‘Midnight Mass’: That Fiery Ending, Explained

There are shows that stick the landing, and then there’s Midnight Mass. Mike Flanagan’s limited series acts as one long and carefully-crafted buildup to a truly epic finale. But when it comes to a show as religiously dense and otherworldly as this one, nothing, not even a jaw-dropping finale, feels easy.

That’s where we come in. After that finale, we know you have questions. What happened to the angel? Who made it out alive? Who didn’t? On all those details and more, we have your back. Consider this your guide to Midnight Mass‘ ever-pious ending. Spoilers ahead for Midnight Mass.

How Does the Angel Blood in Midnight Mass Work?

First things first, let’s get some basic in-universe rules out of the way. If you ingest the blood of the “angel,” your blood may get a little hot, but you can still go outside. That’s how Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) was able to hold so many regular non-midnight masses. But if you die after ingesting the blood of the angel, that’s when the sun becomes your mortal enemy. That’s also when you develop a major craving for human blood. Since this process also makes you immortal, it’s sort of a toss up. As long as you have somewhere to hide from the sun, you should be fine. Remember that little detail for later.

How Does Midnight Mass End?

With one revelation that makes this entire mess worth it. Halfway through the season we learned the truth about Father Paul. He wasn’t a new priest sent to Crockett Island but a young version of Monsignor Pruitt. While Monsignor Pruitt was on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he was mentally unwell and got lost. He took refuge in a cave, which is where he was attacked by a winged creature that sucked his blood. Instead of killing him, the creature made Monsignor Pruitt younger. That explains why a younger pastor returned to the Crockett Island congregation, but it doesn’t explain why Father Paul brought the “angel” home with him. That wrinkle isn’t explored until “Book VII: Revelation.”

During one final mass in “Book VI: Acts of the Apostles,” Father Paul told his followers his true identity. He then pushed their faith one step further, revealing the angel to them and offering them its blood. That conversion didn’t go well. While half the members collapsed on the ground puking blood, the other half looked on in horror between these waves of death and the probable demon before them. But it was Mildred Gunning (Alex Essoe), the woman who used to have dementia but was recently made young again via secret angel blood, who took action. Grabbing Sheriff Hassan’s (Rahul Kohli) gun, she shot the angel, a move that made the church service devolve into chaos. The angel grabbed Mildred and flew away right before the congregation’s bloodlust kicked in. The immortal members of the congregation started to attack the human members, transforming the church into a battlefield. A handful of members were able to escape, but that didn’t change the fact that this was an all-out war.

So why bring this monster home? In the final episode, Father Paul reunited with Mildred and told her the truth. They had a forbidden romance, one that compromised Father Paul’s status as a pastor and resulted in the birth of Dr. Sarah Gunning (Annabeth Gish), the island’s skeptical doctor. Father Paul captured the angel because he couldn’t stand watching Mildred slowly lose her mind to dementia. He wanted to use the creature to give his little family a second chance. Essentially, he caused all this terror for love. You see? This really is a Mike Flanagan show.

The peace Father Paul craved didn’t happen. Instead the fanatical Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan) took over, and boy did she make things worse. Convinced that the arrival of the angel marked the end of times, Bev assembled a religious army of her own. If you went to church regularly and believed the angel, you were cool in Bev’s book and eligible for immortality. Anyone else was subject to death by fire or being eaten alive. The only places safe from Bev’s fire were the church, where she planned to hide from the sun, and the island’s fleet of boats.

It didn’t take the survivors long to figure out Bev’s plan. Rather than save themselves, they decided to do anything possible to keep Bev and the angel from the mainland. Headed by Erin (Kate Siegel), Sarah, and Sheriff Hassan, they burned several more structures and sank almost all of the boats. That included burning down the church, the last hideaway from the sun. They even managed to hurt the angel. While it feasted on her, Erin managed to shred its wings with a knife.

Midnight Mass ends on depressing, yet bleakly hopeful note. Bev and her followers realized that all of the structures that would protect them from exploding in the sun were destroyed. And almost anyone who opposed Bev died or was too injured to live for long. The final moments of the show are a parade of mass death and fire as this small community makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world from the creature that ruined their lives.

Who Died in Midnight Mass?

[more-on-follow align=leftWho survived is the better question. Let’s start with the people who exploded in the sun. Riley (Zach Gilford) was the first to burst into flames at the end of Episode 5. In the finale, he was joined in his ashy grave by Father Paul and Mildred, who are holding Sarah’s dead body; Zach’s parents, Annie (Kristin Lehman) and Ed (Henry Thomas); Leeza’s (Annarah Cymone) parents; the sheriff’s son Ali (Rahul Abburi); Bev’s righthand man Sturge (Matt Biedel); and everyone’s least favorite churchgoer, Bev. By the way, those are only the congregation members whose names we know. There are also all the community members who died by fire or by their vampiric neighbors, so yeah. Lots of people died.

What about the dead people who didn’t burst into flames? Jo Collie (Robert Longstreet) was the first to die by Father Paul’s hand. He was followed by Sarah, who refused to drink the angel’s blood; Erin, who was killed by the angel; and Sheriff Hassan, who presumably died of injuries from the congregation. That’s everyone. Well, almost everyone.

Who Survived in Midnight Mass?

We’ve got two live ones: Riley’s little brother Warren (Igby Rigney) and Leeza. When things started to get out of control, Sarah, Erin, and Sheriff Hassan told them to get a boat and run, and they did just that. As the sun rose, Warren and Leeza watched the angel as it tried to escape. Quietly, Leeza told her friend that she can’t feel her legs anymore, a sign that this mass tragedy may finally be over.

What Happened to the Angel?

In the final moments of Midnight Mass, we see the angel desperately flying away from the island as it tries to beat the rising sun. According to Warren, it has to cross at least 30 miles to escape, and it has to do that with torn wings. It feels pretty safe to say that “angel” is toast.

Watch Midnight Mass on Netflix