You know that feeling when you finish a movie and you’re just sitting there in the dark, staring at the credits, trying to figure out if you actually liked the ending or if it just traumatized you? That’s basically the universal experience for anyone who’s sat through What Happened to Monday the movie. It’s one of those weird, gritty sci-fi gems that Netflix scooped up back in 2017, and honestly, people are still arguing about it in 2026.
If you haven't seen it in a while, or you're just diving in, the premise is wild. Imagine a world so crowded that the government—led by a chillingly calm Glenn Close—decides you only get one kid. Any "extras" get put into "cryosleep." Fast forward to Willem Dafoe raising septuplets in a tiny apartment, naming them after days of the week, and making them all pretend to be one person: Karen Settman. It’s a logistical nightmare.
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But then Monday doesn't come home.
What Really Happened to Monday the Movie: The Twist Nobody Saw Coming
The title is a literal question, but the answer is way darker than a simple kidnapping. For most of the film, you think Monday is a victim. You’re watching the other sisters—all played by Noomi Rapace in a performance that probably should’ve won an award for the sheer amount of wig-changing involved—get picked off one by one. It’s brutal.
But here is the kicker: Monday wasn't taken. She sold them out.
I remember the first time I watched this; I was rooting for her to be in some high-tech lab being tortured so the sisters could rescue her. Nope. It turns out Monday fell in love with a security guard named Adrian and got pregnant. With twins. In a world where having a second child gets you incinerated, she panicked. She didn't just want to survive; she wanted to be the only Karen Settman.
The Deal With the Devil
Monday made a secret deal with Nicolette Cayman. She used the sisters' shared bank account—millions of euros they’d saved up from their high-powered corporate job—to fund Cayman’s political campaign. In exchange, Cayman was supposed to let Monday live a real life and "dispose" of the other six sisters.
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It's a total betrayal of the one rule their grandfather gave them: "What happens to one happens to all."
Why the Ending is So Polarizing
By the time we get to the finale, most of the sisters are dead. Sunday is gone. Wednesday gets sniped. Saturday gets blown up after finally having a "first time" with Adrian. Friday sacrifices herself in a massive explosion to save Thursday. It's a bloodbath.
When Thursday finally confronts Monday in that bathroom, it’s not just a fight; it’s a clash of two different kinds of survival. Monday is fighting for her unborn kids. Thursday is fighting for the family Monday murdered. Honestly, it’s hard to know who to side with, even though Monday is technically the "villain" at that point.
The Cryosleep Lie
The biggest gut-punch in What Happened to Monday the movie isn't even the betrayal. It’s the revelation that "cryosleep" is a total scam. Thursday and Adrian sneak into the Child Allocation Bureau and record a "procedure." Everyone thought the kids were being frozen for a better future.
They weren't. They were being put on a conveyor belt and burned alive.
That footage gets broadcast to the whole world at Cayman's big gala. It's a classic "downfall of the tyrant" moment, but it feels hollow because of how much it cost to get that footage out there.
The Logistics of Playing Seven People
We have to talk about Noomi Rapace.
The movie was originally written for a man, but the director, Tommy Wirkola, swapped it specifically because he wanted to work with her. She spent five months in Romania basically living in a vacuum. She had different playlists for each sister. Different perfumes. She’d wake up at 4 a.m., hit the gym, and then spend hours acting against green screens or tennis balls.
- Monday: The "perfect" one who cracked under the pressure.
- Tuesday: The stoner/hippie who ends up losing an eye (literally).
- Wednesday: The athlete who goes out like a total badass.
- Thursday: The rebel who eventually has to lead.
- Friday: The tech genius who was too shy to exist in the real world.
- Saturday: The party girl who just wanted to feel something.
- Sunday: The believer.
Doing that for 94 days straight? Most actors would lose their minds. Rapace actually said in interviews that she had nightmares for months afterward, dreaming about which "shoes" she was supposed to wear because her brain couldn't stop switching personalities.
Why We’re Still Talking About It in 2026
Sci-fi usually dates pretty fast, but this one feels weirdly relevant. The themes of overpopulation, government overreach, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for "the greater good" aren't going away. Plus, the ending doesn't give you a "happily ever after."
Sure, the one-child policy is abolished. Cayman is heading for the death penalty. But look at the final shot. Monday's twins are growing in an artificial womb, and Thursday and Tuesday are watching them. But the world is still overpopulated. Resources are still disappearing. There are now thousands of babies being born that the world can't feed.
It’s a "victory," but a messy one.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Movie
People always ask: Is there going to be a sequel? Probably not. Most of the sisters are dead, and the story of the Child Allocation Bureau is pretty much wrapped up. There’s been some talk about a prequel or a spin-off series, but nothing has actually moved past the "pitch" stage.
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Wait, what happened to the grandfather?
Willem Dafoe’s character, Terrence, dies of old age long before the main events of the movie. We only see him in flashbacks. He’s the one who set this whole "Seven Sisters" plan in motion, which was kind of a doomed idea from the start.
Where can I watch it now?
It’s still a Netflix original in the US, though in some countries like France or Italy, it was released in theaters under the title Seven Sisters. If you're looking for it on streaming, check Netflix first, but it sometimes pops up on VOD services depending on your region.
What to Watch Next if You Loved the Vibe
If you’re still craving that dystopian "one person playing multiple roles" itch, you should definitely check out:
- Orphan Black: This is the gold standard. Tatiana Maslany plays about a dozen clones, and it’s incredible.
- Children of Men: For that same "the world is ending and everything is grey" aesthetic.
- The Lobster: If you want something way weirder but still dealing with strict societal rules.
Honestly, the best way to process What Happened to Monday the movie is to watch it again and look for the clues Monday drops early on. She’s always a little too tense, a little too perfect. The breadcrumbs are there. It's a grim ride, but it's one of the few Netflix sci-fi movies that actually has something to say about how we treat each other when things get desperate.
To really get the most out of the film's legacy, you should look into the VFX breakdowns on YouTube. Seeing how they stitched seven Noomi Rapaces into one dinner scene is honestly more impressive than some of the stuff we see in big-budget Marvel movies today. It makes you appreciate the technical grind that went into making a mid-budget thriller look that seamless.
Go back and watch the "finger" scene from the beginning. Knowing that Monday was the one who had to go first—the one who had to set the example for her sisters to have their fingers chopped off—it explains a lot about why she eventually snapped. She bore the brunt of their grandfather’s "logic" before any of the others. It doesn't justify the murder, but it definitely makes her a more tragic figure than a standard villain.