Anyone else spend the weekend watching Below on Netflix, develop a fondness for a giant squid on a murder spree, and kinda just sit there in awe at Josh Hartnett’s accent? Very much same, and we have questions about the ending.
Spoilers, obviously, but the show ends with a flash-forward: Calvin’s running a cute bar in Snook’s Arm, his kids are living on the island, and everyone’s thriving. Meanwhile, Dr. Fonda explains that the squid (aka Mudder) died at the bottom of the ocean after releasing her eggs—which also died due to water temperatures being too warm. But the final shot? Calvin’s out on the water and comes across multiple giant floating icebergs, the strong implication being that they’re squid nests. So, what’s it all mean?
When it came to deciding the icebergs would be the very last shot, creator/showrunner Jesse McKeown tells Variety, “I feel like you always try everything on for size as you’re going, but the idea of that visual was there from the very beginning, in the outline for the show. I think in some ways it is a happy ending for Calvin and his family, but it’s a reprieve. They get to live to fight another day, and so it was important not to turn away from the real catastrophe that’s heading for us.”
Executive producer Jessica Rhoades adds, “I think it’s so beautifully built with what Jesse built in the first episode. Calvin’s looking out for himself and his family, and says ‘When those icebergs come rolling in, you know who to call.’ She obviously is ahead of him in this tale, and what those mean, to be able to take it all the way to its ending. It just felt perfect.”
So, what about the baby squid crawling around in the lab? Last we checked it was in a freezer, and when asked if it’s still alive by Variety, both Rhoades and McKeown “smile and give big shoulder shrugs,” so guess that's a question for season 2.
And speaking of, nothing’s been planned just yet. McKeown said they haven't thought about it "in any serious way. Obviously there are things that you think about during the course of making it, little pipe dreams and offshoots. And we never wanted to wrap up the ending in a tidy little bow anyway. But no, I haven’t thought about it at all.”
Get on it, please, Netflix.