could use her support and help.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Aniela season 1. Reader's discretion is advised.
Aniela season 1 ends with Aniela deciding to stay in Praga
For much of Aniela season 1, Aniela's main goal is to get back to her old life and the luxuries it once afforded her. She has no clear plan on how to do it, but her motivations throughout the series have been to exact revenge on her ex-husband and his new pop star girlfriend and get her money back.
Meanwhile, she's trying to salvage the relationship she has with her daughter and works at the local high school in exchange for a rundown apartment. She also gets involved with some students, specifically Viola and Lena, whom she is helping launch a rap career. At the end of Aniela season 1, Marecki offers Aniela something that she has wanted since Jan divorced her for his new love.
She finally has the chance to leave the unsophisticated Praga neighborhood to go back to her old luxurious life and get the house in Warsaw and the money. She can get all that if she drops what evidence she has about Marecki's malpractice-ridden business and pins all the blame on Aniela's ex-husband, Jan.
However, Aniela season 1 ends with Aniela not only rejecting Marecki's offer but taking him down with the help of her new friends, especially the local casino runner and Marecki's housekeeper, Layla. Defeating Marecki means Aniela gets her lost wealth back, but she still chooses to stay in Praga in the end. Her daughter likes her rundown apartment better than their soulless big house.
And while she has many society friends in her old life, they have all forsaken her since Jan divorced her. In Praga, she is surrounded by people who consider her a friend and their mentor. It may not be luxurious, but her Praga neighborhood is where Aniela has found real connections with people. Moreover, she has found her newfound purpose in life.
At the end of Aniela season 1, with the twins Ewa and Edyta's Prestigious Prospective Project (PPP), which would remodel the school into a giant food court to line their pockets, a bust, Aniela finds the new job she wants. The series ends with her interviewing to become the school's new principal.
Her being the new headmistress means the school won't be torn down, as the goal has always been to embrace the educational purpose of the building. It's unclear if she gets the position or what her plans are going to be if she becomes the new principal, but throughout Aniela season 1, Aniela has wanted the school to be an extravagant learning experience that helps the students in their future.
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Viola and Lena take over Banan's concert in Aniela season 1
One of the key subplots in Aniela season 1 is Viola and Lena's revenge on the famed rapper Banan, who snitched on one of their friends, which ended up landing her locked up in prison. They initially want to rough him up, but that doesn't pan out. Aniela, however, has a plan—Viola and Lena can take on Banan in the rap scene.
She helps the two girls launch their rap career, but it doesn't become a hit. At some point in the series, Viola and Lena ditch Aniela to work with a different producer via Maja's encouragement, but that isn't as successful as they thought. There are others before them who will be put first. So, they return to Aniela and apologize for leaving her.
At the end of Aniela season 1, Aniela brings them to Banan's concert. They disrupt Banan's performance with a rap-off, but they fail at first. With Aniela's insistence, Maja steps in to help, ending with Viola and Lena taking the stage and performing to the cheering audience. Meanwhile, Banan has no choice but to leave the stage as the girls rap about their lives.
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What happens to Marecki in Aniela season 1?
At the end of Aniela season 1, Viola and Lena's performance plays in a montage-like style along with the video of Marecki finally paying for his crimes. At his house, Banan is walking downstairs after hearing a commotion, and his drunken father pukes as police officers arrest him.
With Layla's help, they have access to incriminating evidence against Marecki, including his insurance fraud scheme. Layla sending the evidence in an email plays out at the end of the series, as well as her hand-delivering the same to the PPP investors. With Marecki in police custody and all the evidence against him, he is most likely going to be charged and jailed.
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Does Armani finally propose at the end of Aniela season 1?
In Aniela's new life in Praga, she meets a young man, a drug dealer, Armani, who quickly falls under her charms. Despite Aniela's lies, including giving him the bag of fake drugs, which got Armani beaten up, he still forgives her over and over again. He's also always there to help her, from making her ex-husband jealous to helping her sell the real drugs to fund the students' trip to Italy.
Despite all the challenges and Aniela's flawed and selfish parts, Armani is incapable of letting Aniela go and just wants to spend his life with her. At one point in the series, he hangs out at the local casino with an engagement ring, ruminating on whether it's his lucky day to propose to Aniela. However, he finds her dining in a fancy restaurant with Marecki.
When it all turns out that the dinner is a ploy and Aniela decides to stay in Praga at the end of Aniela season 1, Armani finally gets the courage to pop the question. The proposal plays out in a montage with Aniela's interview. And like the interview, the series ends without showing the outcome of the proposal.
Catch all eight episodes of Aniela season 1 streaming on Netflix.
