Midnight Mass is Mike Flanagan’s best work yet, but that ending can be confusing — here’s the Midnight Mass ending explained.
Midnight Mass is quite possibly Mike Flanagan’s best work. It is thrilling, horrific, and actually really deep. The story is unafraid to tackle religious beliefs and doubts, faith, addiction, and human nature. It is visually stunning as well, but that ending, well it can be a bit confusing. There is a lot going on in the final episode so here we will break if down for you — and give you the Midnight Mass ending explained.
Midnight Mass Ending Explained
Some of the biggest questions that pop about this series are things that happen in the first few episodes, and could be overlooked. If Father Paul was infected by the “angel” that long ago, how come he only gets burned in the sunlight partway through the season, when Riley does almost immediately. That is an easy one to answer, Father Paul had not died after he drank the blood of the angel until after Bev poisoned him.
Now this is not proven, but it is suggested. Not only did he die in the same way the dog did which can be traced back to her and her rat poison, she seemed very invested every time he seemed ill. So after he died on the floor in front of a collection of people, and then came back to life, he was now infected by the angel.
The blood of the angel heals and de-ages people. As we know Father Paul was Monsignor Pruitt all along, he just looks much younger because he drank the blood of the angel creature. The same thing happens with Mildred Gunning, who turns into her much younger self after taking communion, which is very clearly the blood of the angel. Erin loses the baby because he body acted like it was a foreign object inside her and healed it. That is the same reason that Leeza was able to walk after years of being paralyzed.
Another big question viewers have is why now? How come that “angel” did not find its way out of the dark caves and underground before? Well, as Father Paul tells the story of what happened to him, and how came across the angel, he mentions sandstorms that unearthed entrances that were buried for centuries along the road to Damascus. This is how the creature was uncovered.
Related: Midnight Mass Review: Unafraid to Tackle Religious Faith & Doubt
When those who have drank the blood of the angel die they come back as something else. A creature of the night. One who cannot go out in sunlight and has the very strong urge to drink blood. They don’t appear as the alpha creature, who has wings, pale skin, and resembles a vampire, but they are changed. They can see the blood flowing through others and want more than anything to drink it.
Because of this, even those who did not choose to die by drinking poison in the church on Easter night came back to “life” after they were attacked by their bloodthirsty friends and family. Any one who had not been going to church, was actually dead and did not come back to life, unless “saved” by someone who had the blood of the angel flowing through their veins.
Father Paul brought the angel back to Crockett Island to save the townspeople, and specifically the love of his life Mildred. Sarah never knew that he was her father, at least not until he told her right before she was killed. Since she had never taken the communion, she did not become a vampire creature. Her father tried to get her to drink his blood but she spat it out, not wanting to become an undead creature.
The only way to kill these creatures was to make them burn in the sun. That is why the group of people who were fighting against them, led by Erin and Sarah, burned the boats, the church, and the recreation center. Ironically enough, it was Bev and her group that burned the other homes. They did this in order to force everyone to the church property, but in doing so they left them with no choice but to all burn up in the sun.
Leeza and Warren were the only two to get off the island successfully. The very last line of the series is Leeza saying that she cannot feel her legs. This is because the angel did not make it past the sunrise and was killed by it. Much like in vampire lore when the head vampire dies, their effects they had on others go with it. So Leeza is no longer healed, and there is no threat that she will turn into a bloodthirsty demon after she dies.
It seems like everything is contained to that island, and they all perished so the threat is no more. Unless of course more vampire creatures were unearthed in Damascus.
That is the Midnight Mass ending explained.
Midnight Mass Review
From The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan, MIDNIGHT MASS tells the tale of a small, isolated island community whose existing divisions are amplified by the return of a disgraced young man (Zach Gilford) and the arrival of a charismatic priest (Hamish Linklater).
When Father Paul’s appearance on Crockett Island coincides with unexplained and seemingly miraculous events, a renewed religious fervor takes hold of the community – but do these miracles come at a price?
Created and directed by Flanagan, the seven episode limited series also stars Kate Siegel, Rahul Abburi, Crystal Balint, Matt Biedel, Alex Essoe, Annarah Cymone, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Kristin Lehman, Robert Longstreet, Igby Rigney, Samantha Sloyan, Henry Thomas, and Michael Trucco. The series is executive produced by Flanagan and Trevor Macy for Intrepid Pictures.
