‘One Piece’ on Netflix Ending Explained: Who’s the Man Looking at Luffy’s Wanted Poster?

One of Netflix’s most hyped originals has finally premiered on the streaming seas: “One Piece.”

From series developers Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, “One Piece” is based on the manga of the same name by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), an optimistic young man who vows to one day be King of the Pirates. In eight episodes, Netflix’s adaptation was able to capture 95 chapters of the manga.

Because the live-action adaptation is so faithful to its source material, that means we can figure out roughly where “One Piece” wants to go if there is a future for this series. Wondering who that man was at the end of Season 1? Here’s what to know about Smoker and why he’s important to this show’s future.

Spoiler alert: Read on to learn how Season 1 of “One Piece” on Netflix ends

How does “One Piece” Season 1 end?

By the end of the first season, Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) achieved two of his goals: he got his face on a wanted poster and secured his own pirate crew. The former happened because of Nezumi (Rory Acton-Burnell). While the corrupt Marine captain was looking for Luffy on the orders of the pirate captain Arlong (McKinley Belcher III), he placed a bounty on Luffy’s head for 30 million berries — the highest bounty placed on any pirate in the East Blue.

Episode 8, titled “Worst in the East,” shows the Straw Hat pirates’ friends and loved ones smiling over the wanted poster. But not everyone ends the season smiling. Buggy the Star Clown (Jeff Ward) and Alvida (Ilia Isorelýs Paulino) — two pirate captains Luffy messed with earlier in the season — vow to kill Luffy upon seeing the poster.

As for the main crew, Season 1 ends with Nami (Emily Rudd), Zoro (Mackenyu), Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson) and Sanji (Taz Skylar) officially pledging their loyalty to the Straw Hat pirate crew. They all announce their goals to one another: Luffy to be King of the Pirates, Nami to draw a map of the world, Zoro to become the world’s greatest swordsman, Sanji to find the fabled All Blue and Usopp to become a brave warrior of the sea. The crew then presents Luffy with a sail that’s been branded with his straw hat logo.

Season 1 ends with Straw Hat gang cheering and laughing. But it’s not all fun and games.

Who is the man looking at Luffy’s wanted poster?

“One Piece” Season 1 slips in one final cliffhanger before it comes to an end. After Luffy and his crew celebrate their newfound loyalty to each other, an unknown man looks at Luffy’s wanted poster. He then puts out one of his two cigars on the piece of parchment, causing it to go up in flames.

Though the Netflix series doesn’t reveal who this character is, his two cigars give him away. That mystery man is Smoker, a Marine vice admiral and the Commander of the G-5 Marine base.

Smoker is the main antagonist of the Loguetown Arc of the “One Piece” manga. That arc is the last one in the East Blue saga (“One Piece” is massive), which means the crew is only one step away from making it to the Grand Line, a stretch of ocean with bigger, more terrifying pirates. The Grand Line is where Luffy and his friends ultimately want to go because it is rumored to contain the fabled pirate treasure, the One Piece.

In the manga, Smoker appears around the time the crew arrives at Loguetown, which is the last town before the entrance to the Grand Line. In addition to facing off against this Marine who’s made it his mission to capture Luffy, the crew has to battle some of their old adversaries. Basically, if there’s a Season 2, prepare for a big fight.

All 8 episodes of “One Piece” Season 1 are streaming on Netflix.

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