What Does the Ringing Sound Mean?

Viewers searching for a Painkiller smoke alarm meaning will find the explanation here. What does the ringing sound mean? Here’s the full breakdown of the Painkiller fire alarm.

What does the smoke alarm mean in Painkiller?

The smoke alarm sounds whenever Richard Sackler is battling with his conscience. The smoke alarm is a metaphor for Sackler’s conscience, which goes ignored.

While his good conscience goes ignored, with him ultimately disregarding the alarm bells ringing in his head, there is at least a moment where he recognizes that there is a potential redemption by not continuing down the darker path.

Of course, Richard Sackler digs himself deeper and deeper into a hole, ignoring the alarm bells.

Why is the fire alarm ringing at the start and end of Painkiller?

The fire alarm ringing at the start and end of Painkiller signifies Richard Sackler starting and continuing down a dark path, going against his good conscience.

The meaning of the fire alarm is left up to the audience to interpret, though it’s clear that it sounds during pivotal moments and during crises.

With the loud fire alarm sounding, the audience is placed in an uncomfortable state. The sound is almost too loud to bear, possibly reflecting Sackler’s conscience screaming at him. The relatively loud volume of the alarm, which drowns out other noise, is clearly intentional.

We see the Sackler name crumbling at the show’s end. One interpretation could be that the name turns to ash, with the reputation being burned, which could also explain the fire alarm.

For more Painkiller content, here’s the series’ ending explained which includes details on what happened to Purdue Pharma and Richard Sackler. For other entertainment content, here’s ComingSoon’s review of Heart of Stone, in which the Netflix movie is described as “Gal Gadot’s bland action thriller.”