'American Hostage' Ending Explained & Finale Recap: Where Is Tony Kiritsis Now?

In episode 7 of American Hostage, Tony signed the fake immunity documents and gave them to the authorities. Fred learnt from Charles that Gallagher, John, Cormac, Rimstidt, and Martz were working on putting a fake DA on television so as to convince Tony that those documents he had signed were authentic. In the meantime, Judge Dugan was issuing an arrest warrant that would allow Gallagher and his team to arrest or eliminate Tony. Charles told Fred that John wasn’t working in Tony’s best interest; he was actually helping the authorities nab Tony allegedly for a large sum of money. In addition to all that, Charles also revealed to Fred that the police had tapped into Tony’s phone and were taping his calls. Charles refused to go on record with these accusations, but he was willing to corroborate someone who reported on these illegal activities. While confronting Gallagher, Fred got a hint that he intended to kill Tony as soon as he stepped out of his apartment. He informed Ginny and Ben about that, and also told them about the wiretap. Ben and Ginny investigated the premises of Crestwood Apartments, and they did find a wire going out of Tony’s apartment and into a police van, whose driver bailed out of there as soon as he was discovered. Ben got confirmation from Hart that John had made a deal with the Feds to sell out Tony to them. Meanwhile, Meridian received a fake bomb threat orchestrated by none other than M.L. so that Tony could be painted in a negative light while Meridian looked like the victims, even though it was the other way around, given Meridian had a history of defrauding people. At the same time, Meridian also claimed they were giving Tony his $5 million; they even wrote a promissory note with that claim, but it was all a ruse to lure Tony out of that apartment. Hence, Fred called up Tony and advised him to come out of the apartment unarmed or else he would be killed. Tony ignored the advice, because the immunity agreement didn’t specify any such demands, which prompted Richard to have an existential crisis, because he knew that if the police killed Tony, he’d die too, because of the dead man’s wire around his neck. What happened next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Tony Gives A Press Conference

Episode 8 of American Hostage opens with Fred seeing a nightmare where Cormac is cleaning the stage on which Tony has been assassinated. In real life, the police and the Feds are still in the middle of prepping the hall where the press is going to interview Tony and Richard, and then Tony will be assassinated by Gallagher (which was shown in the previous episode). In the last episode, we saw Fred getting on a call with Tony and telling him not to come down from his apartment with a gun to Richard’s head. Today, we learn that even that call was being taped, because the police officer who was parked right beside the apartment, and had tapped into Tony’s phone, was now doing the same from afar via a telephone pole located near Crestwood. Anyway, Fred informs Cormac, Gallagher, John, Charles, Rimstidt, and Martz that Tony is coming down. Tony emerges from his room with the shotgun aimed at Richard, and the dead man’s wire still connected to both of them. They make their way to the aforementioned hall in the apartment complex where the press and the police have gathered. Once Fred joins Tony, Richard, Gallagher, Walt, and several other police officers on that makeshift stage, Richard is made to read the promissory note to the press. Since Richard is too scared to read it properly, Tony snatches it from his hands and reads it himself, while making the necessary corrections wherever he thinks he is being misrepresented. Fred briefly imagines Gallagher shooting Tony in the head during the press briefing, but is quickly snapped back to reality when he notices Gallagher and Walt sneakily moving towards Tony, and Fred tries his best to place himself between Tony and the police so that they don’t have a clear shot at him. Tony briefly addresses John and Charles to thank them for all the work they have done to get him a proper immunity deal. Soon after that interaction, John bails out of there, because he has done his part in extracting Tony and Richard out of the apartment and putting them smack in the middle of those police officers. He doesn’t care if Tony gets justice or if the use of a fake immunity deal and a fake promissory note is going to reflect negatively on the authorities; the job is over and hence, he takes off (this whole interaction is observed from afar by Ginny). Unfortunately, Charles has more spine than John, which is why he chooses to stay at Crestwood and see this affair through to its bitter end. 

Tony Is Arrested

At the press conference, Tony starts talking about Jimmie–who is in a bathroom stall, crying his eyes out because of everything that’s going on with his brother–and how much he loves him. As Tony starts to get emotionally overwhelmed, Fred suggests that they end the press conference and head to one of the rooms in the back to cool down; Tony accepts the proposal. In doing so, Fred saves Tony from getting shot in the head; and he also saves Richard from getting shot, because if Tony dies, he’s going to die too, because of the dead man’s wire contraption. As Tony, Fred, and Richard chill out in a room, Gallagher and Rimstidt have a conversation about Tony’s bail hearing. Martz and John head to the aforementioned police van where Tony’s wiretapped phone calls have been tapped to tell the officer that there has been a change of plans. What is that changed plan? They burn all the tapes, because they know that their existence is proof that the police tapped into Tony’s phone, and that might backfire on them (this is shown later on in the episode, by the way). Speaking of Tony, after taking the whole day and the whole evening to cool down, he fires the shotgun in the air through the window of the room he is in with Fred and Richard. The police assume that Tony has killed Richard, which is why they barge into the room and arrest him. This is when he learns that his immunity deal is fake. Tony turns to Fred and asks him if he knew about this, and Fred is rendered speechless. Tony is stuffed into a police car and taken away to the nearest police station; everyone at Crestwood heaves a sigh of relief and Fred goes and hugs Barbara, who has arrived at the site, maybe because she has finally forgiven him for going on air and talking about Patricia.

Fred Is Still Trying To Prove Foul Play In Tony’s Case

Two months later, Fred tells his listeners that Tony’s pre-trial hearing is about to commence, with Judge Dugan presiding over the case, and Tony is apparently going to challenge the fake immunity deal as well as John and Charles’ collusion with the police. After concluding his show, Fred asks Ginny if she has made any progress on the leads she has been pursuing. Ginny says that Indiana Bell is refusing to admit that it helped the police tap Tony’s phone calls. She might get some info from a former Indiana Bell employee who was there during the crisis; whether or not that’ll be helpful is a question mark. Fred and Ben have a conversation about what he thinks is going to happen at the hearing, what Tony’s new lawyer will ask him about his role in the fake immunity deal, and whether or not he will get a chance to talk about the tapes. Ben points out that Dugan’s appointment as judge for this case seems odd, because Dugan aims to be the next mayor. A mayor needs the support of the cops. Tony has put a huge dent in the police’s image. So, if Dugan manages to brutally punish Tony, while also keeping the wiretapping under wraps, he might fulfil his mayoral dream; Fred is in agreement with Ben. Ben brings this conversation to a close by bringing up a call that he has gotten from CBS’ Bass; Fred says that that call means that Ben is about to get a great job offer (a job offer that was initially meant for Fred). Jerry asks Fred and Ben to head to the conference room for a meeting with a filmmaker who wants to make a movie on this Tony-Richard affair (really meta moment), but Fred just meets the filmmaker and heads out, because he isn’t interested in that. That really irks Jerry, and he calls Fred a loon for obsessing over these alleged tapes of the wiretapping. Fred shrugs that off and heads over to Meridian with Ben for a chat with M.L. 

M.L. Confirms That Meridian Never Intended To Help Out Tony

M.L. says that WIBC isn’t going to get an exclusive interview with anyone from Meridian, because M.L. believes that WIBC has played a major role in tarnishing Meridian’s reputation. Instead, M.L. will go to Barbara Walters (who was probably at ABC at that time), because she does better interviews than Fred. M.L. does confirm that Tony’s land will be auctioned off in a sheriff’s sale, and that he does want Tony to get the worst punishment for everything that he has done. That doesn’t go down well with Ben, and he tries to grill M.L., but Fred puts a stop to that and proceeds to head out with Ben. On their way out, Fred asks M.L. how he knew that the promissory note was a hoax. M.L. gloats about that masterstroke and ends up confirming that he was working with Gallagher to fool Tony, which means that Meridian never intended to give Tony a fair deal. Before entering the courtroom for the hearing, Fred remembers the conversation (that he had recorded, by the way) that Tony and Richard had in that room in Crestwood. Apparently, Tony and Richard had forgiven each other, and Fred had assured Tony that he’d be okay. That statement is obviously starkly contrasted by the image of Tony being escorted into the courtroom, and Tony doesn’t even acknowledge Fred’s presence, because he hasn’t gotten over the fact that Fred betrayed him. Fred calls up Barbara (his wife, not the interviewer) and checks up on his daughter. Barbara asks him about the tapes, and Fred tells her that Ginny might have a lead. Barbara wonders if Fred is feeling scared of testifying; Fred simply says that a lot of people are going to be upset with what he has to say. Barbara tells him to not worry about his standing in society and at the country club, and advises him to stick with the truth. On that note, Fred hangs up and heads into the courtroom. Dugan tells Owen Mullin, Tony’s new lawyer, to call his first witness, and Mullin calls John to the stand. From the get-go, John starts perjuring himself, because he says that he didn’t have any idea that the immunity deal was fake. When the court goes into recess, and Fred is sitting with Gallagher in the lounge, Fred notices John being very chummy with Mullin, which strikes him as odd. Gallagher advises Fred to not pay too much attention to that. However, Fred’s suspicion turns out to be true because, with each passing minute in the court, it becomes apparent that Mullin is actually batting for John, not Tony.

Fred Tries To Get Tony To Question Him About The Wiretap

Given Mullin’s betrayal, Tony announces that he is going to represent himself. After the court takes another recess, Fred corners John and asks him how much the latter would have gotten paid if Meridian’s promissory note would have been real. John starts to beat around the bush, which prompts Fred to double down on his accusation that John knew that the promissory note was fake, which is why he didn’t negotiate a fee based on that turn of events. John doesn’t even defend himself against that allegation; he just insults Fred and walks away. The pre-trial hearing resumes, and Tony grills the hell out of John, Gallagher, Charles, and Martz. He asks extremely compelling questions about how those who were supposed to represent him and those who were against him had colluded to ensure that he never got a fair shake. The answers given by all three of them are extremely wishy-washy, but as mentioned before, since Dugan wants the state to win, he doesn’t question the hollow statements being given by John, Gallagher, Charles, and Martz. That understandably drives Tony up the wall and he asks for a recess. While waiting for the court to resume its session, Fred approaches Tony and tries to get him to understand that he is on his side and he is gathering evidence on the collusion between the lawyers and the police. Tony refuses to listen to Fred and tells him that he will only talk to him when he is on the stand. The trial resumes, and Tony straight-up asks Fred why he lied to him and his listeners about the immunity deal. Fred defends himself by stating that he was trying to save Richard and Tony’s lives; hence, he did whatever he thought would get both of them out of that apartment in one piece. But then he urges Tony to question him about the wiretap. Tony doesn’t get the hint and he simply ends the questioning; Fred is dismissed.

Fred Meets Richard 

At the Hall residence, Ibby catches Richard heading out for a breather, which is when Richard informs her that he isn’t going to do the interview with Walters; and he hasn’t informed M.L. about it because there’s no point in that. Ibby doesn’t contest Richard’s decision; she simply tells him to come back home on time. Fred shows up at the bar Richard is holed up in. Fred informs Richard that Dugan has thrown out Tony’s motion during the pre-trial, and they’ll have to officially testify during the trial. Richard says that he can’t go to court because he can’t bear to relive the trauma of the kidnapping over and over again. Fred says that since they don’t have the tapes of the people “who lied in their lies,” they kind of have to give their testimonies regarding that fraudulent activity. Richard lowkey snaps and says that, throughout the incident, Fred paid more attention to Tony than he did to Richard. Fred does make it clear that he was worried about Richard from the first day he was taken hostage by Tony. And throughout the kidnapping session, he kept asking himself how Richard wasn’t having a complete breakdown. Richard talks about his coping mechanism, and it’s unclear if that shocks or impresses Fred. In response to Richard’s revelation of that intimate detail, Fred reveals that he had secretly recorded everything that had happened between the three of them in that isolated room in Crestwood. Richard says that he isn’t surprised, and he wonders if Fred is going to use it for some big exposé. Fred states that he hasn’t told anyone about that tape, and he intends to keep it that way forever.

Where Is Tony Kiritsis Now?

In American Hostage’s ending, Fred shows up at the psychiatric hospital Tony has been remanded to so that he can undergo a psychiatric evaluation. However, Tony refuses to talk to Fred; Fred imagines the conversation he would have had with Tony, drops off an envelope containing documents that list all the violations committed by the law, and walks out (Tony observes Fred leaving from afar). Fred destroys that secret tape recording as well. Tony imagines a utopian scenario where everyone involved in the kidnapping case in one way or the other is having dinner at his steakhouse. Even though he has been wronged in every possible manner, this fictional version of Tony can’t bring himself to think ill of the villains in his life. Whether or not the real Tony had a similar worldview is something that we will never know. The illusion ends as Jon Hamm (because Fred can’t talk about his own fate) informs us that Meridian has bought Tony’s land for $180k; M.L., Bill, and Jack have passed away; Richard and Ibby have gotten a divorce; Richard also gave up drinking on a permanent basis; DA Kelley’s strike team, which was looking into police corruption, was shut down; Barbara completed her education and maintained her friendship with Ibby; Fred eventually retired; Tony was held in contempt of court for a decade and was thrown in the state prison unit for the criminally insane. During the concluding moments of the show, we get a glimpse at the real Tony Kiritsis, where he can be seen telling the press about how everyone is conspiring against him to prove that he is insane, and how he wishes to fight them and secure his freedom. Tony actually managed to get the courts to agree that he can’t be forced to undergo a psych eval. And in 1988, he was released from jail. Tony died in 2005 of natural causes and he was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery. Tony’s case had a significant impact on Indiana law; initially, the prosecution was required to prove that the defendant was sane, but after Tony’s case, the burden of proof was placed on the defendant. I suppose the bottomline here is: don’t take mortgages from corrupt companies because they are so well-connected that they will dupe you, chew you up, and then spit you out without any hesitation. At least that’s my take on the ending of American Hostage. If you have any alternative takes, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

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