The Exchange Ending Explained: Were Farida and Munira Able to Save the Kuwait Stock Exchange?

Netflix’s new Arabic drama series follows two women during the late 1980s working at the Kuwait Stock Exchange, representing the Bank of Tomorrow as clerks. It explores their difficulties navigating the job, being taken seriously in the workplace and subtle romantic tensions that happen within any workplace drama.

The series has six episodes, each ranging from 40 to 60 minutes.

The Exchange Ending Explained

Farida is watching her husband sign the divorce papers, and the show dives right into the difficulties a woman has after separating from a marriage. She is happy that there won’t be any more interactions with Omar, her husband, but after not working for 13 years, things have started to get a little haywire on the money front.

Omar doesn’t like that their daughter Jude goes to a British private school, so he completely cuts off her tuition fees from the school. To combat that, Farida decides to look for a job, but considering her long dry spell, her prospects look slim. However, she is reminded that her cousin, Munira keeps showing up to charity auctions to bid on the items after a fancy new job. Knowing this, she buys a dress from the mall and enters this event looking glamorous.

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The two have consistently had a bitter rivalry since childhood, often ending in passive-aggressive comments and insults. This time it was the auction items. Both the sisters decided to one-up each other in buying a sculpture, and eventually, both Munira and Farida went home with one. It has to be noted that Farida doesn’t have any money to engage in such frivolous spending. To repair this mistake, she asks Munira to help her find a job, and soon they are a part of the Kuwait Stock Exchange working together.

Munira wanted someone to spy on a company that was predicted to have its prices go up, and she knew that Farida’s husband was a manager there, so the two decided to work together to gain some easy cash out of it. Farida uses this opportunity to showcase her skills as a clerk for this bank and joins the same team as Munira.

Soon, the two of them are a unit, working together to make trades and convince their male colleagues that they are capable of making sound decisions that are made logically and professionally. But there are still some tensions between the two employees caused by other male employees who are against giving these two women any time of day. They are warring for attention and working against each other to make a mark as employees in front of their bosses to keep their jobs.

Between some troubles Munira was facing with a trade, she roped in Farida to help her, saying that the two could work together, investing in a share that would quickly grow in the market. People were convinced that it wouldn’t work and even bet against them to express their lack of faith. But the two prevailed and were able to prove that their instincts came from cold hard facts.

Soon, the men in the office started taking note of their talent, and Saud, their boss, even invited a journalist to take their interview, describing them as the future of finance. Farida is sceptical about this fluff piece, but Munira is more than happy to see her name in the papers. During this time, the Bank of Tomorrow team was attempting to short-sell a couple of shares, toppling the company out of the market. This led to major strife within the office and even caused Farida to lose a friend.

Soon enough, the war between Iraq and Iran broke out, causing further political tensions. Of course, the United States entered the stage, further ruining everything on the market, so much so that there was a crash incoming, and all the traders could do was sit and wallow in their choices of shares. Bank of Tomorrow’s owner is there and making sure that they are making the best choices in selling and investing.

However, there is so much commotion the next morning that Saud suffers a heart attack. Farida looks at the office’s state and runs to trip the fire alarm, causing more chaos and shutting down the market for the day, saving the jobs of people working there and the money they could have lost if the market hadn’t closed. Munira and her boss acknowledge that things could have gone horribly wrong, and she is promoted along with her cousin, who becomes the manager at the Exchange.

The first season ends here, leaving audiences wondering what will happen next at the Exchange once Munira and Farida take over, whether Farida and her romantic interest Khalid ever get over their strifes and if Jude will be able to go back to her private school now that Farida has moved up the ladder.

The Exchange is currently streaming on Netflix. How well do you think Farida and Munira will do in their new jobs? Let us know in the comments below.

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