Netflix and CBC Gem’s ‘Fakes’ is a stylish and funny crime comedy series. Set in Vancouver, Canada, the story follows Zoe Christensen (Emilija Baranac) and Rebecca “Becca” Li (Jennifer Tong), high school students who have been best friends since childhood. After realizing that they can make very realistic fake IDs, the girls embark on a life of criminality. While there are always dangers, the girls have a lot of fun. They soon establish one of North America’s largest fake ID networks.
The text at the start of almost every episode of ‘Fakes’ claims, “Some of this actually happened … but legally, we made it up.” This doesn’t seem to be particularly true. David Turko, series creator and his collaborators may have used the claim that the show was inspired from true events as a plot device. It does work as it was intended to, attracting the audience’s attention. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Fakes’ season 1. SPOILERS Ahead.
Table of Contents
Fakes Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
‘Fakes’ starts with a flashforward. Becca and Zoe are at a party. The police suddenly arrive and arrest them both. The story then switches back to show how they got there. Zoe and Becca can’t be more different. Zoe is an introvert and quiet bookworm who comes from a white working-class background. Becca, however, is an extrovert diva and her family are Chinese-Canadian and wealthy. Maybe because they met as children, their friendship has been strong and lasting.
Becca, Zoe and her friend drive home from a party. Zoe finds the fake student ID Zoe made to get into the library. Becca tells Zoe that this is totally out of character. She then offers to give $400 to her friend to create a fake Id. Later, they visit a mall and Becca introduces Zoe (Richard Harmon) to Tryst. Becca is well aware that Tryst has an underworld connection. Tryst suggests that the girls should run a test to see if the cards’ can fool people. At Becca’s request, Tryst pre-sells 150 of them. When the notion of committing a crime proves too much for the girls, they try to back off the deal, but Tryst tells them in no uncertain terms that they can’t. The only way they can get out of the deal is to give him $30,000, which they don’t have.
Turko and his team create a complex story using a plot device called an unreliable Narrator. Becca and Zoe are the main characters and alternate between them for narration. In four episodes, each episode, Becca and Zoe serve as point-of view characters. Tryst takes over the narrating responsibilities in episode 5, whereas the first season finale, titled ‘She Said, She Said,’ is narrated by all three characters.
In ‘Fakes,’ we often see a given scene repeated through the perspective of the two girls to enunciate how they view things differently. Zoe and Becca’s upbringings and social backgrounds inspire their choices throughout the show. Zoe’s father is a drunk and separated from the family. After Zoe realizes that her older brother has followed in her father’s footsteps, she tries to sever ties with him and keep her mother safe. Becca is growing resentful for her mother and her absence from her daily life. She is demanding and intense even when she is at home. The proverbial veil of anonymity is lifted briefly and we can see the struggles and pain that led to the family’s current position in society.
They set up a fake ID operation from a penthouse that they received from Tryst. Two girls, Sophie and Sally, are also recruited to be their dealers. The girls are unable to deal with the situation after Sally is arrested by authorities. The series finale sees the girls having a falling out with Tryst. They host a party to get their printers from the penthouse. Guy demands that they shoot Tryst after they are taken into custody.
Fakes Season 1: Will Zoe or Becca kill Tryst?
The girls don’t tell Tryst about Sally’s arrest, but the latter finds out about it when Guy informs him. Guy owns the penthouse and runs a counterfeit business. Without telling him, Tryst lets Zoe and Becca set up their operation in the penthouse, but after Sally’s arrest, Tryat tries to get the girls out of there, but they keep getting in. Guy expresses interest in the quality and origin of the fake IDs. Tryst denies it. Guy knows Guy is dangerous, so he seems to be protecting the girls.
Despite Tryst’s best efforts, Guy finds out about the girls and realizes they are the ones behind the fake IDs. In an attempt to save them, Tryst calls in the police while they’re at the penthouse. He hopes that if they are caught, Guy and his aides will release them. Unfortunately, Tryst is proved wrong. Guy frees the girls from police custody and tells them that they should shoot Tryst once the season ends.
We see the girls arrested at the beginning of the season and catch up by the end. However, we also see Zoe wearing an orange jumpsuit at the end and Becca on vacation. The latter hasn’t happened yet. Importantly, no murder charges have been filed so it’s safe to assume Becca and Zoe will not kill Tryst.
Are Zoe and Becca going to jail?
In the season finale, Tryst calls the police on Zoe and Becca to protect them from Guy, but before they are taken to the precinct, Guy’s people get them released and bring them to their boss. The timeline of the flashforward at the beginning of the series aligns with that of the season finale, but that isn’t the only flashforward scene in the show. We see Zoe in an orange jumpsuit towards the end of season 2. Becca is having the best time of her lives. It’s also obvious that these once-fiancées had a falling out. This means these things are yet to happen in the show’s timeline. Despite neither one of them being in jail, Zoe will be in the future.
Who is telling Zoe the truth about Becca and Zoe?
The makers of ‘Fakes’ masterfully use the unreliable narrator plot device. Becca and Zoe switch their points of view throughout the season. The same scenes are shown from both perspectives. Both Zoe and Becca tell their stories of the events as if they were a reluctant partner or even a victim.
They are probably lying somewhere in between their accounts. They are neither the villains nor without fault. They are two young women who are out of their depth. Throughout the season, the two main characters frequently break the fourth wall. The season finale however, has something very interesting. The very last scene of the season, where Guy tells them to kill Tryst. Both Zoe and Becca stare directly at the camera. This suggests that we are seeing the most accurate representation of the event.
Read More: Is Netflix’s Fakes Based on a True Story?