The Ending Of The One Explained

For the most part, Netflix's original series The One focuses on three different couples who each have their lives turned upside down by MatchDNA — a system that can accurately match people together based on their genetic code. The Black Mirror-esque series takes place in the not-so-distant future in which this new way of dating is all the rage. This causes a handful of people to subject themselves to this "scientific" method of finding their soul mate. However, the aforementioned couples that the show follows prove that MatchDNA might not be so accurate after all.

The One brings into question what love can possibly look like when science and technology get involved. There is a ton of drama that the show amps up between couples who try out the system. This eventually comes to a boil in the show's finale, in which many secrets about certain characters are revealed. While the ending itself does have a bit of a twist, there's more to be said about the underlying themes that the show presents. For those who are left wondering about the larger implications of MatchDNA, look no further. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

When the viewers are introduced to Mark (Eric Kofi-Abrefa) and Hannah (Lois Chimimba), they come off as a pretty normal married couple. However, the popularity of MatchDNA causes Hannah to become insecure, making her believe that her husband might leave her for someone who is "a better match" for him. Instead of keeping quiet, Hannah takes a strand of Mark's hair and submits it to MatchDNA to see what happens. Her worst fears come true when the result matches Mark with Megan (Pallavi Sharda), a friend of Hannah's.

In an effort to keep her enemies close, Hannah spends more time getting to know Megan, which inherently means that Megan is going to be around Mark. However, everything comes to a boil during Hannah's birthday party when Megan and Mark hook up without Hannah knowing. In the end, the couple stays together, but there's still that bit of lingering wonder as to whether or not Mark and Megan are actually meant to be together. Additionally, Megan also submits Hannah's hair to MatchDNA to see who her soul mate could be. Unsurprisingly, it isn't Mark, but Megan holds onto hope that Hannah will meet her match and leave Mark. Once Mark is hopefully available, Megan aims to swoop in and get him back.

Based on how Mark and Hannah's arc wrapped up, it's safe to say that the show was trying to convey the idea that couples who are already happy with each other shouldn't fret about whether or not there's someone better-suited for them or their partner. Mark and Hannah's relationship was perfectly fine before all the drama began, and it only spiraled out of control due to Hannah's meddling. If she had left everything alone from the start, she and Mark wouldn't have even been in this mess of her own making.

Kate (Zoë Tapper) and Sophia's (Jana Pérez) relationship winds up spiraling into another intense mess due to MatchDNA. Kate is introduced to Sophia after she matches with her via the program, and the two hit it off. However, the couple runs into issues when Kate finds herself also being attracted to Sophia's brother, Sebastian (Eduardo Lloveras). This is due to the fact that siblings inherently share similar DNA, which means that Kate is always going to be biologically wired to be kind of attracted to her partner's brother. Although Kate chooses to be with Sophia in the end, it's still uncertain as to whether or not she was confident in that decision.

This strange occurrence brings into question whether or not there could be more than one person out there for someone. This is interesting, considering that MatchDNA is presented to be this scientifically accurate method of absolutely finding a person's match based purely on data. These cracks in the system prove that love and chemistry are things that can't be quantified.

As the main protagonist and CEO of MatchDNA, Rebecca (Hannah Ware) faces a ton of obstacles throughout the show's eight episodes. There are some plotlines involving Rebecca and her match Matheus (Albano Jerónimo), which also overlap with Kate's arc as well. To briefly summarize, Kate was in the middle of investigating a murder that Rebecca turned out to be involved in. Near the end of the show, Matheus tricks Rebecca into admitting that she left the victim, Ben (Amir El-Masry), to die. Furthermore, Matheus even records Rebecca's confession as evidence. However Rebecca manages to get away with the entire thing, and the sting operation blows up in Matheus' face.

While Rebecca's story does get wrapped up in a murder plot, there's still something to be said about how the show interprets love in this case. Matheus is supposed to be Rebecca's match, but he will clearly go out of his way to ensure that justice is served, even if it means imprisoning his partner. This further cements the fact that MatchDNA isn't some "happily ever after" system, which can arguably be said about love or marriage. Like any relationship, people do hurt each other, even if they're also meant to be together.

Overall, The One can be interpreted as a social commentary about love and matching during the modern age. MatchDNA isn't that far off from the tons of dating apps that are commonly used in today's society. In fact, most apps use all sorts of algorithms and data to present possible dating options to people who use them. In the case of The One, this is taken a step further, since DNA is used to find matches instead of a questionnaire or dating profile.

Even then, the system does have its faults, and the same can be said about dating and love in general. There is truly no way to know for sure whether or not someone is truly "the one" for another person. It takes a lot of trial and error, and no matter how much data an app might have, it really can't determine something as intangible as an emotion or chemistry. The One ties all these themes together in a murder plot that involves real human beings making tons of mistakes in their relationships. And based on how messy things got for these MatchDNA couples, it's safe to say that technology may never be able to quantify or map out love.