Painkiller: What is the meaning behind the smoke alarm?
NetflixPainkiller, the poignant new series about Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis, has dropped on Netflix, and a question has arisen among the viewers: what is the meaning behind the incessant smoke alarm in Richard Sackler’s house?
In 2021, Dopesick arrived on Hulu, giving us a deeper understanding of the impact Purdue Pharma and the aggressive marketing of its highly addictive opioid OxyContin had on communities across America.
The miniseries also introduced us to the Sackler family members behind Purdue as they pulled the strings on the marketing campaign with one objective in mind: profit. Over many years, they made billions of dollars, although now the firm is in hot water following thousands of lawsuits and a bankruptcy claim.
A fictionalized retelling of these events is the basis of a new Netflix show titled Painkiller, which sees Matthew Broderick star as the nefarious Richard Sackler. A recurring theme throughout involves a smoke alarm, which appears to beep on repeat anytime the character is in his home – but what does this mean? Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Painkiller: What is the meaning behind the smoke alarm?
The smoke alarm, which continues to beep during times of crisis, could symbolize the mounting pressure Richard faced every time Purdue ran into another roadblock. Or, it could be a subconscious doubt in the back of his head – deep down, perhaps he knew what he was doing was wrong but chose to ignore the warning signs.
The opening scene of Painkiller shows Richard as he’s awoken by the beeping, before hunting around his house to find the source of the racket. Eventually, he discovers it’s coming from a smoke alarm in one of the dining rooms. He calls on a housekeeper for help, telling him that he needs his sleep as it’s a “very important day.”
NetflixHe’s not wrong: we later learn that this scene is a flash forward in time to the first day of his deposition over Purdue and the opioid crisis. As the series continues, we learn more about Richard and how he put Purdue – and his family – in a compromising position by investing heavily in the development of OxyContin.
His uncle, Arthur Sackler, who was instrumental in the rise of the business, had passed away in 1987, but in Painkiller he comes to Richard in visions. Often when Purdue is in crisis, and often accompanied by the consistent beeping.
In Episode 2, for instance, we learn about Curtis Wright of the FDA, who was responsible for approving the drug to be sold as a prescription. Richard thought it would be a breeze – as said by US Attorney Edie Flowers: “Richard spent a sh*t ton of money assuming he’d walk right through the FDA approval. But they found the one guy who gave a sh*t.”
While Richard wanted to see OxyContin being prescribed by doctors for all manner of pain issues, Wright understandably had some concerns about dolling out a highly addictive and potent opioid to so many patients.
The series cuts to Richard getting a talking to from his Sackler superiors, who suggest they “backtrack” and just focus on getting approval for the drug to be the replacement of Purdue’s other medication, MS Contin, which is only used for more serious cases such as cancer pain treatment.
“If we do that, we won’t make enough money to cover our losses and then we really are done,” says Richard.
There was a lot on the line, and the stress clearly gets to him; in the following scene, Richard is seen wandering around his house as the smoke alarm goes off. Arthur comes to him in a vision and tells him to convince Wright to approve OxyContin for his intended purposes.
Even when Richard reaches a solution in his head, deciding the best way to move forward is to win Wright over, the sound continues like a nagging doubt in the back of his mind.
The beeping rears its ugly head again in Episode 3 when worrying reports start to flood in about widespread OxyContin abuse. Rather than taking responsibility for the issue, which devastated thousands of lives across the US, Richard started a campaign in which he vowed to “hammer the abusers,” placing the blame on those who became addicted to his painkiller.
Despite remaining steadfast in his ideas, the smoke alarm is always lingering. While an obvious explanation is that the sound is simply a representation of the mounting pressure Richard was facing, an arguably stronger theory is that it symbolizes his subconscious doubts.
Rather than addressing the societal harm his actions were having, he chose to ignore the warning signs for personal gain.
During the opening and closing scenes, the Simon & Garfunkel song ‘Sound of Silence’ plays in the background alongside the alarm, perhaps indicating that Richard was totally alone in his life and his actions.
As said by Cinemablend’s Riley Utley: “To me, the alarm signified the persistent calls to put a stop to the selling of OxyContin on such a mass scale, and the Simon & Garfunkel song alluded to how this guy had acted in a way that left him all by himself.”
Painkiller is available to stream on Netflix now. You can check out our other coverage below: