Warning! This post contains spoilers for Rebel Ridge.
Terry Richmond’s narrative inRebel Ridgeis driven by his desire to protect his cousin, Mike, and Mike’s fate eventually forces Terry to take desperate measures to find justice. InRebel Ridge’s opening moments, a former Marine, Terry Richmond, bicycles into a small town with a bag of money, hoping to bail his cousin out of prison before he gets shifted to the state facility. However, before he can achieve this, two police officers brutally ram his bike off the road and seize his money via civil asset forfeiture.
Terry Richmond finds his back against a wall but does not give up hope on the legal system. He believes that even though the police officers unjustly took his money, he will eventually get it back and bail his cousin out before it is too late. However, to his dismay, Mike eventually gets shifted to the state facility before he can bail him out. Soon after, he is found dead. Since many factors contribute to Mike’s demise in theJeremy Saulnier movie, audiences may be curious about what led to it and how it changes the director of Terry Richmond’s story in Rebel Ridge.
Mike Was Killed For Being An Informant In A Previous Murder Case
Terry Knew Mike Wouldn’t Survive In The State Facility
IntheNetflix action movie’s opening arc, Summer tries to understand Terry’s situation by asking him about Mike and why moving to a state facility could land him in serious trouble. Terry reveals that long before Mike was arrested for possession of drugs,he served as a cooperating witness on a capital murder charge. He was previously an informant for law enforcers and had helped them put away a leading gang member in a murder case.
Rebel Ridge Cast & Character Guide
Rebel Ridge unfolds a gripping action drama primarily driven by its well-written characters and the talented actors who brilliantly portray them.
However, since he betrayed the gang and its leader to help the police, his actions put a target on his back, making it unsafe for him to move to the state-run facility where the gang members were being held. Terry realizes that the gang members who Mike betrayed would want revenge. Therefore, he tries to bail him out before he gets shifted to the state facility.
Directed & Written by
2 hours 11 minutes
96%
Metacritic Score
71%
Unfortunately, since the police seize the bail money, Mike eventually ends up in a state-run prison. Terry warns Mike to keep his head low in the state facility and assures him he will try to get him out. However,the gang members learn about his arrival and kill himbefore Terry can do anything to save him.
How The Police Were Partly Responsible For Mike’s Death In Rebel Ridge
Since Terry had the money to bail Mike out of prison before he was sent to the state facility, he could have easily saved him from meeting his doom. However, the town’s police unjustly seized his bail money, leaving Terry and Mike in a state of limbo where they could neither hope for justice nor give up on the legal system. InRebel Ridge’s endingarc, Summer and Terry also interrogate the town’s Judge to learn more about the local police’s corrupt activities.
Apart from telling them about Chief Sandy’s dark history and his efforts to cover up his past crimes, he also informs them that there is dashcam footage of the police arresting Mike. Although he does not delve into the details of the footage’s content, he hints it is problematic enough to land the police officers in trouble.This suggests that Mike’s arrest was also tainted by misconduct, proving that the police were primarily responsible for his death.
The True Story Inspiration Behind Netflix’s Rebel Ridge
Netflix’s action thriller Rebel Ridge exposes a lesser-known real-life injustice as Terry fights to get his money back from corrupt local cops.
The Judge also reveals that the police department kicks every charge down to misdemeanor possession to ensure every criminal case remains in the town court. This protects the police department as it helps them stay away from the eyes of external legal forces that could identify their corrupt activities and jeopardize their secret criminal profit-driving operations. Since there are no public defendants in the town’s court to contest the bail, all arrested individuals remain incarcerated for 90 days, which is the retention period for misdemeanor possession.
Mike would not have been dead if the police had followed proper protocols instead of imposing their own self-fulfilling corrupt system.
This suggests that Mike could have been released even before Terry arrived in the town to bail him out. However, since every individual was held for 90 days, he had to be shifted to the state facility when the town’s prison was undergoing construction work. Mike would not have been dead if the police had followed proper protocols instead of imposing their own self-fulfilling corrupt system.
The Real Meaning Of Cousin Mike’s Murder In Rebel Ridge Explained
Mike’s Death Exposes The Truth About Shelby Springs' Police Force
Mike’s death highlights all how multi-layered the corruption is in Shelby Springs' police department before Terry Richmond sets out to challenge the entire system. It also underscores that the police department’s selfish activities only came to light when Terry and Summer tried to stand against the tide of injustice. Before Mike,the police had unfairly arrested several other individualswho had also fallen victim to the system’s abuses.
Corruption was so deeply entrenched in the town’s law enforcement that only someone like Terry Richmond could spark the change needed to uproot it.
Up till Mike’s death, Terry Richmond holds himself back from escalating things with the town’s law enforcement. However, the fact that negotiation and diplomacy do not help him free his cousin shows how the police department deserved to face his fury towardsRebel Ridge’s ending arc. Corruption was so deeply entrenched in the town’s law enforcement that only someone like Terry Richmond could spark the change needed to uproot it.
Rebel Ridge
Former Marine Terry Richmond travels to Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, only to find his savings unjustly seized by a corrupt local police force. With the help of court clerk Summer McBride, Terry uncovers a deep-seated conspiracy and vows to bring justice to the town.
