‘The I-Land’ on Netflix: That Mind-Blowing Ending Explained

If you’re looking for a new WTF-filled weekend binge, you might be interested in the new Netflix mystery thriller The I-Land. Natalie Martinez and Kate Bosworth lead a cast of castaways left to fend for themselves on a deserted island against the elements, hungry sharks, and each other. But there’s a lot more going on on the island and off–and believe me, you aren’t ready for the twists on twists on twists this limited series serves up.

If you’ve binged all seven episodes, you might be left scratching your head or trying to make a complete picture from all those puzzle pieces. That’s where Decider comes in, with an ending explainer for a TV show that truly needs an ending explainer. But be warned: it’s all spoilers ahead if you haven’t finished The I-Land. If you have (or if you just love being spoiled), you’ll find answers to all your questions below–even the question of whether or not this limited series can become an unlimited one.

What’s the deal with The I-Land? 

The island is not actually an island. As you know if you’ve seen the trailer, the island scenario is actually a simulation for people trapped in a mysterious lab. We learn over the course of the series that the 10 “castaways” are actually inmates at a state penitentiary in Texas. More than that, they’re all inmates on death row who have signed their lives over to an experiment rather than get the chair. The simulation, or the I-Land, gives these inmates a chance to prove that they’ve been rehabilitated and are no longer a threat. Their minds are wiped and they’re dropped into a stressful situation with mysterious objects (a conch shell, a knife, a compass, a book) to either trigger memories of their crimes or just confuse and/or rile them. Even though the island isn’t real, the stakes are. If you die on the island, you die in real life. And if you kill one of your fellow castaways, the “island” gets vengeance and kills you.

There’s another twist to all of this too, as Chase (Natalie Martinez) finds out when she’s exonerated of her crime (it turns out it was her husband Cooper who accidentally shot and killed her mother). She wakes up and finds out that she was in jail for 25 years, and the young reflection she sees IRL is another technological ruse. Her memories will probably come back, but she still spent 25 years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit.

Why does the simulation exist?

The simulation exists because, as psychiatrist Dr. Wyss (Dalia Davi) explains, Earth’s population is too low for them to just kill inmates without trying to rehabilitate them. Climate change has ravaged Earth to the point where the water levels have risen and, as Wyss says, “So many more people are criminals now since the water started taking the land that we have to have a way to redeem people, to help them find their way back to society.” The solution? Wipe their minds and drop them in a tropical hell where they will either be “redeemed” in the eyes of the jurors or die.

Chase’s story ends with her leaving the penitentiary with just $200 and a bus ticket (if she can find a bus, a guard says). She starts walking towards a totally decimated, futuristic version of Houston. We get one more look at young Chase, the Chase we recognize, as she looks back at the jail one last time. This is symbolic, a look at the way Chase feels inside rather than an indication that, I dunno, she’s a shapeshifter or the timeline is wonky or something.

What is the meaning of 39?

While stuck on the island, the inmates were taunted by the number 39. There were 39 steps between where they all washed ashore, and some stamps and gum they found had the number 39 on them. What is the meaning of 39? As sociologist Dr. Dafoe (Victor Slevak) explains, it’s the number of steps from the cell block to the electric chair.

What did everyone do to get onto death row and the island?

Everyone on the island committed a crime, murder, and we find this out in bits and pieces of flashbacks across the series.

• Chase was setup for murdering her mother
• KC (Kate Bosworth) killed her children by drowning them in a car
• Cooper (Ronald Peet) shot Chase’s mother on accident during a scuffle, after the mother pulled a gun on him
• Moses (Kyle Schmid) staged an environmental protest by blowing up a pipeline that he thought was unoccupied, but he actually killed eight people
• Blair (Sibylla Deen) killed 25 “grandmas” (as Warden Wells put it) while working as a nurse, for euthanasia reasons
• Taylor (Kota Eberhardt) accidentally shot someone while robbing a bank with her boyfriend
• Mason (Gilles Geary) shot up a mall with automatic weapons
• Brody (Alex Pettyfer) is called a rapist and murderer by Warden Wells, although we never see his flashbacks
• Donovan (Anthony Lee Medina) strangled a co-worker in their office bathroom after she rejected his aggressive romantic advances
• Hayden (Michelle Veintimilla) was a vigilante who seduced known rapists and then killed them; she had a hit-list and everything

How does The I-Land end?

After we see Old Chase walking towards the ravaged Houston, we cut back to the island where a new prisoner has washed ashore: Warden Wells. The last shot of the season is of Cooper and KC, spears in hands, standing over the warden. He’s now at their mercy as well as the island’s.

Will there be an I-Land Season 2?

Nope! The I-Land is a limited series, seven episodes and done–at least that’s how Netflix has marketed the show. The ending we get kinda feels complete. We know why the simulation exists and there were multiple Twilight Zone-style reveals. The ending, while not tidy, at least gives us the satisfaction of seeing the warden get what he deserves.

However, there are a lot of loose ends! Are Moses and Donovan dead? And is the island going to kill Cooper and Blair for killing them if they are dead? And what’s up with Taylor? The last we saw of her, she was freaking out because she realized an unseen cannibal had fed her her own fingers in soup form. Sidenote: What the hell is this show?

There’s still a whole lot of show left if Netflix wants to break that “limited series” promise, and you have to imagine they will should viewers turn The I-Land into a hit. But as of now, the story of The I-Land is done, and you’ll just have to imagine what Cooper and KC do the warden.

Stream The I-Land on Netflix