Midnight Mass spoilers: How does the season end?

Created and directed by Mike Flanagan, Midnight Mass is officially here! Coming off the success of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, this series had a lot to live up to in the eyes of fans, and it definitely delivers.

Midnight Mass brings back some of our favorite actors from Flanagan’s projects, including the amazing Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas, Rahul Kohli, and more. The show follows the very small town of Crockett Island, where its inhabitants are content with the slow lifestyle, knowing everyone else’s business, and attending church every Sunday. Their lives are turned upside down, however, when a new priest, Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), comes to town and claims he’ll be replacing Monsignor Pruitt while he’s on the mend off the island.

Curious to hear how it all ends? We’ve got you!

Spoilers for Midnight Mass ahead.

Father Paul becomes more and more suspicious, and when a miracle is performed at the church in which a paralyzed girl named Leeza (Annarah Cymone) is able to walk again, some of the townspeople are amazed and impressed, while others are a bit sketched out.

It’s revealed that Father Paul is actually Monsignor Pruitt, just made younger. During a trip to Jerusalem, he was attacked by an angel and drank the angel’s blood. This de-aged him and made him realize he must go back to Crockett Island and share these powers of God with the townspeople.

Pruitt shares this with a select few on the island, including Beverly Keane (Samantha Sloyan). Those who trust him absolutely worship him, which only means danger for the rest of the town. We learn it’s possible for God to resurrect others in town, which is exactly what happens to Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford). However, Riley doesn’t think it’s a miracle, but rather a cause for concern for what’s to happen next.

Leading up to the finale, Riley is able to warn Erin Greene (Siegel) about what’s to come, but he sacrifices himself in the process. As we learn earlier, once you’re resurrected by God, you crave other people’s blood and you cannot go out in the sunlight. Riley explains everything to Erin while they’re out on a rowboat in the water, and as the sun comes up, he burns up and dies.

We also learn that the angel blood depletes your iron levels, so much so that you can’t be exposed to natural light.

By the penultimate episode of Midnight Mass, Erin tries to leave the island but it’s too late. Beverly has made sure no one can flee and so Erin decides to attend the midnight mass that night, just in time for Easter. She knows something bad is about to happen and wants to do everything she can to keep people safe.

At the mass, things turn from bad to worse when Beverly presents poison for everyone to drink so they can be resurrected and become apostles of God. It’s seriously creepy and enough to keep you on the edge of your seat to see what disturbing thing will happen next.

Midnight Mass ending explained

A handful of people drink the poison and are brought back to life, and soon after they begin full-on feeding on each other. It’s an absolute blood bath in the church and it doesn’t stop there. Erin along with a few others flee the church and try to hide, however Beverly sets all the houses on fire so they can be found. This doesn’t end up working in Beverly’s favor, though, as the sun is coming up soon and everyone who was brought back to life will need shelter.

A few major, major things happen in the Midnight Mass finale. First, we learn that Monsignor Pruitt was once in love with Mildred Gunning (Alex Essoe), Dr. Sarah Gunning’s mother who, since Pruitt returned, began de-aging. It’s also revealed that Sarah is Pruitt’s daughter.

Pruitt expresses regret for what’s happening and admits he was wrong about the plan. However, Beverly is already full-force in her destruction of Crockett Island, and nothing’s stopping her.

In the end, the sun begins to come up and the townspeople accept their fate — they are going to die now. As for Erin, she’s sadly attacked by the angel and killed. It’s a beautiful scene as we hear her speaking through her consciousness. As she’s being attacked, she stabs the angel’s wings to wound him. This goes back to a previous conversation she has with Riley about her mother and her upbringing.

Mostly everyone else dies as the sun rises, which is heartbreaking to watch.

The only survivors that we see are Leeza and Riley’s little brother Warren (Igby Rigney). In the final, final moments of Midnight Mass, the two are on a rowboat out in the water, watching Crockett Island burn. The angel, with its wings clipped, is fading in the sky. The two see debris from the fire come down, and Leeza tells Warren she can’t feel her legs anymore. The power the island once had is no more, and she’s paralyzed again. As she says it, she smiles, as if she’s relieved.

The evil that Pruitt brought back with him and that he encouraged on the island leads to the death of almost everyone.

Mike Flanagan spoke about the ending briefly with The Wrap, saying:

“We’re not saying [the angel] died… Our hope really there was just to say that Leeza’s concentration in her blood had begun to tip back, that she was going to be OK.”

Midnight Mass ends on a powerful note, which is on par with the conclusion of every episode. This show is without a doubt a slow burn, and it really pays off in the end. Be sure to stream all seven episodes on Netflix right now!