WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Madness.
A mysterious figure under the online alias Brother 14 is the secret leader of a white nationalist far-right extreme group called The Forge in Colman Domingo’s Netflix conspiracy thriller seriesThe Madness. Created by playwright Stephen Belber ofThe Laramie ProjectandTapeacclaim,The Madnessfollows Muncie Daniels' rapidly unraveling life after discovering a dead bodyin a remote cabin neighboring his wooded rental home. AlthoughThe Madnesspulls a lot of inspiration from reality, or at least reality-based people and ideologies found in the modern American social and political climates, theNetflix limited series is not based on a true story.
Colman Domingo leads thecast ofThe Madnessalongside John Ortiz, Deon Cole, Marsha Stephanie Blake, and Tamsin Topolski. ThroughoutThe Madness,Muncie is a CNN contributor who believes he’s being set up for murder. He must rely on support from his family and a few helpful sources to clear his name. By theend ofThe Madness, Muncie tries to enact revenge on a mysteriousshadowy figure named Rodney Kraintz, who is a majority investor in the big-tech company Revitalize. He connects a dark web between Kraintz, Revitalize, and The Forge, which is an armed extremist group led by the online thought leader known as Brother 14.
The Forge Is A Fictional Domestic Terrorist Group
They were led by Mark Simon aka Brother 14
In the Netflix conspiracy thriller seriesThe Madness, The Forge is a fictional white supremacist group and domestic terrorist group. Mark Simon, or Brother 14, was the leader of the group of neo-Nazis who developed a massive following online through his extensive posts and forums. In The Madness, The Forge is depicted as a group of a few dozen white men, but it’s implied that The Forge has a national outreach due to Brother 14’s platform. As the founder of The Forge,Mark Simon orchestrated the meetings and planned events regarding the extremist groupand professed their ideologies.
The Forge is a collection of fringe extremist individuals who rallied around Brother 14’s cause. Little did they know that Brother 14 was on Revitalize’s radar. Rodney Kraintz became concerned about Mark Simon’s growing online influence and interest in politics, which is why he had him killed. Lost without their leader, The Forge didn’t know what to do but held meetings to try and get to the bottom of it. Despite appearing to be supportive of Mark Simon’s wife, Lucie, the group was connected through a shared racist belief in white supremacy.The Forge doesn’t do much in the series until the finalein which a rogue member murders Rodney Kraintz.
The Forge Stands For White Supremacy & Far-Right Extremism
They were influenced by Mark Simon, who was paid by Revitalize
The Forge is an inherently racist group of white supremacists, meaning that Mark Simon aka Brother 14 was undoubtedly a racist man and thought leader. They are similar and likely inspired by actual white supremacist groups but are not directly representative of any real persons or organizations. While Stu Magnusson worked closely with Rodney Kraintz and his eventual murderer, Julia Jayne, he was not a member of The Forge. He and Kraintz were both majority owners of Revitalize who paid Mark Simon to influence elections and public opinion. Because of this,Mark Simon could have simply been a shill spreading propaganda online for profit.
The Forge was the closest group of white supremacists to Mark Simonand likely the only members who knew his true identity. The rest of his 5 million followers across the country knew him as Brother 14.The Madnessdoes not spend much of its eight episodes getting into the specific ideologies and aims of The Forge. They are mostly meant to represent the loyal group of followers that Simon has among the masses. The rogue Forge member who killed Rodney Kraintz at the end ofThe Madnessdid not take any official orders from the extremist group and instead acted alone in the assassination.
Mark Simon Or “Brother 14” Was The Leader Of The Forge
Muncie discovers that Mark Simon is the seemingly friendly neighbor driving the truck who encountered Muncie in the first episode ofThe Madness.Simon was killed by Ant, a member of Profane Discord, and Don Sloss Jr, a former military serviceman. Revitalize hired them to kill Mark after Mark backed out of a business deal. Ant and Don were the two men who were wearing ski masks at the beginning ofThe Madnessand attempted to kill Muncie in the woods. Muncie was able to get away but was relentlessly pursued by a covert fixer named Julia Jayne, who was also a silent investor in Revitalize. At the end ofThe Madness, The Forge is without their leader but takes revenge by killing Kraintz.
The Madness
Cast
Muncie Daniels is a political consultant-turned-TV pundit who may have lost his way in life. While on a work sabbatical in the Poconos to write the great American novel, Muncie finds himself the only witness to the murder of a well-known white supremacist, and now he’s being framed for the crime. Muncie is forced to go on the run in a desperate fight to clear his name and unravel a global conspiracy before time runs out. Along the way he’ll reconnect with his family, find unlikely allies, and fight against disinformation in a post-truth age.
