Who Was Officer Reba Really Working For? Cocaine Bear Twist Explained

By the time Officer Reba shows up in Cocaine Bear, it seems like she’s there to save the day, but her sudden appearance actually creates a big twist.

Cocaine Bear is full of unexpected plot twists, but one of the biggest arrives towards the end when Officer Reba (Ayoola Smart) shows up in the middle of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest at the same time as Syd White (Ray Liotta), the drug dealer in charge of collecting the cocaine stash dumped over it from a smuggler’s plane. It comes as quite a shock to her coworker Bob, the investigator on the case, and Syd’s son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), who has begrudgingly agreed to help his father find the bags of cocaine that the 500-pound black bear hasn’t gotten into. Until then, Reba was thought to be back at the station, watching Bob’s adorable dog, Rosette.

Reba is mostly removed from the events of Cocaine Bear and the animal’s 11-person kill count, which includes hikers, park rangers, and EMTs that get in the way of its next whiff of cocaine. Mostly she’s seen at the police station, but by the time she reappears in the movie, it’s unclear if she’s there to help Bob or has a more nefarious purpose. What does become clear, however, is that she’s just as embroiled as Sari (Keri Russell), the two children under her protection, and everyone else who has run afoul of the drug-fueled bear.

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Why Reba Was Secretly Working With Syd In Cocaine Bear (& For How Long?)

Reba secretly working with Syd isn’t as improbable as it seems, given that he needed someone inside law enforcement, and she could earn herself a cut of the cocaine delivery. When Bob began his investigation of the missing cocaine, he ascertained that the shipment involved Syd facilitating shipments between St. Louis and Mexico, but an animal on drugs wasn’t something he was prepared for. Unfortunately, this was also not the kind of intelligence Reba could provide Syd either when they showed up in the forest.

The reactions of Eddie and Daveed to Reba’s sudden appearance hint at how long she’s been working with Syd and the rest of his gang. Eddie seems genuinely surprised to see Reba, indicating that she’s become part of the operation since Joan died of cancer, and he took off, leaving his son in Syd’s not-so-capable hands. However, the fact that Daveed doesn’t seem very shocked to see her, combined with the fact that he was sent to find Eddie and bring him back into the fold at the beginning of Cocaine Bear, implies Daveed and Reba have worked together a lot longer.

Why Daveed Saves Reba From Syd & Helps Her Leave

There’s nothing to indicate why Reba got involved with Syd’s enterprise other than monetary compensation, and by the end of Cocaine Bear, she leaves because of Syd’s greed. Syd doesn’t want to let her leave the bear’s cave, but Daveed standing in front of his raised weapon makes him reconsider shooting his associate. This selfless act on Daveed’s part makes it entirely feasible that Reba and Daveed were friends or, at one point, even romantically involved.

Of the people who make it through to the end of the movie, Daveed is one of the most physically maimed. After being stabbed in the back by a group of teenagers, chased by a cocaine-fueled bear, and having two fingers shot off by Bob, one would think he’d be the last person to place himself in front of a gun, but it’s clear he just doesn’t want to see anyone else get hurt. Instead, Daveed turns out to be a real hero, even at the risk of his favorite jersey.

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