Netflix’s Kaleidoscope has been met with rave reviews since its January 2023 debut, casting Giancarlo Esposito as the main character Ray Vernon / Leo Pap and offering viewers an entertaining mystery by presenting episodes randomly. Fans of Better Call Saul will especially appreciate seeing Esposito take on this unique role while they attempt to piece together the clues from each episode!
Let’s get to the meat of the matter, which is what happens in the final scene of the Pink episode and who kills Leo/Ray: a quick recap of the plot’s chronological progression might be in order, but first, let’s get to the end of the series. Let’s have everything explained.
Kaleidoscope Ending Explained: The Pink Episode
In terms of the overall story arc of Kaleidoscope, the series concludes with the Pink episode, in which the climactic “circle of closure” is revealed. Something unexpected happens if you watch this episode after the white episode. Bob is still alive.
Everyone believes he has disappeared, but he is still seeking vengeance. He goes to see Roger Salas in jail to ask for money & Salas agrees to give it to him as long as he kills Leo/Ray first.
This makes it clear that Salas wants Ray/Leo dead, which is hardly surprising given that he is about to spend the next two decades in prison & has lost everything he worked for. Soon, Ray/Leo will learn of his or her enemies: When Ava’s fence, Zanetti, reveals where Ava & Leo are hiding, Bob hires two men to help & tortures Zanetti to extract the information.
Then he shows up at their house, Ray/Leo is called, he will give Bob the money he has, but it turns out it’s about more than just money; Bob wants to know where he can find Stan & Judy now that Judy has decided to live his life together with Stan.
At the meeting with Stan & Judy, we see Bob arrive with the intent of murdering Stan. Unfortunately, the FBI eliminates Bob before he can get any closer to Stan. Judy will notice Bob’s car, find the money bag inside & read Stan’s letters, but he will never know that he risked his life for them.
In a matter of seconds, she makes up her mind & she & the car & the money immediately leave Stan. At the same time, one of Bob’s henchmen shoots Ava & her mother to death in Ava’s house. Successfully eliminating him, Ray/Leo leaves that house unharmed. Leo’s dead wife’s name lives on in his newborn daughter’s name, Lily & she enjoys a happy, prosperous life with her husband & two sons.
Ray/Leo pays a final visit to Salas in prison in the series finale. Leo is in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease & Salas will be released from jail in a few years, but his life will be irreparably altered by his time behind bars. So now we come to the climactic scene, which demands its explanation. For your convenience, we have explained the whole ending of Kaleidoscope.
Leo Pap’s Death In Kaleidoscope Explained: Who Killed Leo?
Before knowing who killed Leo Pap/Ray Vernon, look at Who is Leo? The story of Ray Vernon’s life begins more than 20 years before the heist when he was a young man. Ray was still a career criminal who often worked with Graham Davies. Ray had to pause & consider his loved ones when a heist almost went wrong.
He makes the conscious decision to abandon his criminal lifestyle in favour of devoting more time & energy to his loved ones. Sadly, Ray’s efforts to break these cycles are short-lived, and his wife’s death & his estrangement from their daughter are the results of returning to his old ways.
Ray goes to prison & stays there for 17 years, missing out on raising his daughter. After learning he has Parkinson’s, he decides to escape. To spend the rest of his life in peace with his daughter & away from the prying eyes of law enforcement, he fakes his death.
Ray’s death is blamed on white supremacist gangs in prison, according to the story concocted by his attorney, Ava Mercer. She uses her insider knowledge to switch Ray’s dental records with someone else’s. Using this plan, they successfully bring about Ray Vernon’s untimely demise & the subsequent birth of Leo Pap.
Leo may change his name but cannot alter his true identity as soon as he sets eyes on Graham, now known as Roger Salas, memories of Roger’s betrayal flood back. Leo’s desire for vengeance motivates him to plan the robbery.
The goal of the heist is to cause Roger such financial hardship that he gives up everything & runs for the hills. There’s more to it than just cash & trade. Leo plans to break up Roger’s family & destroy his tranquillity. In other words, Roger shouldn’t be allowed to live like that either if Ray wasn’t allowed to.
Consumed by thoughts of retribution, Leo fails to see that he is falling into a trap. When he ruined Roger’s life, he ruined it for his wife & child, too. Of course, Leo doesn’t pause to think about that any more than he remains to think about his daughter’s prospects after the heist.
Ultimately, Leo’s demise is the result of his recklessness & his inability to see past his hatred. To prevent Roger from witnessing the entire heist on repeat, FBI agent Nazan Abbasi cuts off the camera feed. As a result, Roger’s son ends up seeing Leo Pap for the first time at their home, where the entire heist is broadcast.
Afterwards, everything falls apart for the Salas family & Roger’s son; it’s all Leo’s fault. After he destroyed his family, he decided to exact his revenge by killing Leo. A man follows Leo & points a gun at his head in the final scene. Although we witness Leo’s murder, we only hear the gun go off.
Although we never see the killer’s face, we can identify him as Roger’s son based on his T-shirt. The night of the robbery, he wore the same T-shirt he had on earlier. Six months have passed since then, and Roger has already served time behind bars.
The decision to kill Ray was not made on the spur of the moment, as his son has had ample time to stew on his revenge. He considered the possibility, which meant he had been looking for Ray the whole time. By the time the thief reaches New York, Roger’s son has already located him & eliminated him with a gunshot.