The highly anticipated They Cloned Tyrone finally arrived on Netflix this weekend, delivering on its conspiracy-heavy premise and giving viewers an ending they won’t forget any time soon. Really, there are two endings to They Cloned Tyrone, both of which work together to enhance the plot and make everything seem even more dire than the film already had. That final scene is both a gut-punch and a jaw-dropping twist at the same time, and it finally brings context to the movie’s title, which you might have had questions about until that very moment.
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from They Cloned Tyrone! Continue reading at your own risk…
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The conspiracy at the center of They Cloned Tyrone isn’t actually much of a conspiracy at all, because all of the terrible things the characters theorize are really happening. The Black residents of the Glen are not only being controlled by wealthy white people hoping to uphold the status quo, but many of them are actually being cloned. It turns out that Fontaine (John Boyega) is the original clone. An older version of him is revealed to be the originator of the experiment, and he tells Fontaine that the ultimate goal is to turn all Black people into white people as a way to keep them from being killed. “Assimilation is better than annihilation,” he says.
Fontaine kills the older scientist version of himself while the rest of the Glen residents fight back to take over the underground lab. They win the battle for control of the neighborhood, which also results in several clones coming to the surface to join life above ground. The film seems to end with news broadcasts of the people in the Glen revealing everything that had happened and clones walking naked through the streets, being interviewed by newscasters. In the middle of the chaos, the trio of Fontaine, Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) and Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) decide they’re going to leave for Memphis together.
The closing credits start for just a second, only to give way to a second ending. The action jumps to Los Angeles, where someone else that looks just like Fontaine (also played by Boyega) goes through his typical daily routine. It’s eerily similar to Fontaine’s, only with a West Coast dressing. At the end of the day, he sits down on the couch with some friends and turns on the TV.
This new character sees the news coverage from the Glen and notices one of the clones walking around. It’s a Fontaine clone. The character immediately recognizes his own face and body walking around a street on the other side of the country, and one of his friends is quick to say, “That looks like you, Tyrone.”
They Cloned Tyrone — Who Is Tyrone?
Throughout the entire movie there is no character named Tyrone, making the title seem a bit confusing. Tyrone is another clone of Fontaine, but living out the same life in Los Angeles, planted by those in charge to keep things going as they see fit. It’s mentioned earlier in the movie that the Glen is just one of many predominantly Black areas where the cloning and control experiments have been set up. Los Angeles is specifically mentioned as another one of the locations.
By seeing Tyrone, the audience realizes just how widespread the problems actually are, because it hints that neighborhoods all around the country have their own Fontaine. However, the work done in the Glen by Fontaine and his friends is a spark of hope. Their actions caused a man across the country to wake up to what might be going on around him, potentially setting off another uprising in Los Angeles. Fontaine simply knocked over the first domino.
What did you think of They Cloned Tyrone? Let us know in the comments!
