Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mountainhead!

HBO's Much like Succession, Mountainhead tackles the subjects of politics, power, and capitalism head-on, with each of the characters being a parody of the real-world tech billionaires who influence the world. Although the characters in Mountainhead start out as friends, they end by becoming enemies and making cutthroat deals, and here is who the real winner of the film is.

Mountainhead is set in a world where recent artificial intelligence breakthroughs have caused political turmoil and international instability, with citizens of the planet not being able to tell what is real anymore. In the midst of the chaos, the four tech mogul billionaires behind the disaster retreat to a secluded mountain lodge. While there, they bicker over their next steps, with each of the billionaires attempting to use the instability to line their pockets. Things escalate quickly throughout their time together, leading to the shocking and nearly violent ending of Mountainhead.

Why They Try To Kill Jeff (& Why They Don't)

They Think That Jeff Has Backstabbed Them

In the third act of Mountainhead, Randall, Hugo, and Venis all team up and attempt to kill Jeff. Although one of the gang's rules is that deals cannot be made at Mountainhead, Venis spends most of the film attempting to get Jeff to sell him his BILTER AI, which has the ability to filter Venis' artificial intelligence and make it much safer. However, Jeff goes behind Venis' back and tells Randall that they should go to Venis' board and oust him. Jeff also plans on taking his AI to the United States government, allowing them to regulate Venis' AI, stop the misinformation, and fix the instability in the market.

Randall is not a fan of this plan. He immediately goes to Hugo and Venis and tells them Jeff's plan, with him then stating that they need to stop Jeff from doing this. Eventually, the trio concludes that killing Jeff is the only option. They rationalize this to themselves by saying, from a utilitarian perspective, killing Jeff would hypothetically save lives in the future that Venis' AI will improve. So, the second half of the film follows Randall, Hugo, and Venis as they attempt to kill Jeff in a variety of comedic ways.

Eventually, the trio manages to trap Jeff in the sauna. They begin pouring gasoline into the sauna, attempting to burn him down. Before they ignite the fire, however, Jeff says that he is willing to make a deal. This leads to them deciding not to kill Jeff, allowing him to walk free. However, since Jeff had to sign their contract under duress, it is doubtful that he will go through with the deal.

Venis' Secret New Deal With Jeff & Why Randall Looks So Upset

Randall Has Been Ousted From The Deal

In the final moments of Mountainhead, Jeff and Venis make a secret deal behind Randall's back. Just before everyone leaves the lodge, Venis knocks of Jeff's car door. Jeff explains that he would be willing to make a deal with Venis, but that he doesn't want Randall involved. Randall is too controlling and too close to death, which is why they decide not to include him in the deal. So, Jeff and Venis decide to work together, even though Jeff acknowledges that they will be enemies again in the future.

Randall walks out of the lodge as Jeff and Venis are making their deal, with Venis signaling for Randall not to worry about it. As he is driving away. he turns and sees the duo hugging. Randall knows that he has gotten pushed out of the deal, ruining his dreams of transhumanism. Throughout Mountainhead, Randall attempts to manipulate things so that Jeff and Venis' tech can eventually allow him to avoid his illness by ing his mind to a piece of technology. However, their new deal proves to Randall that his death is inevitable.

Hugo Is The Big Winner Of Mountainhead's Ending

Thanks To The World's Instability

Although all of the characters in Mountainhead are attempting to line their pockets, Hugo is the only one who truly benefits from the instability. Hugo starts out as the least wealthy of the billionaires, something that he is constantly chastised for. Hugo made his wealth from a mental health and meditation app, and while it made him a lot of money, he hasn't been able to grow it as easily as his friends.

However, the instability that has wrecked the world thanks to Venis' company has driven people to Hugo's app. This has raised his net worth significantly, allowing his wealth to be much closer to that of his friends. Although Jeff and Venis do make a deal, they are still at each other's throats, while Hugo is making pure profit with no strings attached.

What's Happening In The World As Mountainhead Ends

Will Things Ever Get Better?

In the background of Mountainhead, the world is falling apart. Venis' generative AI has allowed almost anyone to create photo-realistic images and videos of anything, meaning nobody knows what it real anymore. Falsified political videos have caused riots in the streets, hurt the economy, and kicked off all kinds of violence. Assassinations plague the world, and the main cast even discusses a potential coup in the United States.

Jeff and Venis' deal may help things a bit, allowing Venis' dangerous AI to be toned down. However, it will undoubtedly be a while until these new programs roll out. Thus, the world will still be in chaos for a while, but at least the main characters have some extra zeroes at the end of their bank s.

Mountainhead's Real Meaning

The Film Satirizes The Tech Billionaires It Is Portraying

Mountainhead is meant to be a satire on figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the other real-world powerful oligarchs who have massive influence over the United States and the world. Mountainhead is an over-exaggerated look at how wealthy elites are able to capitalize off of political turmoil and instability, making the rich richer. The film also highlights the dangers of generative artificial intelligence, as the distrust that it causes in Mountainhead is a real concern as the technology improves.

However, one of the main criticisms of Mountainhead is that it has pointed out the problem without offering a solution. Some of the exaggerations within the film aren't that far off from what is currently going on in the world, but Mountainhead doesn't make any kind of argument as to how things could be made better. While these complex critiques of capitalism obviously can't be summed up into one-sentence solutions, it would have been nice for Mountainhead to make a prescriptive argument alongside its descriptive one.