Decoding Sacred Games: Ganesh Gaitonde Could Be Alive And The Big Threat Might Be A Nuclear War!

Sometime during bingeing Netflix’s first Indian original series, Sacred Games, it became clear that the season will not end with a definitive conclusion. The plot pits two men - Saif Ali Khan’s cop, Sartaj Singh, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s gangster, Ganesh Gaitonde - against each other in a race against time to save Mumbai. Gaitonde -- in the show’s opening scene -- warns Sartaj that the city will be decimated in 25 days, thus setting into motion Sartaj’s quest for clues. But the show ends with 14 days of Gaitonde’s 25 still remaining and more questions than answers. So the internet is here, as always, to help us fill in the gaps.

In the final scene of the first season, Sartaj stumbles upon a bunker and discovers the body of a man named Trivedi - one of Gaitonde’s three fathers, the others being the politician Bhosle and a godman known as Guruji. The bunker has supplies stacked up against the wall and Trivedi is discovered with a gas mask beside him.

Some people on Reddit have pointed out that the availability of supplies such as food and water suggest that Trivedi wasn’t supposed to die, and something must have forced Gaitonde - who himself dies in the opening scene of the first episode - to kill him. Gaitonde makes references to having been betrayed by those he trusted the most, which is what fuels his revenge spree.

There have also been questions about the believability of Gaitonde’s death, helped in part by his surreal resurrection after having shot himself in front of Sartaj. And he does, let’s not forget, narrate his story from beyond the grave.

One person on Reddit theorised that Trivedi might not be dead at all and that he might just be heavily sedated. The presence of a Geiger counter beside his body, however, suggests something more sinister is afoot. The instrument is used to measure radiation, which suggests that the threat Gaitonde was referring to might be nuclear in nature. And as the more eagle-eyed viewers must have spotted, in the opening credits of the show, this happens:

The theory suggests that Gaitonde has sedated Trivedi to help him survive a nuclear attack. It is also possible that Guruji - who will have a much more central role in future episodes, co-director Anurag Kashyap told us - originally intended for Gaitonde to survive the nuclear attack, and rise from the ashes as a God-like figure. Gaitonde often compares himself to God during the show. “Gaitonde tortured Trivedi until he told him that they (Trivedi, Guruji, and Bhosle) had betrayed him. Those three planned to nuke Mumbai and start some type of war. Gaitonde did not anticipate killing himself,” one person wrote.

It should be noted that Gaitonde makes it a point to tell Sartaj in great detail of the time he spent in solitary confinement in prison, which lasted two months, and was perhaps orchestrated by Guruji.

There is also the matter of a shipment of guns, which Sartaj discovers and had been smuggled into the country by Bhosle, perhaps in an effort to arm soldiers to protect the country in an impending attack - an attack foreseen by Guruji.

Another theory, this one on YouTube, compares the character of Malcolm, played in the show by Luke Kenny, to David Headley, an alleged ISI agent who played a part in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Only eight episodes of the show have aired so far, with a plan for three more seasons of eight episodes each, according to Saif. With the attention and acclaim the series has received so far, it seems likely that Sacred Games will soon be renewed for season 2.