Surfacing – As the finale of The Essex Serpent begins, Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) wakes up in her bed while Luke Garret (Frank Dillane) wakes up in the operating theater. Luke cuts the bandage so he can look at the wound on his hand. Cora gets up and begins writing a letter to Stella Ransome (Clemence Poesy) to give her condolences. She came to Aldwinter to look for the serpent and didn’t expect to find friendship. Cora writes that she wants to see Stella, but she worries coming back would upset the village. Frankie (Caspar Griffiths) interrupts to ask his mother if they’ve been burgled. He wonders where Martha (Hayley Squires) is since her room is empty. Cora tells him they should have breakfast. Cora crumbles the letter and leaves it before heading for breakfast.

At home, Stella tells Will (Tom Hiddleston) that she couldn’t sleep so she came looking for him. Will was looking for Naomi. Stella asks if she is with the serpent, but Will quickly changes the subject. She tells Will not to be sad because he is waiting for her. She is ready and wants Will to help her see Cora and Frankie. Cora and Frankie clean up the mess at home. When they get the mail, Frankie gets the comics and Cora gets a cell from Colchester. She opens it and reads the letter from Will telling her about Stella’s diagnosis. Stella has been urging him to write to them and invite them out although Will isn’t sure it is a good idea for any of them. Will confesses he scarcely knows how to get through the days because he is broken. Dr. George Spencer (Jamael Westman) helps shave Luke who jokes his shaving is better than his stitching.

George invites him to move in with him for a bit, but Luke believes he’ll be fine on his own. Luke wants to go to the mortuary later so he can practice manipulating his fingers. George suggests he not worry about operating yet. Luke says he can’t just relax and give up his work. When George suspects there must be something he can do, Luke asks him to leave him alone. As George leaves, Luke gets mad and knocks things over. He tries to hold one of the tools with his injured hand only causing it to bleed profusely. Martha visits Sali (Deepica Stephen) to tell her that Ambrose has changed his mind. He writes that he cannot raise a bill because he doesn’t believe social housing is the answer. He goes on to say people must solve their own problems instead of relying on the state. Martha complains that the man has no brains and less heart.

She promises Sali and Nev (Yaamin Chowdhury) that she’ll keep going and writing letters. Sali reveals Spencer has come up with a plan to help them by offering to buy the whole building. Nev explains he wants to install plumbing and electricity. Although Martha is happy for them, she still believes they need real change instead of philanthropy. Sali thinks George is doing this for Martha since he talked about their future together. George runs into Cora and uses the opportunity to tell her about Luke being robbed and stabbed. He doesn’t think Luke will operate again. George encourages her to visit Luke to cheer him up. She visits him and insists she came as soon as she found out. Luke says it is useless since he can’t even carve a joint of beef. As she begins cleaning the wound, she offers to arrange some physical therapy for Luke.

When he turns down that offer, she suggests writing to the doctor who inserts artificial parts into the body. Luke told her about him because he is an idiot and it can’t be done. She tells him to forget their stupid row since she is going to take care of him now. Cora invites Luke to move in with her forever as her friend and companion. Luke jokes he is the last man standing now that Martha has moved out. Cora argues it can work because they get on well and enjoy each other’s company. They talk about the things they can do together before Luke says they’ll say good night and he’ll retire to her husband’s bed. Luke claims it is ridiculous and she can’t even see it. The mangled bloody mess has finally opened his eyes. He accuses her of calling when she needed him and wanted a shoulder to cry on.

She calls Luke her friend. As her friend, Luke has to be honest with her when he says he doesn’t want to live with her. When she asks why, Luke admits he is in love with her while she is in love with someone else. Later that night, Cora visits Martha to talk about Luke. Martha didn’t tell her because she was afraid she would do something stupid. Cora apologizes for the way she treated her and not looking after the people she loves. Martha invites her to check out the wonderful view from the roof. As George arrives at Luke’s place, he learns that Cora was impossible. George argues that they both care about him. After Luke says he can’t even write, George offers to write for him and stay for as long as he needs. Cora learns that Ambrose isn’t going to help since he couldn’t support a socialist agenda.

As for Spencer, Martha is avoiding him because she is worried he is in love with her. Cora tells her about Stella who is likely dying. She is afraid of going back. Martha suggests she is afraid of seeing Will. Cora tells her that she knows her and that she breaks things. Martha believes she can fix things too. If she needs to, she should. Later, Frankie and Cora ride on the train. Martha visits George at his place and admits she didn’t know he had so much. She asks whether the landlord deal is supposed to be an overture to her. George says it is more than that and he has a proposal. Martha says she isn’t the type of woman to string a man along and marriage enslaves women, but George says it isn’t that kind of proposal. He reveals that he has decided to use his trust to set up a campaign for social housing.

He needs someone to run it and would like them to work together. When Cora and Frankie walk through town, they pass by Jonah (Robin Berry). They visit Stella moments later. Stella thanks Cora for coming and bringing Frankie. She tells Cora that she is ready. Stella reveals a lady in the village has been taking the children after school because she gets tired. Cora asks if she wants to talk to her about something. Stella says yes. She asks Cora if she has talked to Will because he needs someone to talk to. Stella continues pushing for Cora to visit him at the church since that is what she wants. Cora meets with him and admits Stella told her to come see him. As they walk and talk, Will says ships aren’t going to sea because they’re still afraid. He hasn’t told the children how ill Stella is. It feels too cruel with Naomi still missing.

Cora tells him that Stella thinks he needs someone to talk to so he can talk to her. He says Stella is so brave and has faced it far better than he has. Cora suggests she has known about it for a bit longer. Her mind roams and she drifts away, but Will still couldn’t love her more. Cora knows he will always love Stella. Meanwhile, Stella tells Frankie that Cora was right about the serpent being alive. She asks if he’d like to come to see it. They load the boat full of items for the serpent while Stella tells Frankie to keep some for his mother. Cora apologizes to Will if she made things harder for him. Will admits he let her in even though he had everything he could ask for. Cora doesn’t think it is that simple. She says love isn’t finite and isn’t confined to marriage. Cora believes there are many ways to love although Will says she has never known a happy marriage.

Cora knows what it is like to love someone. He believes she knows what it is like to be loved too. They nearly kiss but don’t. Will looks at the scars on Cora’s neck. Once they’ve finished loading the boat, Stella asks Frankie if he’ll set her off. Stella lays down in the boat before saying she is ready to meet him now. Once Frankie asks if she is talking about the serpent, Stella says her God and king. Frankie pushes the boat out into the water as it floats further away. He begins worrying once the boat starts sinking. Frankie runs to his mother to tell her that Stella has gone to see the serpent. After he tells them she is in the boat, Will takes off his coat and runs toward the water.

He grabs his wife and pulls her back up to the surface. He brings her back to the land as Stella tells Cora that they saw the serpent. Later, Cora tells Frankie that Stella is going back home with Will. Frankie reminds her that Stella said she was ready to go although Cora suggests she isn’t very well. He believes she is going to die before her time like his father. When Cora says she is afraid she might, he tells her that he doesn’t want her to die. Cora has no intention of it because they have so much to do. In the middle of the night, Naomi (Lily-Rose Aslandogdu) comes out of Cracknell’s house and surprises Henry (Gerard Kearns) when she returns home. She says it is going to be okay because she has seen the serpent and thinks it is dead.

Cora is awoken in the morning as the locals yell that it is on the beach and it is dead. When they see it, Frankie says that isn’t a serpent. Jo (Dixie Egerickx) is happy to see Naomi again. Frankie wonders why the whale came here. Cora suggests its patterns were upset by the earthquake. She says people fear what they don’t understand and that might be why they thought it was a serpent. Frankie didn’t want it to die. Will goes back into the house where he finds that Stella has passed. We jump ahead six months as Cora works to excavate fossils. Professor Marchand (Raul Fernandes) arrives to give her a letter from Luke who says he misses her. He reveals he has finally found people who appreciate him now that he has been made head of the medical school. They want Luke to teach them the secrets of the heart.

He suggests she must’ve heard from Will by now. Jo stands nearby as Will reads to John (Ryan Reffell). Will sends John to bed and tells Jo he’ll be there in a minute. He sits down and reads a letter from Cora who says she still thinks of him every day. He says she is torn and mended. Although she loves him, she is also content without him. She asks him to write back. Will puts the letter with the many others he has. Later, Cora runs into Will and tells him that he never wrote back. Will admits he had too much to say. They kiss and agree to walk together.

 

The Essex Serpent Review

The finale of The Essex Serpent wrapped everything up neatly and provided everyone with a happy ending. While the story was just okay, the production quality was good. Everyone did well with what they were working with. As expected, the serpent was a moot point. Many viewers will likely be pleased with the happy endings for all the main characters, but I question whether the book’s ending would’ve been harder hitting.

In reality, not everything is going to work out for everyone so the finale was a bit unrealistic. Furthermore, it would’ve been nice if they had placed more emphasis on Martha, George, and Stella whose death was barely glanced over. Viewers who’ve stuck with the show until the ending will likely be satisfied with it in the long run. It was a decent ending that many viewers will probably like. The finale scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Essex Serpent can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us at this link.