Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Coffee & Kareem.
Netflix's Coffee & Kareem ends with the dirty cop plot being foiled and everyone somehow surviving. The latest Netflix original film, directed by Michael Dowse (Stuber), is an unofficial buddy cop adventure following in the footsteps of great entries in the genre - and other Netflix originals like Spenser Confidential. But, the unique twist given to Coffee & Kareem is the partners at the center: officer James Coffee (Ed Helms) and his girlfriend's 12-year-old son, Kareem Manning (Terrence Little Gardenhigh).
Coffee & Kareem begins after Kareem discovers that his mother, Vanessa Manning (Taraji P. Henson), is in a relationship with Coffee, and he does not approve. Kareem hatches a plan to hire criminals to mess with Coffee with the hope that this will end Coffee's relationship with his mom. However, when Kareem meets with the criminals, he accidentally witnesses something he shouldn't see. The criminals kill a dirty cop named Steve Choi (Terry Chen) and Coffee, who was outside the building after taking Kareem to the location, hears the gunshots. Since he just recently got demoted for letting Orlando Johnson (RonReaco Lee), one of the criminals, escape his custody, Coffee leaps into action for a chance at redemption and to save his girlfriend's son.
The oddball pairing of Coffee and Kareem is the centerpiece of Coffee & Kareem, but they quickly become involved in a much larger plot. Coffee is framed for murdering a cop and kidnapping Kareem by the dirty cops in his station, led by detective Linda Watts (Betty Gilpin). All of this happens as they try to hide from Orlando Johnson but discover that Orlando and Watts are working together. With Coffee attempting to prove his innocence and take-down Watts, here's how Coffee & Kareem's story ends.
What Happens In Coffee & Kareem's Ending
The Coffee & Kareem ending is set into motion once Coffee convinces Orlando to turn against Watts. Using some strange methods, Coffee is able to get Orlando to detail his relationship with Watts and what she has planned. Her end game for the film is to pull off a major drug deal with French-Canadians at an old steel mill. Watts ultimately gets leverage on Coffee when her men kidnap Vanessa and Kareem as they try to leave him because of the danger he's put them in. Coffee doesn't sit idly by, though, and goes to the steel mill with the hopes that he can save his girlfriend and her son.
When Coffee gets to the steel mill, he proposes an exchange to Watts: she can have him to do with as she pleases as long as Vanessa and Kareem are able to go free. After Watts and Coffee argue over how the exchange will go down, Coffee steps out of his cop car with two grenades he threatens to use if Watts doesn't listen to him. Instead, Watts shoots him in the shoulder causing the grenades to drop to the ground. Coffee kicks one over near Watts, her men, and the drugs, killing one henchman and burning a pallet full of drugs. When Coffee, Vanessa, and Kareem attempt to escape during the chaos, Watts sends Orlando after them. But, it doesn't take long for Vanessa to convince him to turn against Watts.
With Orlando on their side, the group tries to escape the premises but the French-Canadians have arrived to complete the drug deal with Watts and aren't pleased to see their product burnt. Watts agrees to sell them the drugs at a 25 percent discount, but the Detroit police arrive before the deal closes. The fear caused by their arrival ignites a shootout that kills most of the French-Canadians and several of Watts' men. But, the shootout also causes nitric acid barrels to be shot and begin leaking the fluid all over the ground. Now that the location is on the verge of blowing up, Coffee and the group devise a new escape plan.
Coffee and Orlando create a diversion so Vanessa and Kareem can safely make their way to the cops. The two men then attempt to sneak out but run into Watts. Coffee tells Orlando to escape, and he does, leaving Coffee and Watts to square off. They fight one another and it ends with one of the French-Canadians lying nearby blowing himself up - and the entire warehouse - using his grenade pack. Miraculously, Coffee emerges from the explosion alive but with significant facial burns, and Watts is then found alive by firefighters. Once Watts sees that Coffee is still alive, she draws a gun and is about to shoot him but Vanessa takes Coffee's gun and kills Watts.
Coffee & Kareem's Dirty Cop Plan Explained
The death of detective Watts wraps up Coffee & Kareem's dirty cop plot, but some may be left wondering what exactly was her plan. Watts is positioned as the leader of the dirty cops in Detroit and she isn't the only one in the film. In addition to Choi, the film reveals that Captain Hill (David Allen Grier) is also dirty. He tried to convince Watts to let Coffee in on their operation before, but Watts laughed off that idea. In a surprising move, Watts is the one who kills Hill during Coffee & Kareem in order to get a bigger cut of their payday.
Coffee & Kareem explains that Watts became the hot shot detective that she is because of Orlando snitching on his suppliers. This list of criminals leads Watts to make multiple high profile drug busts, but they weren't always as they appeared. The most recent bust she had against Orlando involved the cops taking fake drugs that Choi had swapped out so the real ones could be used in the deal with the French-Canadians. The involvement of the dirty cops is why Orlando was able to escape Coffee's custody in the first place, as Coffee detailed that his handcuffs were not properly fitted. It doesn't appear that setting up Coffee as a criminal was ever part of their plan, but rather that this was done after he got too close to finding out the truth.
Coffee & Kareem Leaves The Door Open For A Sequel
With Coffee & Kareem's ending and dirty cops, the Netflix film does not do much to set up another adventure with Coffee. The death of Watts, her men, and the other dirty cops pretty much wraps up that storyline. Coffee, Vanessa, and Kareem are all reunited, with Coffee and Vanessa still in a relationship and Coffee and Kareem no longer hate each other. Orlando has even turned away from a life of crime to get back into music, and most of his men died in the finale as well.
There is one potential aspect of the ending for a sequel to explore though, as Rodney (Andrew Bachelor) escapes the shootout with a couple of bags of cocaine and some of the French-Canadians' money. He is a loose end in this case and one that Coffee could pursue in a sequel. Otherwise, a potential sequel to Coffee & Kareem has a mostly blank slate that could allow the story to go in any direction the filmmakers and Netflix want.