Warning: This article is full of spoilers.
Season 1 of The End Of The Fucking World was a whirlwind of dark humor, charming and heart wrenching characters, and a cliffhanger ending that still has us wondering what actually happened to James (Alex Lawther) after nearly two years. Now that season 2 is streaming on Netflix, you might want a refresher on all the crazy and unbelievable things that happened last season before you dive in.
Alyssa & James Committed A Murder
We last left Gen Z’s own Bonnie and Clyde, Alyssa (Jessica Barden) and James on a rural beach in England surrounded by a SWAT team. It all started when a road trip to find Alyssa’s dad went horribly wrong. Alyssa and James found what they believed to be an empty house and stay for a while. Except it wasn’t empty at all. The owner of the home, Clive Koch (Jonathan Aris) returned and it got worse: He was a serial killer. He attacked Alyssa and James killed Koch in an attempt to protect his companion. They were then roadtrippers and teen runaways no more; they were murderers on the lamb.
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Alyssa & James Tried To Run
Their attempts to cover their tracks following the Koch's murder proved unsuccessful. Alyssa and James fled and hid out at a trailer home owned by Alyssa’s dad, Leslie (Barry Ward). Despite every effort to clean Koch’s home of evidence, the pair left behind a wallet, which would later be traced back to them. Living a life of crime evading the police proved to be harder than it looked, and even Detective Eunice Noon's (Gemma Whelan) headstart warning eventually wasn’t enough to allow Alyssa and James to escape.
Alyssa & James Got Caught
The two made a break for it, but the police caught up to them. It was then that James had an idea for at least one of them to make it out alive. He told Alyssa to blame him for everything and to convince law enforcement that she was held hostage committing crimes against her will. James then hit Alyssa with a rifle, knocking her down, and giving the SWAT team a chance to catch her while he ran for the ocean. The season ended when a single shot rang out, leaving viewers to believe that James was shot and killed by the police.
We heard his final words in a voiceover. “I’ve just turned 18. And, I think I understand what people mean to each other,” he says as a montage of the best moments he spent with Alyssa flashed before his eyes.
But Is James Really Dead?
In the comic series the show is based on, this is how James dies; however, viewers didn’t believe that it was the end for James, no matter what the original comics said or whether a second season would ever be made.
Much to the delight of literally everyone that watched The End of the Fucking World, it wasn’t the end of the show. After wondering about the fate of our beloved protagonists for nearly two years, we're finally getting some answers.