Glamorous ending explained: What Marco's last important scene means
The Netflix series ended on a very important note about identity.
Netflix's latest fun-loving series, Glamorous, has quickly won over viewers since debuting on the platform last week.
The series is not only a tale about the important business decisions faced by makeup mogul Madolyn Addison (played by Kim Cattrall), but is also an important story of identity and finding your place in the world.
We follow Marco Mejia (played by Miss Benny) as he goes from enthusiastic makeup counter worker to a force to be reckoned with working for Madolyn - but in his personal life, he also faces some major shake-ups.
Glamorous's finale episode ends on a joyous note and underlines the journey Marco goes on through the series, once more underlining it as a show that thoughtfully considers and celebrates queerness and LGBTQ+ identity.
Read on for everything you need to know about how Glamorous wrapped up.
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Glamorous ending explained: What happens to Marco in the finale?
As we follow Marco throughout the series, we see how he has to navigate a new career, relationships, romance and more. But as well as all of those things, our gender non-conforming protagonist is unapologetic and joyous about his queer identity.
In episode 8, Marco and Parker (Graham Parkhurst) take their newfound relationship to the next level.
Although they've kept things casual, they finally adopt the 'boyfriend' title, and when on their 4th July weekend away together, Marco rejigs his entire look in order to fit in with Parker's friends. His usual glitz and glamour is swapped out with basic clothes, no makeup and flat shoes.
His mother reminds him that Marco's never cared if people like him, even when he got his ears pierced and went to school with his nails done for the first time.
Another poignant reminder comes when Chad (Zane Phillips) takes Marco to one side and asks if he really wants to change himself for Parker and his friends.
Although their weekend away seems to pick up, Parker also cruelly puts Ben (Michael Hsu Rosen) on the spot and calls him "pathetic" for chasing after Marco, despite Ben not knowing Marco was also seeing Parker at the same time.
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Then again in episode 9, Parker's need for controlling Marco's life and his gender expression is put in the limelight when he asks Marco to come to a work event. Parker says it's a "dressy" event and tells Marco to only wear a jacket and tie; no makeup.
It's clear that Marco's makeup and clothing habits are something that Parker doesn't agree with, and is yet another reminder of the way this relationship isn't working for Marco's confidence or identity.
Marco tells Parker that he can "go gaslight the next girl", leaving him to go to the event by himself later that evening, and breaks things off.
In the finale, though, that vein of self-discovery and confidence continues with Marco surprising us all in the episode's final scenes.
While the final episode is concerned with Madolyn's big business deal, Marco has to navigate a hoard of angry influencer fans, and with Venetia returning to Glamorous, Marco also has to face some pretty big concerns of his own.
His mother is moving away and he has to find a new place to live - but also, in the finale, Ben and Marco run into Parker and his new boyfriend, who is literally exactly his mirror image, only underlining Marco's ex's narcissism.
Rather than ending on a note about Marco's romantic relationships, though, the series wraps up highlighting the importance of Marco's relationship with himself.
Venetia's hard work has paid off in helping save Madolyn's company and, when looking for her charger after Marco leaves, she finds a business card for Callen-Lorde on his desk.
Callen-Lorde is a New York health clinic for LGBTQ+ people and we see Marco approach it, narrating at the same time: "I'm finally ready to know myself."
At this point, Venetia turns the card round to find that it's for Dr Ripley Thomas, a transgender specialist. "That a girl," Venetia smiles.
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We also get a brief flashback to Marco's mother Julia moving as she tells Marco tearfully: "You're the best daughter a mother could have."
As Rufus and Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody plays in the background, we see Marco join the crowd of women walking down the street and smiling. Marco then turns to her reflection in the window and narrates: "We're beautiful."
Ending on a high note of Marco being proud about his transgender identity is an important step in the right direction for dramas such as this one and, rather than it being a tale of Marco's inner conflict or turmoil, Glamorous underlines that there's only bigger and better things to come for Marco.
As for whether there will be a season 2, Netflix are yet to confirm either way - but we do know that the finale also ended on another cliffhanger for Chad and Madolyn, who were surprised by the arrival of Chad's father in the company offices.
His identity remained a secret and we didn't catch a glimpse of who it was, but we do know that his arrival will likely shake things up for Glamorous even further.
Glamorous is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.