Emergency (2022) summary and ending explained

Emergency is a teen drama that follows two graduate-year students who meet with unexpected circumstances on a night that was meant to be glamorous and bright with seven parties. It is now streaming on Prime Video.

Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers

Plot summary

Kunle and Sean, ethnically black Americans, are final year students about to graduate in two months. They are roommates now and plan to be roommates after college.

Kunle is black excellence and has made it to the Ivy League college, Princeton. His parents are doctors, and he aspires to do a PhD.

Whereas Sean is a party planner who doesn’t necessarily have a plan for the immediate future.

While walking toward class, Sean talks about Bianca, another student who is possibly interested in Kunle. Whatsoever, Kunle denies it.

During the class, the professor says that today, they will be discussing a sensitive topic and gives a trigger warning. At the same time, Sean is looking for some party tickets.

Upon switching on the projector, the word “n*gger” pops up, and the professor starts asking the question, “why is the word so important in racism?”

While the white students in the class are participating in the discussion, Sean is telling Kunle to say something as teaching such things is inappropriate.

However, no one says anything, and the class ends. Kunle and Sean walk out, still discussing the inappropriateness of the topic.

Just then, Bianca walks toward them and says that she too felt that the class was weird and she is on the school senate. Thus, if Kunle wanted to revolt, he could just contact her.

Upon asking if she is partying tonight, Bianca says that she managed to get one pass for a party tonight. While Sean announces that they are going to seven parties, completing a legendary tour.

Soon, Kunle is in the lab, working on his thesis experiments and talking to his mom on the phone about getting selected for Princeton.

But Sean walks in and reveals his grand plan about covering all seven parties and completing the legendary tour so that they could be a part of the wall of Black honour in school.

With all planning, Kunle and Sean leave for the party, but Kunle remembers that he didn’t lock the fridge door where his bacteria culture is kept. 

As this would cost him his Princeton admission, they decided to go back, but Sean was quite hesitant. 

While coming back to the lab, they notice that their apartment door is unlocked. They rush in to find a white girl lying unconscious on the floor.

Once they find their roommate, Carlos, Kunle suggests calling 911. However, Sean says that the cops won’t listen to anything after spotting three Brown guys with an unconscious white girl.

After a lot of arguments and discussions, the three boys decide to take the unconscious girl to a hospital first. 

Sean is driving the car, and he is high. Thus, they turn their car at the sobriety checkpoint and take it to a different location. 

This turn brings them to the Omicron party, where the girl must have been partying before she loses her way. As Sean had argued before to drop off the girl at the party where she came from, after Carlos agreed, Kunle unwantedly decides to drop off the girl at the party.

However, that plan failed as some white boys chased Kunle thinking that he urinated on their sacred totem.

Meanwhile, the unconscious girl’s elder sister, Maddy, can’t find Emma anywhere and informs her friends Alicia and Raaf. So they track Emma through a mobile app, Find my friends and learn that her location is just a few blocks away from the party.

They start to cycle and follow the location. Soon, they spot a car in a neighbourhood where the boys stopped the car because Emma had to pee. Maddie figures out that Alicia is in it. 

They are following the car and have already called 911. At the same time, the boys notice that their tail light is out, which might get them into trouble. 

Thus, they decide to visit Sean’s cousin and borrow his car. However, Kunle feels uncomfortable among the black guys when they reach there as he is brought up differently.

But Carlos tries his best to get the unconscious girl’s name and education details after talking to her. Unfortunately, he learns that she is a high school girl. Knowing this, Sean’s cousin denies giving them his car.

The boys decide to take the roads by the forest as there is less chance of getting caught. Maddie and her friends are following them.

While driving, Emma wakes up and panics after finding herself with three strange boys. Due to this, they had to stop the car, and Emma immediately ran into the woods.

The boys follow her. But they have lost track of Emma. Finally, Kunle gets frustrated and fights with Sean. 

While this is going on, Carlos spots Emma on a tree throwing up. They get her down and take her to the car.

Maddie and her friends see this and call 911 again. Moreover, Maddie has taken up a fight with Sean and Kunle. 

When they calm down and have a look at Emma, they find that she is getting cold, and they need to take her to the hospital immediately.

If you still have doubts about the ending, here is a detailed breakdown.

Emergency ending explained in detail:

Life or death

Emma is still unconscious and has vomited immensely, leading to a severe weakness that has caused her heartbeat to slow down. She is slowly getting cold, and Maddie is tense and crying.

As Kunle is first aid certified, he goes forward to give CPR to Emma. As a CPR rhythm control, they all sing “Stayin alive.” But they are slowly losing her.

Meanwhile, Carlos is driving the car and notices that they are being followed. And soon, the car following them turns on its siren, and we know they are the cops.

The cops keep announcing to pull over the car, but Kunle asks Carlos to keep driving until they reach the hospital.

Thus, he keeps driving until they reach the hospital’s emergency ward. But as they pull over, the cops take everyone out of the car but put Kunle on the floor with a gun on his head.

Kunle is very scared and keeps saying that he was just trying to help. However, Maddie keeps shouting that they need to get Emma into the hospital or she will die.

Eventually, the cops get medics for Emma and get the gun out of Kunle. Kunle feels relieved but is scared as he was the only one to be put under a gun because he was black.

After interrogation, Alicia and Raaf say that Kunle was trying to help and is a good person. Hearing this, the cop let Kunle and Carlos go with a warning.

Friendships

Back in the forest, when Kunle decides to take Emma to the hospital, Sean decides to leave as he does not want to get strangled into all this and fears that eventually the cops will think that the black boys are the criminals.

Thus, Sean leaves the site and goes to a party. After getting too high and throwing up, Sean decides to go back to the lab where Kunle had left the fridge open. He tries to use a fork to close the fridge, but upon failing, he just sleeps on the ground, supporting the fridge to be closed.

After the cops leave Kunle and Carlos, they go to the lab and find Sean there. Sean apologizes to Kunle and says that he is very happy for Kunle getting into Princeton.

However, Kunle is traumatized and now understands why Sean did what he did. He cries and tells Sean that he has never felt so afraid in his life until the cops put him under a gunpoint.

Sean comforts him. After a while, Kunle checks his bacteria cultures and finds that all of it is okay. He also motivates Sean and says that he will also do good in life.

Trauma for life

The next day, Kunle invites Bianca, and they all celebrate Kunle’s Princeton acceptance with a  cake that his mother sent. 

But soon, the bell rings, and Kunle finds Emma and Maddie at the door. They had come to apologize. Kunle and Carlos accept their apologies and are cool now.

However, Kunle has developed a trauma for life. He hears a police siren far off and panics over the past day’s events. 


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