Mo (2022) ending explained: Does Mo get back to America?

Mo is a show that follows the titular character Mo as he loses his job amidst a lack of US citizenship, and how he balances his multicultural identity. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers

Plot summary

Mo is a semi-autobiographical and dramatised story of Mo Najjar and his family, who are Palestinian refugees living in Houston for the last 22 years. 

After Mo ends up losing his job after an ICE raid due to his undocumented status, he resorts to working odd jobs to sustain himself and his family.

Despite living in the country for 22 years, the Najjars are still without citizenship due to the inept lawyer that they refer to, simply owing to the fact that he is an old family friend.

This undocumented status of his pushes him to work jobs in the lowest rung, with a constant worry of getting laid off. He launches his own side hustle, selling knock off designer brands- which eventually gets him into trouble.

Mo also does not tell his mother about being fired from his job, continuing to have a misplaced patriarchal role that he believes he has to follow, and provide for his family at all costs.

He has a Mexican-Christian girlfriend, Maria and this is another plot point that the show explores. Mo keeps trying to convince his mother that Maria would one day convert to Islam, and this forms another conflict that Mo has to resolve.

Mo ends up developing a codeine addiction, only making the situation worse for himself. He questions faith, life and ideas of belonging too.

He is still unable to fully come to terms with the loss of his father, and keeps trying to fill in the role he had held. 

All these reasons catapult Mo into a time of great desperation and addiction, as he juggles between different work and finding another lawyer to aid his family in the citizenship process.

Mo and his family start their registration process from scratch again, and Mo’s mother aims to begin an olive oil venture of her own.

He is employed at an olive oil farm to put trackers on olive trees that were getting stolen from the farm premises.

His mother’s homemade olive oil business needed fresh olives, and Mo volunteers and strikes a deal with his employer to bring back stolen olive trees, in exchange for allowing his mother to utilise the farm space.

Mo and his childhood friend Nick take things into their own hands when his employer gives up, and the two set out in a search to track down the stolen trees.

This builds up the base for the season’s cliffhanger ending- filled with adventure and unanswered questions, but a hope for a better outcome for Mo and his family.

Mo ending explained in detail:

How does Mo end up in Mexico?

When Mo and Nick head out to track down the stolen trees, the tracker leads them to a truck filled with the trees. The two investigate and look around, and get onto the truck.

In a hilariously concerning turn of events, the two find themselves on board a truck filled with stolen olive trees to Mexico, completely on accident.

Ironically enough, Mo accidentally deports himself to another country with no way back- the very thing he was struggling to escape from for the latter half of the series.

Because of the lack of US citizenship and passport, he finds himself unable to make it back home like Nick, without resorting to other means.

Does Mo escape from the coyotes?

After trying to go back home through a legal route, Mo is forced to get in touch with a group of coyotes to find a way to make it back to his hometown.

He recognises one of the olive tree thieves, and uses his contacts to get in touch with the coyotes who form a plan to get him back across the border.

But when an unfortunate accident involving the tunnel he was supposed to use occurs, the coyotes begin to suspect Mo and think he works for a rival gang.

The plan to go back home fizzles out, and it is left unclear if Mo actually makes it to a safe space.

Does Mo make it back home to America?

Before the coyotes can reach him, Mo gets on a call with his girlfriend Maria, who has family living in Mexico. He asks her to contact them for help, raising expectations for Mo to at least have a place to live, if he is unable to make it back home.

The season ends here, with no clear resolution to Mo’s situation, but whatever happens, it is only bound to get worse as there’s no legal route for Mo to make it back home to the US.


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