Since Jaws turned the ocean into a source of pure terror, the words “There’s something in the water” have carried an unmistakably ominous edge. They serve as the tagline for Netflix’s Below, creator Jesse McKeown’s maritime thriller about a small Newfoundland fishing community battling a gigantic sea creature — along with the illness, insanity, and other inexplicable events that follow in its wake.
**Spoilers for all six episodes of Below, now streaming on Netflix**
By Episode 6, fisherman and father Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) has finally identified the threat: a colossal deep-sea squid unlike anything his scientist friend Dr. Fonda Lee (Mackenzie Davis) has encountered. Calvin, however, has seen it before. It is the same creature responsible for his father’s death decades earlier.
Calvin, Fonda, and Calvin’s troubled son Wade (Charlie Heaton) must join forces to protect the Newfoundland town of Snooks Arm. Their enemies are twofold: a rampaging cephalopod from the depths and a ruthless corporation determined to drive out the residents so it can extract valuable metals buried beneath the community.
How can these three unlikely allies save Snooks Arm? Will the squid survive? And what should viewers make of the series’ ominous final image? Here’s what happens in the ending of Below…
Below Ending Explained: How do Calvin, Wade, and Fonda defeat the giant squid? Do they survive?
In the finale, Fonda discovers why the squid has ventured so far beyond its usual habitat: an egg sac is hidden inside the enormous iceberg that drifted into Snooks Bay. At the same time, the creature has become such a danger to human life that the Canadian military is preparing to bomb it.
That military operation requires the town to be evacuated — a development that suits Jim Crocker (Frank Moore) perfectly. The unscrupulous CEO has secretly mined precious metals in other isolated communities after their residents were relocated by the Canadian government as a cost-cutting measure. By removing the locals, Crocker avoids negotiating with them or sharing the profits. The squid gives him the ideal excuse to clear Snooks Arm, whose residents have resisted his efforts to take control.
Calvin responds with a plan of his own. If the iceberg can be blasted into a smaller mass and towed farther out to sea, the squid can be drawn away from the town without being killed. The strategy could save both Snooks Arm and the animal, which may be the last of its species. Working together on the water for the first time, Calvin and Wade secure the iceberg and pull it offshore, while the squid follows calmly behind.
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Ultimately, Calvin comes to terms with the creature. More significantly, the squid appears to accept him as well, sparing Calvin, Wade, Fonda, and the rest of their family and friends.
Does the squid die in Below?
Unfortunately, the squid does die. It sinks into the depths beneath the location where Calvin leaves the iceberg, sacrificing itself to nourish its offspring before they hatch. The young squid swim away, offering a brief glimpse of hope for the survival of this ancient species.
Fonda quickly undermines that hopeful interpretation — with hot water rather than cold. She explains to her assistant that the ocean has become too warm for the young squid to survive. “And it’s just getting warmer,” she says grimly. “And who knows what’s next?”
So, what’s next, then? What do those icebergs in the final scene mean?
One year after the main events of the series, Snooks Arm has transformed into a thriving boom town. Tourists have arrived to see the site of the squid attack, local businesses are flourishing, and fish have mysteriously returned to the surrounding waters.
Perhaps the fish are fleeing something. In the closing moments, Calvin and Wade look on in horror as a vast fleet of icebergs approaches. Any one of them could be another “squidberg,” coated in toxic secretions that cause extreme dehydration and, eventually, madness — with another deadly cephalopod lurking nearby. As the ocean continues to warm, the icebergs suggest that the next disaster may already be on its way.
Will there be a Below Season 2?
There is certainly enough material for another season. The ocean may contain more giant squid, while Calvin, Wade, Fonda, and the other members of the Penney family remain alive to confront them. Calvin and Fonda appear to be developing romantic feelings, and Calvin’s sister Ruth (Willow Kean) continues the battle against the Crocker Group. Wade’s former fiancée Maggie (Marthe Bernard), a young woman from a hidden settlement on an abandoned island, kidnaps and seduces him while resembling the sailors’ legends of the Old Hag, a spirit of the sea. Then there is the mystery of how Maggie obtained an engagement ring intended for Wade’s sister Mary (Ruby Stokes), despite never having been near Snooks Arm when it disappeared. The series may be hinting at forces even stranger than its giant squid.
For now, however, Josh Hartnett says there are no plans for a second journey Below. The show has been presented as a limited series, although successful limited series often continue when audiences respond strongly. Whether Netflix orders more episodes could ultimately depend on how firmly this squid-filled story has hooked its subscribers.
Sean T. Collins (@seantcollins.com on Bluesky and theseantcollins on Patreon) has written about television for The New York Times, Vulture, Rolling Stone, and elsewhere. He is the author of Pain Don’t Hurt: Meditations on Road House. He lives with his family on Long Island.