The Gloaming Season 1 ending explained: Not everyone survives

The Gloaming Episode 8 opens with yet another creepy séance as Grace tries to channel her dead daughter. And across town, Gareth has cornered Molly and we find out he was the one who killed Valerie, making Ricky take the fall for him.

Luckily, Lily arrives home and keeps things from escalating with Gareth and Molly, the more important thing now is for Molly to get in touch with Alex. We know he’s in mortal peril and Molly is becoming increasingly nervous as he fails to answer his phone.

She has every reason to be scared since when we do see Alex, he’s sweating and strung up in a strappado like Dorothy and Daisy before him.

Alex’s phone pings near the spot where Dorothy was found so Molly knows where to go. She meets up with Lewis and they decide to head out there together. Lewis has a better idea of what might be going on than Molly and he wants to provide backup.

But as the episode unfolds and it becomes clear that tonight is about the mid-winter festival, it looks like Alex is going to be used as some kind of creepy sacrifice complete with a Wicker Man-style pyre and all.

When the festival begins, we see that Lily is involved with the group, given her connection to Grace and the creepy dance studio. Lily leads the single-file line of young girls as they each hold a candle and walk through the creepy ceremony, all the while Grace is chanting.

Of course, while the rescue mission to save Alex is going on, there’s also a showdown with Gareth in the woods, who is trying to escape the cops. The jig is up for Gareth, and he’s set to be arrested for Jacinta’s murder.

The Gloaming Season 1, Episode 8 recap: Does Alex survive?

In the woods, after getting free, Alex manages to pull a gun on Gareth, while at the ceremony things go sideways. Eileen, who has realized that Grace’s path of destruction will never end, turns on her sister suddenly stabs her. “I’m sorry, it’s the only way you can be with Valerie.”

At the same time, Gareth manages to disarm Alex, just as Molly shows up and pulls her own gun. Gareth starts freaking out and threatening Molly and Alex sees this happening. It reminds him of that day all those years ago when he was in a similar situation with Jenny. Except for this time, Alex jumps in front of the gun to protect Molly and takes the bullet.

While Alex is lying in the forest, dying, Molly keeps her gun trained on Gareth and Grace dies in Eileen’s arms. While in the woods trying to tend to Alex, Molly notices Lily in the crowd. Gareth realizes this is his opportunity to escape since Molly obviously wants to be by her daughter’s side but she can’t keep her gun on Gareth at the same time, she has to make a choice and she chooses Lily.

Gareth immediately takes off running to try and escape but he starts to see apparitions since it is the solstice. Spooked, Gareth starts to panic as he runs, hearing Valerie surrounding him. Then he slips off of a ledge and falls, presumably, to his death. His body is later discovered in a mine shaft, so at least the case against Molly is dead.

As for Alex, he does manage to survive and Eileen is sentenced to prison. In the final moments of The Gloaming Season 1, Episode 8, Molly visits Alex in the hospital bed as he slowly wakes up. But he notices the ghost of a young boy in the doorway and Molly doesn’t see anything. It seems like Alex’s brush with death has given him the ability to see ghosts and apparitions similar to what happened with Freddie.

You can currently watch the first season of The Gloaming on Starz right now.