So my one of my favourite TV series, with its rich story-telling, complicated characters and gorgeous cinematography has finally come to an end. Was it a satisfactory conclusion? Yes. Was it a perfect one? Guess it depends on what you're looking for in a conclusion. Compared to last year, the ending of season 2 was far quieter, more reflective and felt like an extended denouement, giving the characters proper endings and tying up most of the storylines. I say most, as there were plenty of things that were left unanswered.
Firstly, let's start with the flashback kicking off this episode. As per usual it is from 35 years ago with Lucy going into Milan's pub and blagging her way into getting a job with him. This scene is a complete mirror of Lucy's introduction in the first season and how she ends up working with Toni in the Lake Pub. It also marks Milan and Lucy's first encounter.
Back in the present day, Lucy is having a crisis after the Horde lose faith and abandon her. Her spirits are only uplifted when a police officer with an infantile crush on her gives her baby Nathan. Nathan appears to be some type of catalysing factor to restoring Lucy's authority as the Horde are ready to follow her again. What's so special about Nathan? I guess the fact that he was born from two dead parents for one thing.
But before we go too far into the Horde's narrative, I want to jump to another leader who has lost his authority: Pierre. Last episode, we saw that Pierre was part of Milan's death sect: The Circle, but he decides against killing himself at the last moment. In the 35 years that have followed, Pierre has been racked by guilt which he has attempted to compensate for by running the Helping Hand shelter and recreating a death sect of his own. However, he runs into problems when the captured Audrey kills and eats her mother before being shot dead herself. Pierre's followers leave him and he himself is confronted by Berg, Etienne and Victor (more on them later) who direct him to Milan. Interestingly, Milan seems to have undergone some enlightenment and abandoned his previous beliefs. But this isn't enough to stop Pierre from committing suicide. Milan then goes to join Toni in the Horde.
Now the first of my grumbles. This episode does little to nothing to tie up Toni and Serge's storyline. Toni becomes part of the Horde, whilst Serge goes back to the underpass to slowly decay to serve penitence for his crimes. Whilst I like this idea, it does raise problems for me. Firstly, the pair of them barely feature in this episode, but secondly, why doesn't the Horde want Serge to join them? We've seen before that they are eager to have every single returnee join them, but they don't seem to care about Serge. Both characters should have received a longer goodbye. In some ways I think that Esther was their goodbye episode.
Two other characters who don't join the Horde are Simon and Adele, who as Gwilym Mumford of the Guardian identifies, receives the most confusing, head-scratching goodbye. They head into the caves in the forest and there are taken by this mysterious returnee to the other side where they are younger and in their wedding clothes. The obvious subtext is that they've been given a chance to start again. The two have always been dedicated to each other and now they have an opportunity to live their lives. Although, as Mumford rightly points out, it is very strange that they completely forget about their baby son Nathan, despite how desperate they were to rescue him from the clutches of Lucy, last week. Little is mentioned of their daughter Chloe, either.
However, Chloe is in the safe hands of the Segurret family, whom behind a certain pair of characters I'll come to afterwards, are one of the driving forces behind this show. By having Camille come back to life, we see how the implications and consequences of this can tear the family unit apart. Sure you could argue we see the same thing with Adele, Simon and Chloe, but their narrative very much focuses on Adele and Simon's relationship with Chloe being not more than a plot device. Anyway, after the Segurret family and Chloe escape from the police station, they attempt to drive Camille out of the town, when who they run into but Pierre's minion Frederic. Frederic continues to show off his stupidity by shooting Camille and then being shot by Claire (again, interesting gender reversal, here.) It is also reveal that the lesions that have been appearing on the Returned are signs that they have to return to the Horde, which is what Camille opts to do upon her return. What follows is a very emotional goodbye between her and her family especially her sister Lena, before Camille joins Virgil and the Horde. In this moment, I think she grows up a little. Initially, I disliked Camille because of how she encapsulated stereotypical teenage angst and moodiness, but I've warmed to her and I like how she so willingly accepted her situation.
One thing I didn't like was how Berg and Etienne's narrative ended. Although this is because I don't think that Berg's character worked. His narrative was all over the place. Firstly, he was introduced as a dam-building expert, but then teams up with Jerome to access the dead part of town, before finally joining his father Etienne, last episode. And then this episode, Etienne chooses to leave him in favour of the Horde. This goodbye held no emotional weight for me, as we've not had any chance to see Berg and Etienne together. Whilst having your father tell you to forget him can be a crippling blow, I just didn't feel anything. I think their relationship could have been explored in much more detail.
Finally, we have come to Victor and Julie who are very much at the centre of everything. Firstly, let's discuss the second flashback of the episode, where we see Victor returning for the umpteenth time in his father's home. The two of them live happily for 35 years until Victor's father suffers a heart attack and collapses. The terrified Victor prays for him to come back to life, but he inadvertently goes too far and awakens the first wave of the Returned including Camille and Simon. Whether this also includes Serge, Lucy and Mrs Costa, who knows? After Victor's actions, he leaves his home and finds Julie at the bus stop, thus linking back to his first appearance in the show. But the important thing is that we finally got an explanation for why the Returned returned and I think it's a credible one. We know that Victor has immense power and it was his fear of alone that brought the others back to life. Although this doesn't quite explain what revived the second wave of returnees.
Two visions have been consistently haunting Victor- one of Julie jumping into the sinkhole and killing herself and another of her happy on a beach with a child that isn't him. But back in the here and now, Victor rescues Julie from Pierre's dungeon and the two of them attempt to escape town. However, they don't get far, before Lucy appears and says that Victor needs to go with them to lead the Horde. Knowing that Julie will die if she goes with him, Victor says goodbye once and for all and allows Lucy to lead him to the Horde who are by the sinkhole. Amongst the Horde are Milan, Toni, Camille, Virgil, Morganne, Esther, Etienne and Mrs and Mr Costa. Just like in Victor's vision, Lucy says that it is up to him to save them. Whilst Lucy adopted the role of leader, it was always meant as Victor, although it isn't made particularly clear what they expect him to do. Although one thing Victor cannot do is allow baby Nathan to come with them, as he is too much like him. What does this mean? Let me know what you think below.
This is when Julie appears. We've seen that before Victor she had absolutely nothing to live for and Victor has given her a new lease to life. Without Victor, she doesn't want to live and so, just like in Victor's vision, she kills herself by jumping into the sinkhole. This is when Etienne tells Victor that he has the power to change things if he really wants. And this is what he does. He closes his eyes and when he next opens them, the Horde are gone, the sink-hole is filled with water and Julie is alive. Some time later, we then see Victor's second vision also coming true. Julie is on the beach with Ophelie, but Victor becomes the little boy he sees Julie with. Whilst it was great to see the two of them have a happy ending, I'm a bit confused that the Horde would allow Victor to choose Julie and himself over them, considering how much they were relying on him to lead them to salvation.
Finally, we come to the final shot of the season and potentially the whole series. Lucy, who has obviously not disappeared with the rest of the Returned, leaving baby Nathan on the doorsteps of a house. Why? Of course it isn't explained nor is the significance of Nathan or why Lucy wanted him so much. But I can't help but think that this is perhaps what happened to Victor. Maybe he was an orphan who has never felt like he belonged anywhere. Mumford also drew connections between Victor and Nathan, speculating that maybe Nathan will become the next Victor, setting the whole chain of events into motion once again.
Some questions I'd love your opinions and thoughts on.
1. What is Victor's backstory? I've speculated a little bit about it, but I'd love to hear your theories.
2. On that note, what about Lucy's? We know a little bit, that she appeared in town out of nowhere and was murdered by Milan, but beyond that she's a bit of a mystery.
3. And again, what about Simon? We know that he committed suicide but his backstory has never been properly explored. Under what circumstances did he kill himself?
4. What happened to poor Audrey? The last we saw of her, she was still chained to the wall in Pierre's dungeon. Has she just been left there to decay or will she continously die and return? Either way, she has to be the unluckiest character in the history of this show.
5. Who was the mysterious returnee who led Simon and Adele to the other side of the cave?
6. What is the significance of baby Nathan and of that ending in particular?
7. What happened to the Horde? Did they go into the afterlife? Or do you agree with Mumford's idea that they became the water in the sinkhole? I think this is a good idea; we've already seen that there's a strong connection between water and the Returned.
8. Lastly, what did you make of the ending? Did you like it? Why or why not? I'd love to know.
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