Unabomber ending explained: What happened to Theodore Kaczynski? The true story behind Netflix’s latest crime drama

The latest biopic crime drama Unabomber is currently trending on Netflix after it was released on Friday (September 25). Directed by Janus Metz Pedersen, the 100-minute psychological thriller revolves around the origin story and extremism of Ted Kaczynski. The biopic has been released on Netflix worldwide.

Unabomber delves into the dark true story of the rise of one of America's most notorious criminals. Here's all you need to know about who Ted Kaczynski is and what actually happened at the end of the documentary.

The true story of Unabomber

The biopic features Jacon Tremblay as the younger Kaczynski, while Russell Crowe portrays Harvard professor Henry Murray. Besides them, Shailene Woodley essays the role of FBI agent Joanne Miller and Annabelle Wallis portrays Christiana Morgan, Murray’s academic collaborator.


Ted Kaczynski, popularly known as the Unabomber was once a math prodigy at Harvard University, and later become one of the most notorious criminals in US. He was born in Chicago in 1942, Ted entered Harvard at 16 and went on to earn a doctorate in mathematics from University of Michigan. He later ater taught mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, but left academia and moved to a remote cabin near Lincoln, Montana.



According to FBI reports, Ted allegedly started his bombing campaign in 1978. Over the span of 17 years, he mailed or placed homemade bombs at universities, airlines and other locations. The FBI linked 16 bombings to the case, which killed three people and injured more than 20 others. The investigation was known as UNABOM, short for “University and Airline Bombing,” which eventually led to the media nickname “Unabomber.”

The manifesto of the Unabomber and how he was discovered

For many years, Kaczynski's identity was a mystery. He wrote a long essay titled Industrial Society and Its Future and sent it to major publications in 1995. In the hopes that someone would recognize the manifesto's language and principles, the FBI consented to its publication.

In the end, the choice helped solve the case. David, Kaczynski's brother, saw parallels between the manifesto and his brother's previous works. Linda Patrik, David's wife, had also observed parallels in Kaczynski's theories. Eventually, David got in touch with the FBI and gave them materials his brother had written. The writings and the manifesto have a lot in common, according to FBI language research.

How did Ted Kaczynski get caught?

On April 3, 1996, federal investigators arrested him at his Montana cabin. Their serach uncovered bomb-making materials, thousands pages of handwritten notes and a reportedly live bomb that was ready to be mailed, as per TIME.

Investigators also found writings that detailed his crimes.Kaczynski later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He died in prison in 2023 at the age of 81.

Netflix’s Unabomber draws from documented events but also takes creative liberties. Actor Jacob Tremblay has said he studied recordings and footage of Kaczynski to understand his mannerisms and speech. Director Tony Phelan and the filmmakers have also described the project as a filmic interpretation rather than a complete biography.

The director Janus Metz told TIME, "In developing the film, we found that the psychological experiments conducted on Ted Kaczynski during his time at Harvard were unknown to most people, some were not even aware he attended Harvard. While our film doesn't offer a complete biography, we chose to present a filmic take on his story and a narrative opening into the mind of Ted Kaczynski."

Unabomber ending explained

Ted Kaczynski's tenure at Harvard and the FBI's search for the Unabomber in the 1990s are combined in UNABOMBER's conclusion. David Kaczynski and his wife, Linda Patrik, notice parallels between Ted's letters and the Unabomber's manifesto as investigators examine it. The FBI is able to identify Kaczynski as the perpetrator of the attacks because to their intelligence.

The biopic then cuts between the FBI raid on Ted's Montana cabin and his final confrontation with Harvard professor Henry Murray. In the Harvard timeline, Ted reveals that he had been manipulating Murray during their exchanges and leaves him a copy of Moby-Dick with a passage underlined. The scene suggests that Ted’s anger and isolation have reached a turning point.

The FBI eventually arrests Kaczynski at his remote cabin in April 1996. The film connects this moment with Ted walking away from Murray, showing the contrast between his final days as a student and his arrest decades later.

During an interaction with TIME, the director Janus Metz said, “We decided to explore Ted Kaczynski's time at Harvard, as it stood out as a formative and fragile period in his life. We wanted to understand who this young man was up until he began his descent into a darker and deadlier path.”