Tilly didn’t get the ending she expected Escape at Dannemoraalthough she probably got what she deserved. The Showtime miniseries tells the story of the real-life 2015 prison break at the Clinton Correctional Center in Dannemora, New York. In eight episodes, inmates Richard Matt (Benicio del Toro) and David Sweat (Paul Dano) plan and execute their daring escape, which involves prison employee Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell stealing necessary tools. It took several months, but eventually, Sweat and Matt were able to cut through the wall behind their cells and enter a neglected laundry area to a steam pipe that led to the city sewer.
Matt and Sweat planned for Tilly to be the getaway driver in E.escape in Dannemora. They promised the prison official that she would come with them to Mexico to live with them in paradise – a prospect that excited her, as Tilly had sexual and romantic relationships with Matt and Sweat. However, Matt and Sweat’s plan also included Tilly poisoning her husband, Lyle. In the end, she couldn’t do it, so Tilly abandoned Matt and Sweat to flee into the woods on foot in the true story of Escape to Dannemora. Ultimately, Matt is shot and killed, and Sweat is brought back to prison – while Tilly gets her own punishment.
Tilly’s fate and final prison scene explained
Tilly’s ending is full of irony
While the end of Escape at Dannemora is fairly straightforward and lines up well with the actual story telling, Tilly’s final moments on screen are a little more ambiguous. The character, played by Patricia Arquette, is seen in her new prison during her last scene, talking to a corrections officer about what she plans to tell the judge during her upcoming trial. Tilly is very friendly and familiar with the COa fact reinforced by the man’s offer to give the prisoner a “party” before heading to court and likely to a new arrest the next day. We never hear Tilly’s response, but this scene is still quite revealing.
Tilly is accused of being a serial adulteress in Escape at Dannemoraand his final moments on screen imply that this will continue. Her ending is ironic, as the inappropriate dynamic she had with the inmates at Clinton Correctional Center was reversed. This makes for the final grand conclusion of the Showtime series, highlighting the repeated corruption within the prison system that allowed Matt and Sweat’s great escape to happen right under everyone’s noses. Just as Tilly’s infidelity has not changed, neither has the fundamental issue of the prison system.
What happened to David Sweat in Escape At Dannemora’s Ending
David Sweat came so close to freedom
Tilly is finishing in Escape at Dannemora required some creative liberties on the part of director Ben Stiller and the series’ writers, but the fate of the on-screen inmates followed the book. Richard Matt may have been the one who cut all the deals and manipulated the system, but David Sweat was the real mastermind when it came to the semantics of the breakup. He had worked for months to break through and tear down the various obstacles that prevented him from entering the manhole outside the prison. In the end, Sweet was the one most likely to escape, free and clear. Of course, it didn’t work out that way.
If Sweat had escaped arrest during his training attempt instead of going back for Matt, he probably would have made it to Canada.
Richard Matt’s drunkenness became a problem for Sweat, so the last man went his own way and almost made it to the Canadian border. He was just 25 kilometers from his objective when he was spotted, chased and shot by a police officer. After being taken to the hospital, Sweat was questioned by New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott. That Escape at Dannemora the character eventually pointed out that if Sweat had escaped from prison during his training attempt, instead of going back for Matt, he probably would have made it to Canada. It’s another layer of irony in the series finale.
What happened to Richard Matt in Escape At Dannemora’s Ending
Richard Matt sabotaged his own chance at freedom
Richard Matt was cunning, intelligent and quite likable throughout the prison break TV show, but it all fell apart at the end. While certainly manipulative, Matt’s artistic ability and the relative kindness and respect shown to the COs made him appear trustworthy, and it was precisely this that caused Tilly and CO Gene Palmer to fall so easily into the prisoner’s hands. Sweat also trusted Matt with all his heart. Although the former did most of the escape work, he claims at the end of the Escape at Dannemora that he never considered leaving Matt behind.
Of course, Matt quickly became trouble when the pair escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility. He found several bottles of alcohol in an abandoned hunting cabin early in the journey, and his ability to make decisions deteriorated from there. Matt becomes unpredictable and reckless, drinking bad water, moving slowly through the forest, and even trying to attack a police officer. Sweat eventually abandoned Matt, and the last man foolishly shot at a passing vehicle, hoping to kidnap him. This heavily strained the police force, and Matt, highly intoxicated, was shot down and killed.
Matt and Sweat’s Complete Prison Break Plan Explained
How it was all supposed to happen (and where it went wrong)
Matt and Sweat’s escape plan in Escape at Dannemora depended entirely on the incompetence of the staff at the Clinton Correctional Center. Matt only knew about the utility area behind his and Sweat’s cell in the first place because CO Palmer had told him to hide his smuggled paints downstairs. Matt then convinced Tilly to sneak in saws, hiding them inside ground beef, which she froze and had Palmer deliver to the inmates. Once through the walls of their cells, Matt and Sweat just needed to figure out how to get from the utility area to the free world beyond.
It was here that Sweat became the mastermind behind the plan. He used more tools hidden by Tilly, or taken from the laundry area, to break through two brick walls blocking the path. When he reached the much thicker concrete wall that served as an underground barrier to the prison, Sweat initially planned to slowly make his way. However, he noticed that the steam pipe was turned off during the summer and was therefore safe (although cramped) to climb. On the other side, the pair of inmates were in the sewage system, which exited through a manhole in the center of a nearby intersection.
The escapees knew that Tilly’s husband, Lyle, would report that his wife had not returned home hours before they were noticed missing from the prison.
Tilly should wait for Matt and Sweat at this intersection with the escape vehicle and supplies. However, the escapees knew that Tilly’s husband, Lyle, would report that his wife had not returned home hours before they were noticed missing from prison. Therefore, Matt gave Tilly pills to poison Lyle. This is where the plan really went wrong. Tilly suffered a panic attack while thinking about giving Lyle the pills and went to the hospital instead of meeting Matt and Sweat at the intersection. Although Tilly made the right decision here, it did not serve the escaped convicts well.
How Escape At Dannemora’s Ending Compares to the True Story
The Showtime series came close to the known truth
Like any story based on real life, Escape at Dannemora dramatized and took creative liberties with the escape from the Clinton Correctional Center. Many private conversations had to be invented and assumptions were made about the truth. The real Tilly Mitchell maintained during her trial, sentencing and furthermore she was threatened and assaulted by Richard Mattbut this was never an angle taken by Escape at Dannemora. Furthermore, because Matt was killed before he could be interrogated, any scene featuring only that character was an invention of the Showtime series.
Still, many details about Matt and Sweat’s escape, Tilly’s relationship with her husband, the involvement and neglect of prison officials, and more are directly in line with the public account of what happened in 2015. Director Ben Stiller used the published report of New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott to build the roadmap for Escape at DannemoraSo the events seen on screen are more or less how the authorities understand things to have happened in the prison. Of course, there are some details that the public will certainly never know.