I’m a Netflix addict – I admit it. But it’s very rare for me to actually fall in love with anything on Netflix because I’m also a very cynical and angry person; I always find something to hate in everything. I couldn’t, however, find anything to hate about the Netflix show ‘The End of the F***ing World’.
Based on the comics by Charles Forman, ‘The End of the F***cking World’ revolves around the lives of two teenagers, James and Alyssa. James has always loved killing animals growing up, but he now dreams of killing an actual human being. Alyssa has always been angsty and angry; she also happens to be James’ target for his first real murder. Once they hang out more, though, you’ll feel like it’s almost like fate. You know how you don’t really enjoy life until you meet people who really get you? James got Alyssa. And vice versa. I won’t spoil it anymore in case you haven’t seen it yet… and on that note:
THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS.
Now, the reason why I decided to write this article is because of the open ending of the whole thing. It was almost like ‘Inception’, where most people had an opinion about it – and, well, I love stuff like that. I actually watched this with a guy that I was starting to like, and when the last credits rolled, I immediately exclaimed, “Aww, all that just to die.” To my surprise, he jumped up and claimed that no, James didn’t die. “Isn’t there going to be a second season?” he even asked.
And that’s when I realized that there really are two kinds of people in this world: the optimists and, well, the ones like me.
In the last scene of the show, we see James running down the beach and as he talks about just having turned 18 and finally understanding what people mean to each other, the screen goes dark and we hear a gunshot.
The optimists would say that he doesn’t get hit by the bullet. They would say that he gets away; or he gets shot in the leg, gets caught by the police, gets questioned, and voila: that’s where and how season two will begin. The people who believe this are the people who believe in second chances. They believe in happy endings and true love. They are the dreamers who believe in the good of everything and everyone.
But that’s not me. I believe that James died. Because let’s face it: in the real world, there are no happy endings. In the real world, you don’t get away with the bad things that you do, no matter how much you try to cover it up or run away from them. As easy as it would be to imagine that it would be all sunflower and daisies for the young couple after all of the twisted things they had done, that wouldn’t be realistic. (What? I told you I was cynical and angry.)
It’s worth mentioning, though, that in the comics; James does, in fact, die. But it is also worth mentioning that Netflix is currently considering a second season of the show. To be honest, I wouldn’t really mind my theory of James’ death not panning out if that happens because I really enjoyed it. IMMENSELY.
With a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I am glad to say that I am not the only one who thoroughly enjoyed this show. And I’m sure, since you’re reading this, you probably enjoyed it, too. Send me a message and geek out with me if you did! Would love to talk to you. 🙂
