They Cloned Tyrone, the latest mystery thriller on Netflix by Jule Taylor, blends elements from Jordan Peele’s Us, Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, and the Amazon series “I’m Virgo.” It shares a similar vibe with Black Mirror, delving into how the advancement of technology started to take control of the human mind, leading humanity either to prosperity or to its ultimate downfall. They Cloned Tyrone also provides a powerful social commentary on racism, shedding light on the complicated struggles faced by people of color in society. They have endured torment for years, which has left them with vulnerabilities and insecurities about their own existence. They Cloned Tyrone explores such darkness and represents this existential crisis through its protagonist, Fontaine, who discovers multiple clones of himself worldwide. This leads him to wonder who is responsible for this troubling situation.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
The film began in the neighborhood of Glen, where drug dealing, and minor crimes were commonplace. Fontaine (played by John Boyega) was one of the drug dealers involved in a dispute with a rival gang leader named Isaac. One day, while Fontaine and his friend Junebug were parking their car near a house, Fontaine accidentally hit one of Isaac’s gang members, breaking his leg. Fontaine didn’t offer any help or take him to the hospital, which infuriated the gang member. He contacted Isaac, urging him to take action against Fontaine.
Ignoring the whole matter, Fontaine headed home, and we caught a glimpse of his family. He had a little brother named Ronaldo, also known as Ronnie, who tragically lost his life at a young age. His mother always locked herself in a room, refusing to open the door for her son. Despite this, Fontaine still cared for his mom, never failing to make sure she had everything she needed.
Aside from all this, Fontaine had some issues with a local pimp named Slick Charles (played by Jamie Foxx), who owed him a lot of money. Fontaine went to Slick’s home to collect what he was owed. Meanwhile, Slick and one of his sex workers, Yo Yo (played by Teyonah Parris), had a small argument. After Yo Yo left, Fontaine, in a fit of rage, stormed into Slick’s house to find his money. Slick tried to stop him, but Fontaine managed to collect the money he deserved and left. However, fate took a tragic turn when Isaac’s men discovered Fontaine’s whereabouts and shot him to death in his car. Slick heard the gunshot, went outside, and found Fontaine dead. But the next morning, Fontaine mysteriously woke up in his bed, completely unaware of what had happened the night before.
Did Fontaine Die Or Survive?
After waking up and starting the day all over again, Fontaine resumed his usual activities, completely forgetting about his previous encounter with Slick and retrieving his money. He once again stormed into Slick Charles’s house, but this time Slick was extremely intimidated by Fontaine’s presence, believing him to be a ghost since he had seen Fontaine dead the night before. Slick tried to persuade Fontaine that he was dead and even took him to Yo Yo, who had also witnessed Fontaine’s lifeless body after the shooting. The trio began to investigate the strange events and soon realized that there was a larger scheme at play.
They discovered a house that concealed an elevator leading to a secret lab. Inside, they found a scientist with an afro conducting experiments with a drug and using Fontaine’s lifeless body to create identical clones of him. In a tense moment, Slick accidentally killed the scientist while trying to confront him. After leaving the lab, Fontaine couldn’t shake the feeling that he had actually died and that one of his clones was now walking the city.
The following day, while having fried chicken at a restaurant, the three of them noticed that the chicken seasoning seemed to influence people, causing them to laugh uncontrollably. Yo Yo, a fan of Nancy Drew, began to connect the dots, realizing that everything from the books they read to the food they ate and the cosmetics they used had the power to manipulate minds.
During their investigation, they encountered a beggar near the lottery center, where Fontaine had tried his luck several times. The beggar provided them with information about a church that most of the neighborhood frequented. Inside the church, they found a picture of Jesus pointing towards the church’s dais with his index finger. Fontaine followed the direction and finally uncovered a secret passage inside the church, leading them to the ultimate truth they had been seeking.
Why Was Old Fontaine Making Clones Of Black People?
Fontaine, Yo Yo, and Slick entered an underground laboratory through a secret passage. They disguised themselves as researchers in the lab to uncover the dark mystery lurking beneath Glen. They discovered several chambers where black people were being caged and manipulated by the scientists. These captives seemed to be puppeteered by some kind of mind control, following orders without question. Researchers and scientists were recording every detail of their lives in notebooks.
In one of those chambers, they found preserved clones of themselves. They managed to escape and took refuge in a bar. But the DJ at the bar was using mind-control music to manipulate the patrons. The DJ noticed the three and instructed the crowd to stop them. In the chaos, a clone of Fontaine named Chester emerged from a car, accompanied by a scientist named Nixon, who explained the purpose of the operation. They were creating clones to make the neighborhood peaceful, but Yo Yo objected, as it was robbing people of their free will. Nixon then demonstrated his power by controlling Fontaine’s mind, making him point a gun at himself, but eventually letting them escape.
Although they returned to their normal lives, Yo Yo planned to investigate the cloning procedure further to find a way out. Meanwhile, Isaac learned that Fontaine was still alive and tried to kill him again. But Fontaine, with Slick’s help, staged his death to get back to the underground lab. There, they confronted Nixon and got into a fight with him. Fontaine, in the meantime, managed to escape the researchers’ hold and entered a secret chamber, where he encountered an older version of himself, who was revealed to be the mastermind geneticist behind the cloning of humans. He claimed he was the original and had created numerous clones, intending to transform Black people into white people to end violence and racism. He also elaborated that the reason behind this cloning procedure was none other than his long-lost brother Ronnie, who was unjustly killed by white people. This incident motivated him to clone black people to ultimately transform them into white people, so the violence against people of color could be terminated for good.
Young Fontaine rejected this reasoning, understanding that it isn’t fair or right in any way to eradicate race for no matter what. But old Fontaine was adamant in his decision, intending to finish young Fontaine, who now had vast knowledge about their secret operation. However, young Fontaine had already learned the spells used to control clones. In a similar manner, he cast the spell “Olympia Black” to take control over Chester’s mind and directed him to kill old Fontaine. As Chester put a bullet in the old one’s head, the clone-making chapter came to a permanent close—at least, that’s what we believed up until now. In the meantime, Yo Yo and Slick managed to knock out Nixon and free the caged individuals from the underground lab. Shortly after the rescue, news of this massive cloning operation spread like a wildfire. As Yo Yo and Slick asked Fontaine about his plans, he expressed his desire to travel the world.
What Did The Ending Scene Signify?
In the mid-credit scene o They Cloned Tyrone, we catch a glimpse of another Fontaine clone waking up in a different part of the world. He went by the name Tyrone and began his day like any other, trying his luck with lottery tickets and asking his mother from behind the closed door if she needed anything. One day, while hanging out with his friends at home, they saw a shocking news report on TV showing people emerging from underground labs without any clothes on. To Tyrone’s surprise, he spotted another version of himself, Fontaine, being stopped by a reporter. This revelation left Tyrone speechless, and his friends were equally shocked after seeing another version of Tyrone on the TV.
The film’s ending scene signifies that these cloning chambers are being exposed in various locations worldwide, but the numerous Fontaine clones are still scattered across the globe, unaware of their history and origin. Each clone’s existence is built on manipulation and genetic experiments, which is why they have no knowledge of being clones.
They Cloned Tyrone ended with an open-ended conclusion, leaving the fate of the Fontaine clones uncertain. The audience is left to ponder whether these clones will continue with their lives, oblivious to the existence of other clones worldwide, or if they will come together to uncover the truth behind their existence. It’s up to the audience and the filmmakers to decide whether a sequel will be made to explore these questions further.
