S02.E08: Les Revenants

[dbklmt]

After the shooting the Seguret family try to leave town, but Camille cannot stay with her family and must join The Returned.  Alcide takes Simon and Adele's baby to Lucy, but it is too late The Hoarde has dispersed.

 

 

PROLOGUE: 36 Years Ago...

Milan's Restaurant--Lucy enters and talks to Milan.

L: I don't have any money.  But if you give me a job I'd like a drink . (Same technique she used when she came to the Lake Pub owned by Jerome.)

M: It's quiet here and I already have staff.  L: Shame.

M: What brings you to this area?  Are you planning to stay?  L: I'm LOOKING for someone.

M: Well, tell me who it is.  I know everyone here.  L: No, he hasn't arrived yet.

M: Is it a man?  L: No, a little boy.

M: Where are you from?  L: A very long way away.  I'm very tired.

M: Shall I buy that drink?  L: OK.  M: I'll look after you.  L: Thanks.

 

Present Day...

Alcide enters a room with Nathan for Lucy but she says, It's too late.

A: What happened?  L: I've lost them.  They don't trust me anymore.  They're all in danger because of me.

A: All is not lost, I'm sure.  L: I took my revenge on Milan.  A: Milan?  L: I harmed one of them.  I was meant to protect them.  All of them. I've failed.

 

The Police Headquarters:

We see a soldier heading outside to talk with the lead inspector.

Soldier: The baby has disappeared.  So have Adele Werther and the Seguret family.  Are you alright sir?  LI: Yes.  What about the Boy?

Soldier: The boy's gone too.  LI: Roadblocks have been set up around the city and men are patrolling the whole valley.

 

The Seguret Family with Chloe walking.

J: Stay here.  I'll take a look.  They may be waiting for us.  Claire: Wait.  Take this and she gives him a gun.

Camile: I'm coming with you.  As they walk away Chloe says to Lena and Claire, Where are we going to go?  No answer.

 

Jerome and Camille arrive at his car.  As he takes his keys out to open the door Camille says, Wait Dad.

J: What is it?  C: You have to help me.  J: Do what?  She shows him her new abrasions.

J: We'll go to a hospital when we get out of here.  C: These things appear because I'm away from the others.  I can't stay with you.  I must go to them.

J: No, that's impossible.  Camille: Please. Lena and Mom won't listen to me.  I need you to make them understand.  You're in danger with me and I'm in danger with you.  J: Camille, it's not true.  Camille: Help me, Please.

 

The Helping Hand where Pierre is walking outside with another man and we hear the following conversation...

Several of them were in the gymnasium.  They escaped.  The Captain and a soldier died.  We must find them.  Then they leave.

The man with Pierre says, What do they want and there is NO RESPONSE from Pierre.

 

The Mountainside Homes:

We see Victor walking up the hill with Berg in his old home looking at him.  Next we see Berg going upstairs and finding Victor in his old room drawing. 

Berg says, Do you know who I am?  V: Did you take my drawings?

Berg's father enters and says, I remember you.  You came to see me.  You told me what was going to happen and I didn't listen to you.

Berg: How did you know what was going to happen?  How did you know about the dam?

Etienne: He's not responsible for what happened.  If I'd listened to you...we'd all have been saved.

Victor: I can't change things.

Berg looks at the drawing that Victor is making--The Returned in the background with the sinkhole and in front Milan and Lucy standing over someone that is dead on the ground.

Berg: Who's that?  V: It's Julie.  Berg: Is something going to happen to her?  V: Do you believe me?

Berg: Do you know where she is?  V: Even if I tried to save her I wouldn't be able to.  Berg: I'll help you.

 

The Helping Hand:

Julie is chained on one wall and we hear Audrey say, Maman for the last time.

Audrey is chained to another wall with her mother beside her unresponsive.  Audrey says, She's not moving.  Sandrine is dead.

 

We see from inside a car driving on a highway.  We discover it's Jerome, Claire, Camille, Lena and Chloe inside the car. 

As they near a building Claire says, Are they soldiers?  They've put up roadblocks.  What are we going to do? 

J: I know another route and they drive away in the opposite direction.

 

We see Simon and Adele walking on the road which leads to the Domaine.  They arrive at Simon's house.

A: Is this where you lived?  S: Yes.  I'll see if anyone is upstairs.

Adele enters a room and says to Simon,  What are you doing?  S: They're gone.  They must have gone into the forest.

A: You knew.  S: No.  A: Why did you bring me here?  S: I thought Lucy would be here.

A: She asked you to do it.  She wants to keep me away from Nathan.  Right?  S: No, I want to find my baby too.  I want us to be together.

A: You're lying.  What have you done with him?  S: Adele, I promise you...

A: Stop making promises.  Stop! I don't believe them anymore.  You promised you'd always love me.  I don't want to trust you anymore.

Adele runs down the stairs as Simon calls to her.  She goes outside and shouts, Let me go as she slaps him.  Simon grabs her hands and discovers her scars and says, Why did you do that?

A: I wanted to be with you.  I didn't want to be alone anymore.  S: Sorry.  I won't ever leave you again.  A: Help me get back to Nathan. Please...

 

The Church where the Soldier Lead Inspector visits the Priest:

Priest: Have you found Adele?  LI: No. Do you know where Simon Delaitere is?  Priest: No.

LI: But he was here.  He was hiding with Adlee Werther.  No response from the Priest.  You must tell me what you know.

All of the rumors about what supposedly happened six months ago...The stories that some people have told...Are they true?  Did dead people return?   P: Yes.  Have you seen some of them?  LI: I think so.

Priest: I was scared at first too.  But we mustn't be scared of them.  On the contrary I think that we must help them do what they need to do

LI: What do they want?  Priest: To understand what happened to them.  To see the people they loved again.  But maybe they don't know it themselves.

 

The Police Station:

Soldier: Lieutenant who responds, Who are they?  S: We found them in the forest.  The forest beside the housing development.  They don't want to give their names. 

L: Were they living in the development?  S: Most likely.  L: Take them downstairs and keep an eye on them.  S: Very well, Lieutenant.

They're escorted away with everyone in the station looking at them.  One of them is Esteban. 

 

Here comes an OMG scene at the Helping Hand:

Julie is sleeping and is awakened by weird noises.  We see her look and then say, Don't do that.  We then discover that Audrey is eating blood from her mother's stomach.  Julie: Don't do that I beg you.  Don't do that BUT Audrey just keeps on feasting on her mother's blood.  Julie bangs on the door and a man enters to see what is happening and he shoots Audrey dead again.

 

It was followed by another OMG scene with the Seguret family in their car driving thru the mountains and they see another car heading towards them.

J: They're not soldiers.  Claire: Hide Camille.  It's Frederic.

They stop and Lena getting out of the car says, Why are you here?  Frederic: Is she with you? 

L: What do you want?  F: To protect you from her.  Claire jumps out of the car with a gun saying, Get away. 

Camille gets out of the car and says to Frederic.  Don't take it out on them.  Let us leave.  Please.  He shoots her dead again and Claire shoots Frederic.

 

Adele and Simon wandering in the woods:  Adele appears exhausted.

S: Are you ok?  Do you want to rest?  A: No, I'll be ok.

Simon hearing something says to her, Careful.  A: What's the matter?  S: Someone's up there. 

Adele sees someone and saying Chloe runs to hug a young girl saying to her, Oh my darling.

Adele is smiling when Simon comes up to say, Adele, it's not her.  She's not Chloe.  She looks and sees it's not and the girl runs away.  (Adele really does have problems dealing with who or what is real.)

 

Back in the car with a wounded Camille as it traverses the forest.  The road gets thinner as it's done in the past when the Returned are NOT allowed to leave.

Claire: What's going on Jerome?  Turn around.  J: I can't.  Lena: Stop.  Camille's NOT breathing anymore.

As the family moans the loss of Camille again Chloe says, Is she really dead?  We all know the answer is probably not!

 

Adele and Simon in the forest; Adele collapses.

 

The Helping Hand with all those staying here gathered in a room with Pierre standing over Sandrine's dead body.

The soldier who shot Audrey says, Pierre, you must talk to us.  We came here because you told us we had nothing to fear.  We trusted you.  We obeyed you.  We've done everything you told us to do...But Sandrine...is dead.

P: Sandrine chose to be with her daughter again.  She chose to die.

Shooter: No, that's not true.  Sandrine is dead because of you.  It's your fault we're no longer safe at the Helping Hand.

Pierre: Those who don't feel safe anymore can leave.  We see him watch as all his flock chooses to leave. 

 

The Police Station and a room filled with the Returned:

The police inspector comes in and says to them, Do you know where to go?  Esteban answers, Yes.  PI: Let them leave.  S: Are you sure?

PI: Stop the searches in the forest and remove the roadblocks.  S: Very well, sir.  Esteban leads the Returned out of their cell.

 

Alcide with Lucy and Nathan in the Domaine:

They hear something and Lucy turns to see Morgane.  (Who the fuck is he and why is he so important that he got an entire episode dedicated to him that meant nothing?)  Morgane tells Lucy that there are others here too.  She looks outside to see a hoarde and says while smiling, It's because of the Baby.  They trust in him.  We must go and find the others now.

 

Mrs. Costas rolling a ciggy--She just can't stop smoking.  A door flies opens where she has been held to reveal more of the Returned waiting for her.

 

Toni & Serge's cabin with a pan to the cabin window to reveal Esther and the girls killed in the Tunnel.  Time for them to rejoin the Hoarde!

 

The Forest where Virgil and his hoarde encounter the Seguret's = One of the best scenes for me in the episode although very sad!

To Virgil Lena says, Do something, I beg you.

Virgil leans down and grabs her hand which is also done by Simon later in the episode.  Then he touches her head.

We see Lena crying but she is also experiencing what is happening to Camille as Virgil brings her back to life.  She opens her eyes, leans up and hugs Virgil. Chloe looks shell-shocked at what she witnessed.  Camille looks forlornly at her parents and lastly at Lena.

 

The Helping Hand with Pierre holding a gun as he stands over Sandrine's body.

We hear footsteps and he turns to see Etienne, Berg and Victor.

Berg:  What happened to her?  P: She wanted to die. 

Etienne approaches and says to Pierre: You don't want to die.  P: Etienne?

Etienne: You were with us in the clearing.  P: Milan, did he return too?  E: Yes, probably.  P: Did you return to take revenge?  E: No.  No one wants revenge.  We are as you want to see us.

Victor leaves them and goes to the cellar finding Audrey dead and Julie.  He runs to hug her and she does the same = Happy Dance!

We see them run outside and upstairs with Berg, Etienne and Pierre looking at something.  We see that it's more of the Hoarde.

Etienne turns to Victor and says, They've come to get us.  Julie hugs Victor very tightly. 

Etienne walks towards the Hoarde as Berg says, Wait.  Don't go with them.  Etienne: It's where I belong.  With them, I don't feel any pain.  Berg: I need you.  Etienne reaches and touches Berg's face and says, I don't know who you are.  You should forget me and he walks away.  (What a heartbreaking scene!)

Then there is a pan to Berg, Pierre, Julie and Victor left standing alone with Julie and Victor turning around to run away from the Hoarde.

 

Lucy with Morgane & Alcide heading to the woods with the Hoarde:

Lucy to Alcide: Thank you!  A: Will I see you again one day?  L: Don't worry!  I'll return.  She kisses him goodbye (I loved the look on Morgane's face as she did.)  The Returned walk off into the woods.

 

Milan is at his old bar when Pierre arrives.

Milan: You didn't take the step.  Pierre: I should have listened to you.  You were right.  Only those who take the step will be saved.  That's what you said.

Milan looks down at Pierre holding a gun and says, No one is saved.  I was wrong.  The little boy didn't want all of this to happen.  Dying makes no sense.  See how alone I am. 

Pierre: You won't be alone anymore.  He puts a gun to his head and kills himself.  The camera pans to the doorway with Milan standing over a dead Pierre.  I loved the final pan to a reflection in the window of 8 more of the Hoarde moving towards the Bar. 

 

The Forest with Virgil, Camille and the Seguret's and the Returned.

J: Claire...Wait.  They don't mean her any harm.  Camille: I must go with them.  J: We have to let her go.  Claire: No...No!

Camille: Don't worry.  I won't be alone.  Take good care of Lena.  L: I don't want to live without you.

Camille: But we won't be separated.  We'll always be together.  You felt it earlier.

Lena: I can't...  Camille: I'll be happy where I'm going. 

They hug and cry.  Camille walks off with the Returned holding Virgil's hand with Camille sobbing.

 

Adele unconscious in the woods with Simon leaning over her.

She opens her eyes and asks, Where are we?  S: We hid here before we went to the development. 

We see that they're at one of the openings to the cave.

A: Are they here?  S: Maybe they've gone deeper into the cave.  I'll go see.

A: Wait. I'll come with you.  S: Are you sure?  A: Yes 

They enter together.  It's dark and the only light is the cigarette lighter that Simon carries.  He gives it to Adele to carry as they head into the cave.  It isn't long till Simon is gone and we hear Adele say, Simon? 

That's when she sees the ghoulish figure with blue eyes ahead in a red t-shirt--Fade to Black--Till we see the Zombie like figure holding the cigarette lighter reach out and take her hand.  They head deeper into the cave.

 

Victor and Julie are walking by a cemetery with five more Returned standing nearby.  Victor begins panting heavily.  They walk off & the Returned disappear as we see a flashback that begins 35 years ago.

Mr. Lewanski is standing over a grave with pictures of Mrs. Lewanski, Lewis and his brother.  He walks back to his home walking with a cane.  He hears noises upstairs and goes into Lewis' room to find him drawing a picture.  Louis turns to him and says, Papa.  He rushes to hug him with a stunned Mr. Lewanski not knowing how to react.  He backs away from Lewis and says, But you're dead.  L: Yes and he hugs his father again saying, Don't tell anyone that I'm here.  Ever.

The camera pans to the wall of drawings which one by one add each of his drawings till we pan to him drawing again at his desk.

There is a knock at the door and Louis says, Yes?  Mr. Lewanski, now the older version enters and says, Dinner's ready.  Will you come and eat?  Louis: I'll be right there Dad. 

Mr. Lewanski goes downstairs and begins to feel chest pains.  He goes into the kitchen and calls on the phone for help...Hello?  You must come.  I don't feel well.

Back to Louis putting up his latest drawing, the Blue Fairy when he hears a yell and a fall downstairs.  Louis pushes the armoire back over the drawings and goes downstairs to find his father on the floor lying in a pool of blood and with blood on the kitchen counter. 

Louis listens for a heartbeat with the phone's noise in the background.  He realizes that his father is dead and he begins panting heavily saying, Don't leave me, please.  You must return. You must return, Dad.

We hear screams: Let us go!  Stop it! and behind him reflected in the mirror we see a flood of Returned including Camille, Mrs. Costas and Simon.  Victor turns around and hears sirens and then sees their flashes.  He gets up and after he leaves we see Mr. Lewanski's eyes move as Louis has brought him back to life. 

We also see the camera pan to others who are coming back to life: the butterflies in the display used in the opening; Camille and Simon returning and Victor coming to the bus stop to meet Julie for the very first time.  

 

Back to Victor and Julie walking:

They encounter Lucy now wearing a white dress with her blue jacket = Think Blue Fairy

To Julie she says, He has to come with me.   To Victor he says, The waiting for you.  You must look after them.  J: Who are "They"?

Lucy: You know what will happen to her if she stays with you.  J: What are you doing?  V: I don't want you to die.

Lucy: You've done all you can for him.  J: Shut up.  Victor, I don't want to leave you.  Do you understand?  I'm not leaving you.

Lucy: I want you to leave.  V: Please, let me go.  If I go, nothing will happen to you.  You'll be happy.

Julie: I won't be happy if you're not here.  I'll be unhappy without you.  Victor: I saw you with that child.  J: Which child?

Victor: The one in my dreams.  You'll be happy with him.  Believe me.  Make my dream come true, please

The camera pans to Lucy and she looks relieved.  Victor hugs Julie goodbye and walks up the road with Lucy.  Julie pants sadly.

 

I love the next 4 scenes which were done without dialogue just great cinematography backed  up by the show's FANTASTIC MUSIC!

• We see the Hoarde heading up the hill with the focus being on Milan.  We see Toni and his mom who we haven't seen season 1 joining the Hoarde; Milan looks happy.  The scene shifts to the Tunnel where we see Serge sitting against a wall.  He looks down at his arm which when revealed has a spider like bloody look.  Serge has chosen to NOT go back with the Returned.
• Lucy followed by Morgane and the Hoard reach the edge of the mountains with a gorgeous misty painting like view of the lake.  I loved the reunion of Mrs. Costas with her husband who committed suicide in season 1 as they touch their young and old hands together with the Hoarde moving forward.  We see Camille looking back as if she's hoping to see her family but Vergil comes and takes her hands to lead her down the hill.
• In a car we see Chloe lean her head on Lena's lap.  Jerome and Claire are in the front seats with Claire touching Jerome's forehead.  She looks back at Lena and gives her a loving look and a wink with her eyebrows.  We see a slight smile from Lena's lips.  Jerome grabs Claire's hand.  Lena looks over and imagines she sees Camille who smiles, looks away and she looks forward as we see the Seguret family drive away over the dam. 
• In the cave we see Adele now wearing a white dress looking quite sexy and beautiful walking up out of the cave with Simon standing in a tuxedo.  They look at each other smiling and join hands.

 

The Hoarde led by Lucy reaches the sinkhole.

Lucy walks to Victor and says, Come.  He walks past all the Returned that we've seen stopping briefly to look at Milan.

Lucy: You must help us.  They're counting on you.

He hears Baby Nathan that Simon's parents are holding cry and he asks Lucy, Is that Adele's baby?  Lucy says, Yes.

He whispers to her, He can't come with us.  He's like me.  You must look after him.

 

Suddenly Julie arrives and touches Victor's face and says, I'm sorry.  I can't do it.  I can't live without you.

Victor begins panting and a scene we've seen in his dreams begins to occur.  She turns to him smiling.

Etienne approaches Victor and says, If you want, you can change things.  She believes you but Julie jumps into the sinkhole.

Victor closes his eyes panting again and we see Julie on the beach with Victor watching as Julie takes off the towel to reveal that the boy is now Victor that she kisses.  The boy in the towel, Victor looks back to see himself. 

 

Back to the sinkhole where Victor stops panting and opens his eyes.  He turns around and runs to see Julie lying by the sinkhole.

V: Julie...Julie...Julie...  J:  Victor...Victor  Where are they?  V: They're gone.  We mustn't stay here.

The camera pans and as Julie gets up we see that the sinkhole is now filled with water.  Julie and Victor walk away together downhill as the camera pans to a beautiful blue sky.

 

Next we see the beach with Julie and Victor sitting together.  The nurse appears with ice cream cones saying, Here.  There wasn't any raspberry so I got strawberry.  J: Perfect.  The nurse smiles at Victor and says, Sure you don't want any?  Victor: No, thanks.

 

We hear a voice say, Hey, Victor!  J: Wait and she sprays him with sunscreen as a friend says, Are you coming Victor? 

Victor: Merci and he goes in the water with his friend.  Julie and the nurse smile at each other as they eat their ice cream.  Victor comes out of the water smiling until he hears a baby crying.  He begins to pant and... 

We see the final scene.  Lucy in blue and white is carrying a baby in a basket which is dressed in blue with a BLACK SHEEP emblem on its gown.  She leaves it on a doorstep, knocks on the door and walks away.   The door opens and a young woman comes out to find Baby Nathan saying, What on Earth.  Olivier!  Olivier!  He comes out, walks out in the yard to see if he can see whomever left the basket.  He comes back and they kneel down over the basket and it's FADE TO BLACK.

Edited December 22, 2015 by dbklmt

[Maire]

Help!!What happened? I don't understand.

[alias1]

Well, at least we found out where Victor was all those years.  It was a nice twist.  I'd still like to know where he came from originally but I'm happy with what we do know.  I'm not sure if the end with Julie and Victor was real or just what Victor wanted it to be, but I'm going to tell myself they did get their happy ending.  I guess the rest of the Returned just went back to being dead.  And Nathan was left with a random couple just like Victor ended up with the Lewanski (sp) family.  I wasn't sure what Victor meant that Nathan was like him.  He implied that he also was the child of a dead person and a not dead person.  I would have liked to know more, but it's ok that they left that a mystery.  I guess Chloe is going to live with the Seguret family.  I really loved this show.

[dbklmt]

Help!!What happened? I don't understand.

 

It was confusing, but then this series has been like this ever since it began.

 

I've had one viewing and I loved it.  It was filled with one OMG moment after another:

• Audrey becoming like Serge eating the blood from her mother's stomach contrasted with Serge left in the tunnel and his Abrasions returning meaning he wasn't going to be rejoining the Returned.
• Camille & Frederic shooting each other but would Camille stay dead?  Of course she wouldn't as she had to be with the Returned.  That scene with Camille returning was ultra creepy especially with Lena panting and as her twin feeling it just as if it was happening to her.  Great parallel with what happened to Camille on the bus in the season 1 first episode as Lena was getting it on with Frederic.
• The cave scene was ULTRA CREEPY and when Simon appeared turning ghoulish I almost jumped out of my skin.  Their marriage or death, whatever it was with Adele in white was really ghoulish!
• Then there were Victor's flashbacks which for me were STUNNING using all his cauchemars to reveal what I wanted most to happen.  It gave me my wish fulfilled from last week's episode summary, "Please let Julie live" and she did with Victor as the boy in the lake scene. 
• The Baby at the end left by Lucy on a doorstep gives promise to a possible 3rd season, but if there isn't one I'm fine with what they did reveal.

 

I'm going to watch it again and then I'll post my summary of the episode with lots more thoughts that I have, but can't wait to hear from those that have been posting here their thoughts on the final episode. 

[ptuscadero]

I am still so blown away that I can't really put my thoughts together yet. Maybe tomorrow, after a second viewing. I was absolutely in tears over Victor and Julie (and I'm not one to bawl over network television); their story was the one that I really wanted resolved more than any other. Like the previous posters, I still have some questions, and would like to see more, but will be okay if it ends on this note.

 

I couldn't wait to get here and see what other people thought of the finale, and I'm always disappointed to see so few posters. I hope more folks discover this amazing show. It never allows the viewer to let their guard down.

Edited December 20, 2015 by ptuscadero

[lidarose9]

I will have to watch it again, but in general I think I understand most of it, kinda. Does anybody understand what happened to Simon and Adele? That thing in the cave was Simon? I am really lost on that. 

 

It was like death was graduation, when a kid has to leave home to go have their own life, and the ones left behind miss them but try to believe they're in a better place, they're no longer suffering, etc. It's never easy for a parent to let go of a child, and that's what it felt like. The letting them go.

 

I guess we are meant to understand it was Victor's act of bringing Mr. Lewanski back from the dead which set all the craziness in motion six months ago. In doing so, he apparently woke the rest of the dead. Who were very confused. 

 

I will write more after rewatching. I will miss this show! DAYAM. 

[DotCotton]

I just watched the finale and immediately came here to make sense of it all. Thank you to posters for clarifying some things. 

 

So at the end when Etienne tells Victor he can actually change things, Victor then saved Julie, right?  When Julie was about to jump into the sinkhole, it looked empty, but when Julie woke up, it was full of water.  Do I have that wrong? Did Victor make the horde disappear?  Lucy told him that they needed his help.  I started to think maybe Victor actually went back in time to change things but that doesn't make sense because Nathan was still alive.  

 

I don't understand why Adele would leave Chloe. But there were a lot bigger things I didn't understand.  This is crazy that I love this show although I don't understand a lot of it! 

[alias1]

I will have to watch it again, but in general I think I understand most of it, kinda. Does anybody understand what happened to Simon and Adele? That thing in the cave was Simon? I am really lost on that. 

 

It was like death was graduation, when a kid has to leave home to go have their own life, and the ones left behind miss them but try to believe they're in a better place, they're no longer suffering, etc. It's never easy for a parent to let go of a child, and that's what it felt like. The letting them go.

 

I guess we are meant to understand it was Victor's act of bringing Mr. Lewanski back from the dead which set all the craziness in motion six months ago. In doing so, he apparently woke the rest of the dead. Who were very confused.

 

I will write more after rewatching. I will miss this show! DAYAM. 

The thing with Adele and Simon in the cave was super creepy.  But I admit, I was never that invested in their story so I glossed over it.  

 

Your comment about Victor bringing Mr Lewanski back from the dead is interesting.  I didn't get that impression.  But honestly I don't know what did bring all those other people  back from the dead.  And Mr Lewanski ended up in a coma.  So I didn't think it was Victor.  But you may be right in that after Mr Lewanski died the dead seemed to be ready to go back where they came from.  So it was Victor putting Mr Lewanski in a not dead, but not quite alive state that brought everyone back?  Could be.

 

I have to do a rewatch.

Edited December 20, 2015 by SierraMist

[lidarose9]

So at the end when Etienne tells Victor he can actually change things, Victor then saved Julie, right?  When Julie was about to jump into the sinkhole, it looked empty, but when Julie woke up, it was full of water.  Do I have that wrong? Did Victor make the horde disappear?  Lucy told him that they needed his help.  I started to think maybe Victor actually went back in time to change things but that doesn't make sense because Nathan was still alive.  

 

When Julie woke up at the end, she was dripping wet and the sinkhole was full of water. I assumed the Returned had all jumped into the sinkhole to go back down below and then it filled in with water and floated Julie's (living) body to the top where she was dumped on the "shore" -- as if the earth was refusing to take her because she was not one of the Returned.

 

I get the impression Victor and Nathan are hybrids of some kind -- dead but not dead, alive but not alive. And so when all the Returned go back to wherever they were, they can stay behind. Lucy seems to be the one who understood this. Somehow having the baby (and/or Victor) gave the Returned confidence that they should follow her, and she seemed to know they all needed to be together and jump down the sinkhole. 

 

It seems that the Returned will degenerate into animals if they don't stay together. The wounds and abrasions on their bodies signify this -- one would assume Serge in the tunnel, deliberately staying away from the other Returned, will transform into something... not find the peace of the dead and not able to live among the living. Maybe he will just decompose. Audrey was kept separate from other Returned and she seemed to turn into an animal. (This kind of explains why Lena had that terrible wound on her back -- her special psychic link with Camille made her experience Camille's wounds herself. What I don't understand is why they went away when Serge put that gunk on them.)

 

I was wondering if anybody dead comes back -- but I think if you are one of the Returned and are killed, you can come back, but if you are a regular alive person and die, you just stay dead (but might visit the living as a spirit/ghost, like Thomas did). Cuz when Camille died, I thought, well fine, give her a minute and she'll be right back, and sure enough...

Edited December 20, 2015 by lidarose9

[lidarose9]

Your comment about Victor bringing Mr Lewanski back from the dead is interesting.  I didn't get that impression.  But honestly I don't know what did bring all those other people  back from the dead.  And Mr Lewanski ended up in a coma.  So I didn't think it was Victor.  But you may be right in that after Mr Lewanski died the dead seemed to be ready to go back where they came from.  So it was Victor putting Mr Lewanski in a not dead, but not quite alive state that brought everyone back?  Could be.

 

As Victor was kneeling over Mr. Lewanski urging him to come back, they flashed onto images of a bunch of the Returned returning, as if he'd ignited a surge of reanimation in that moment that permeated the whole little valley there. He didn't know he'd done it, so he kept saying I didn't do this, I don't make things happen. And yet, at the end Etienne tells him, yes, you can change things, and that is how he was able to save Julie and make a new future with her. How Etienne knew this, I don't know. This is my current working theory anyhow. 

 

I have no idea how or why Mr. Lewanski fits in the picture other than that -- maybe since he'd been "unnaturally" brought back to life by Victor's "power" (or whatever), he had to wake up from his coma and actually die in order for the Returned to be able to go back to the Land of the Dead (which appears to be in the sinkholes). (He was alive but not really alive, being in a coma the whole time.) Somehow I had the feeling that it was Julie and her love for Victor that made this happen. (I might be making that up, but after six months of coma, Mr. L woke up when she was with him and he seemed determined to make sure she understood that Victor was not his biological son before he could give up and die for real.) 

 

I had the idea that the Returned had been wandering around for six months confused, collected together into groups, wordlessly realized they no longer belonged in this world, and wanted someone who would lead them back to wherever it was they did belong -- which was Lucy. Again, I have no idea why she knows. She seems like the Guardian Angel of the Returned, but she had to have Nathan to earn their confidence somehow. 

Edited December 20, 2015 by lidarose9

[dbklmt]

lidarose9 love all your comments that you made which are ones that I read at IMDB.  Stayed away from reading any spoilers until I saw the entire season and glad I did.  What I did read after I watched it for the first time it gave me things to look for in the finale.  One of the things that I love best about this show is that it's open to interpretation and here are a few of mine...

 

Adele and Simon's visit to the cave:

I think Adele died in the forest when she collapsed.  They got separated and when we see her again it's when she's entering the cave which is extremely dark even with whatever light she was carrying.  When we see Simon again with his ghoulish look he reaches out and takes her hand leading her into the light which lessens as we see her head towards the outside.  That last scene with her in white for me was them united as a couple, the way they were supposed to be 10 years earlier.  That definitely indicated that she had to be dead because they could never be together while she was still alive. 

 

Read this online about why Laure was NOT in season two...

The actress who played Laure (Alix Poisson) was pregnant in real life when the shooting started in September 2014 and she gave birth in November.  According to the director they were originally going to have her in the last 3 episodes but she wasn't ready to return to the set.  In the end they decided to replace her with the nurse, someone who was willing to be there for Julie unconditionally, even when she was pushed away.

 

Lucy as a guardian angel...

The prologue in the final episode when she arrived in town for the 1st time  and met Milan in his restaurant, the only time that he was appealing for me in season 2, she said she knew about a boy who would lead everyone, but obviously didn't realize until later that it would be Victor and not Nathan.  Of course that brings up lots of questions for the ending: How can the baby of Adele live with foster parents if he is dead as he will start to rot without other dead people around him?  How can he survive on earth?  Only if they decide to have a season 3 will we maybe know the answer. 

Edited December 20, 2015 by dbklmt

[lidarose9]

It seems that the Returned will degenerate into animals if they don't stay together. The wounds and abrasions on their bodies signify this -- one would assume Serge in the tunnel, deliberately staying away from the other Returned, will transform into something... not find the peace of the dead and not able to live among the living. Maybe he will just decompose. Audrey was kept separate from other Returned and she seemed to turn into an animal. (This kind of explains why Lena had that terrible wound on her back -- her special psychic link with Camille made her experience Camille's wounds herself. What I don't understand is why they went away when Serge put that gunk on them.)

 

Maybe it wasn't the gunk Serge put on her wound. Maybe it was the fact that she was with one of the Returned. Maybe the fact that she was experiencing Camille's wounds for her, she would also be healed by being in the company of other Returned. It's a reach, I know, but I'm trying to make sense of this! Camille and Lena's telepathic link makes me wonder if Lena is also one of these special hybrids, like Victor and Nathan seem to be. Maybe if we get a Season 3, we'll see more about this. 

 

I am very disappointed we never found out why Simon's parents killed themselves and why Simon committed suicide on his wedding day. And what was going on with Adele. Why did she faint when they were wandering in the woods? And how did she change clothes in the cave? That whole storyline baffles me. 

[lidarose9]

dbklmt  Thanks! I am kinda going nuts not having anyone to talk to about this show cuz none of my friends have watched it, so I am doing all my processing here, I guess! I have deliberately not read *anything* elsewhere cuz I was so afraid of spoilers. So now I am going to read everything I can find! 

 

The show appears to have tied up many loose ends in a way that can function as a series finale if they don't get renewed -- but also leaves plenty to work with if they do get another season. The Returned may have all returned to the Underground Land of the Dead, but Nathan is still in the Land of the Living, and so is Victor. I just can't imagine what life will be like now for Jerome and Claire and Lena and Chloe, especially poor Chloe. There is something fundamentally wrong with Simon & Adele going off to live happily ever after together and leaving their two children behind. 

 

But I have to say i am so glad they gave Julie and Victor a happy ending. I wanted that so much! That actress who plays Julie did so much to make you see how she'd guarded her heart and become completely emotionally cut off since the attack in the tunnel... and how something about Victor could reach into her and connect when nothing else could or would. I was disappointed we never saw Laure again and the fresh nurse seemed a little convenient, but whatev. I wanted to see them happy! So yay!

[molshoop]

I've been doing a little research and apparently the book and the show are based on the myths and fairy tales about
Nixies which are water spirits (sprites).  Victor may be a water spirit that wanted to live as a real little boy.

 

I guess there is a lot of info on reddit, but I don't have time to read it right now.  Water certainly does play a big role
in the series.

[MrPissyPuppy]

I think there may be a Pinocchio influence on the story as well.   Victor seeks out the blue fairy from a book read to him in the form of Julie.  In the fairy tale, the blue fairy makes Pinocchio a real boy.  The love of Julie could be said to make Victor a "real" mortal boy as well.   Or maybe he's just dreaming/fantasizing the beach scene. 

 

I agree that Adele probably died in the woods and then in her travels through the cave is reunited with Simon.  

 

The actors in this show had very expressive faces - it really helped with the story even though I wonder if non-French speakers miss out on nuances. 

[enchantingmonkey]

What a beautiful tale about love, loss and the pitfalls of not accepting things as they are.

 

That makes sense about the actress who played Laure.  I was so confused/annoyed that we didn't see her this season, as she was relatively important in season 1.  

 

I loved everything about Victor and Julie.  

 

Also saw it as Victor bringing back the dead when he prayed for Mr Lewanski to return to him.  Victor's power to change things is imperfect.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't....just like everything else in life, haha.  Perhaps his power is more flawed when other people are a part of the equation, as in the situation with the dam.  

 

If Victor is like Nathan, does that mean neither of them can officially die?  I'm fine with where the show left things but I wouldn't have minded knowing why Lucy came looking for Victor.  

 

Lena crying when Camille had to leave with the other Returned made my eyes water.  

[ptuscadero]

As Victor was kneeling over Mr. Lewanski urging him to come back, they flashed onto images of a bunch of the Returned returning, as if he'd ignited a surge of reanimation in that moment that permeated the whole little valley there. He didn't know he'd done it, so he kept saying I didn't do this, I don't make things happen. And yet, at the end Etienne tells him, yes, you can change things, and that is how he was able to save Julie and make a new future with her. How Etienne knew this, I don't know. 

 

Etienne told Victor he could change things because "she believes you" (meaning Julie). The reason Victor couldn't change what happened with the dam was because Etienne didn't believe him (and admits he was wrong). Julie's trust in Victor made it easy for him to change the situation - in fact, they did it together. (It's also made clear to Victor that the others need him, depend on him, so they obviously trust him, too.) It works on both an allegorical level and a human one, and I felt like it represented one of the major themes of this series.

Or maybe I was just high. The show kind of did that to me.

[ptuscadero]

 

So at the end when Etienne tells Victor he can actually change things, Victor then saved Julie, right?  When Julie was about to jump into the sinkhole, it looked empty, but when Julie woke up, it was full of water.  Do I have that wrong? Did Victor make the horde disappear?

 
I don't know how to convey this from my brain to my lips, but I feel like the Horde *became* the water, as part of whatever passage they were making. It's as if they helped Victor save Julie.

 

Does anybody understand what happened to Simon and Adele? That thing in the cave was Simon? I am really lost on that.

 

I assumed it was Simon, and that Adele was seeing him in his true form (like a Patrick Swayze/Ghost kind of thing), especially because she was not frightened to go with him. Up until that point, I wasn't sure if I thought Adele was dead or not, but that sort of made me decide she was - and they were making a 'passage' together in the form that meant the most to them in their lives.

 

However, I've also heard a couple of people express an opinion that he was Adele's boyfriend/husband, sort of escorting her to Simon. I was worried they might move into 'corny' territory with this ending; but one of the best things about this show for me is that they don't throw anvils at your head or get carried away with exposition, so I can accept a certain number of unanswered questions.  I won't get to have my second viewing for a couple more days, so I'm hoping I'll pick up on details I may have missed. Either way, I'm satisfied for the most part with how the stories played out. 

 

I don't understand why Adele would leave Chloe.

 

That's another reason I was pretty confident that Adele was dead. If they were reverting to their previous lives together at the end, neither one of the chidren existed then. And part of Lucy and Victor's job description seems to be to make sure children left behind are safe, so I think we're to assume that they're being taken care of and not abandoned.


edited because hitting "enter" too soon and leaving eighteen feet of white space is not cool.

Edited December 21, 2015 by ptuscadero

[ptuscadero]

But I have to say i am so glad they gave Julie and Victor a happy ending. I wanted that so much! That actress who plays Julie did so much to make you see how she'd guarded her heart and become completely emotionally cut off since the attack in the tunnel... and how something about Victor could reach into her and connect when nothing else could or would. I was disappointed we never saw Laure again and the fresh nurse seemed a little convenient, but whatev. I wanted to see them happy! So yay!

This. Julie was my favorite character in this show from day one, and yet she had about a tenth of the lines that the other lead actors did. Céline Sallette was amazing at conveying so much emotion in Julie with just her facial expressions and movements. I decided early on that I could deal with anything that happened on this show, as long as Julie and Victor were with each other and happy in the end, wherever that might be.

[ptuscadero]

What caused Sandrine's death? I feel like I either missed it, or can't remember.

 

One thing I don't feel was adequately answered for me was the running theme about water. How the levels in the town kept dropping; how the flood suddenly cut things in two; and remember when they opened up Camille's casket and found nothing in it but water? The water stuff is one of the few things that I really would like to get a little more information on.

 

I feel like this board is sort of a Bill W. meeting for lonely Returned viewers. Phew. I might just make it to the next step yet.

[Madding crowd]

I thought the ending was very beautiful and very sad in a way. There were also many things I didn't quite get, which is OK because I have all of you to explain it for me! I have come to really adore Victor and was so happy to see him with Julie even though Julie will get old and Victor will be once again alone. I didn't understand how Victor could immediately summon the dead since it appeared in season one that the dead arrived randomly. Then he caused Mr. Lewanski to wake up, but then left him. Why?

 

I didn't understand Adele and SImon's story really and if I could get one question answered in the show, it would be to know why/if SImon committed suicide. While it is true there are cases in real life where it is not known, the majority of suicides are committed by persons known to have depression/illness/addictions/other mental conditions. The family doesn't always know the suicide would happen, but they are usually not really surprised. I don't understand how Adele died, was she shown to be sick?

And I didn't like the idea of them leaving the children behind. Also didn't like the thing in the cave and couldn't imagine what it represented. If the returned are just real people who have been returned, it couldn't be Simon's real self.

 

I was also surprised at Sandrine and thought it looked like she turned into a real Walking Dead type zombie. Never really understood Lucy's role or why she was different. I guess the biggest question of all for me is: If Victor is simply an other worldly child and summoned up the dead, why are the dead so very different from one another?

 

But that last scene with Victor and Julie was everything. Everything.

[ptuscadero]

Wait a minute. The water level dropped when the Revs appeared, correct? That would correlate with the pit suddenly filling with water as they left. Whatever energy brings them to life uses water as their conduit. All that water rising out of the ground caused the levels to drop, and created the sinkhole - which filled back in as that energy soaked back up into the earth.

 

Am I just sitting up too late? Will this look completely loony in the morning?

[Ruby25]

Boy, the Julie/Victor stuff just GUTTED me. Wow. That was really powerful and so well done. When she just comes back through the crowd and says she can't live without him I started to bawl.

 

Victor is so awesome, the actor was great. Him being the hybrid makes me think of the movie Let the Right One In, where the vampire has to find a familiar to take care of them as long as they can, until they then have to move on to someone else. And then the person they choose gets SO attached to them they're willing to give their life over to him. Not just willing, but compelled, even. I love that kind of stuff and this was so, so moving. Loved it.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Ruby25

[enchantingmonkey]

I don't know how to convey this from my brain to my lips, but I feel like the Horde *became* the water, as part of whatever passage they were making. It's as if they helped Victor save Julie.

Interesting theory!  I'm still trying to figure out how Victor saved Julie.  It seemed like Victor helping the Returned get back was intertwined with him saving Julie.  Maybe Victor had become cynic after the incident with the dam and quit believing he could change things.  He had been hiding in the Lewanski home for 35 years.  Then, bringing back Mr Lewanski was a sign to him not to give up hope on making a difference.  Believing he could save Julie was like a final step, and the Returned became the water that lifted her from the sinkhole.  

 

 

 

I didn't understand how Victor could immediately summon the dead since it appeared in season one that the dead arrived randomly.

It may have appeared as random because of how we were introduced to the different characters but I think it was all happening at the same time.  

 

 

 

Then he caused Mr. Lewanski to wake up, but then left him. Why?

I did think it odd that he left Mr Lewanski after reviving him but perhaps he was startled by what he had just done.  Also, he may have realized Mr Lewanski had called a paramedic and didn't want to be in the house when they arrived.  

 

 

 

What caused Sandrine's death? I feel like I either missed it, or can't remember.

I was puzzled by that, as well.  I thought she was in some kind of state of shock, and then Audrey started eating her.

Edited December 21, 2015 by enchantingmonkey

[ptuscadero]

Interesting theory!  I'm still trying to figure out how Victor saved Julie.  It seemed like Victor helping the Returned get back was intertwined with him saving Julie.  Maybe Victor had become cynic after the incident with the dam and quit believing he could change things.  He had been hiding in the Lewanski home for 35 years.  Then, bringing back Mr Lewanski was a sign to him not to give up hope on making a difference.  Believing he could save Julie was like a final step, and the Returned became the water that lifted her from the sinkhole.  

 

 

 

It may have appeared as random because of how we were introduced to the different characters but I think it was all happening at the same time.  

 

 

 

I did think it odd that he left Mr Lewanski after reviving him but perhaps he was startled by what he had just done.  Also, he may have realized Mr Lewanski had called a paramedic and didn't want to be in the house when they arrived.  

 

 

 

I was puzzled by that, as well.  I thought she was in some kind of state of shock, and then Audrey started eating her.

Oh, wait. In the police station, didn't we see the subtitles where the gendarmes were saying something about having to shoot someone who was out of control? I just remembered that, and it dawned on me that they must have just returned from shooting Sandrine.

[enchantingmonkey]

Yes, I'm going to have to go back and watch the Sandrine scenes from the previous episode and see if that makes sense.  Hindsight is usually helpful, lol.

 

The reviewer of this episode at The Guardian speculated that Victor may have tried to bring back Laure, and that's why there was a second wave of Returned (Audrey, Morgane, Milan and the girls murdered by Serge).  I imagine the actress being pregnant and unavailable complicated some of the storyline for this season.  

[lidarose9]

I don't know how to convey this from my brain to my lips, but I feel like the Horde *became* the water, as part of whatever passage they were making. It's as if they helped Victor save Julie.

 

YES! I think you're on to something here!

[lidarose9]

One thing I don't feel was adequately answered for me was the running theme about water. How the levels in the town kept dropping; how the flood suddenly cut things in two; and remember when they opened up Camille's casket and found nothing in it but water? The water stuff is one of the few things that I really would like to get a little more information on.

 

I think this is right. The water level in the lake started dropping when the Returned started coming back. Then when they all went to gather in the Domain (the night of the Shootout at the Shelter), that displaced water suddenly seeped into the tunnels under the town and flooded it. And at the same time, those sinkholes opened up. The sinkholes connected into the tunnel system. They were the freeway between the "underworld" and the land of the living. The Army guys who went diving into the water saw images of white people/things down there, remember? That looked like the thing that greeted Adele in the cave.

 

I felt like the water had intelligence. It deliberately flooded the town as a way of trying to protect the Returned. It forced the vast majority of people to evacuate, leaving behind only the families of the ones who'd come back but were hiding it, and of course the infrastructure people. It also isolated the housing development so the Returned had a safe place to gather.  

 

How about this: When Victor accidentally opened the door between the world of the dead and the world of the living, the water in the lake responded by flooding the town to protect the Returned. By the time the Army guys figured out how to drain away the water, the Returned had all realized they needed to go back to the underworld. So the water seeped away, only waiting long enough to fill up the sinkhole to save Julie's life. This is just a shot in the dark here. 

[lidarose9]

I didn't understand how Victor could immediately summon the dead since it appeared in season one that the dead arrived randomly. Then he caused Mr. Lewanski to wake up, but then left him. Why?

 

If I remember correctly, Mr. Lewanski had called the 911 guys and then keeled over dead. Victor heard him fall and ran out and called him back to life. We got a bunch of flashes of other people returning to life, and then we heard a siren and saw ambulance lights flashing, so I assumed Victor went to hide. Because he was supposed to be dead and had been hiding with Mr. L for 35 years. 

 

All along I have wondered what was the trigger that caused the Returned to start coming back, and I think it was this incident where Victor brought Mr. L back to life -- but not all the way - he was alive but not awake. The ambulance guys took him away to the hospital and I guess Victor had other things to do... I can't remember what Victor did after this. Did he go find Julie? Why did he not attempt to see Mr L at the hospital and bring him out of his coma?

 

Anyhow my current theory is there was something about Julie coming to the hospital that woke Mr L from his coma. It had been six months. Maybe she had Victor vibes on her that he sensed in his coma. Once he told Julie that Victor was not his son, then he could die all the way dead. Why this is, I do not know. 

[DotCotton]

 

didn't understand Adele and SImon's story really and if I could get one question answered in the show, it would be to know why/if SImon committed suicide.

 

I had a thought about this in the shower this morning. Damn show follows me everywhere! 

 

Suicide seems to be a major theme in the show starting with the mass suicide (technically not suicide) of Milan's cult.  Simon's parents were part of the suicide group.  Was his mother pregnant with him at the time? If so how did survive? The Horde seems to be able to force people to do things.  I was thinking maybe Simon's parents made him kill himself.  The Horde wasn't awakened at the time of  his suicide but I imagine his parents could still have been able to mess with his mind. 

 

But this brings up a new question.  Wasn't Simon's mother pregnant with him when she died? If so, how is he even alive? Or am I imagining this?

[MrPissyPuppy]

Simon's parents were part of the suicide group.  Was his mother pregnant with him at the time? If so how did survive?

 

 

Simon was an infant at the time.  He and the other children of the suiciders were in a room together when the police came.  A woman was in another room grinding up sleeping pills presumably for the kids to kill them as well.

 

I haven't deleted this episode from my dvr.  I need to rewatch.   

[alias1]

Victor and Julie were definitely the most compelling characters.  I wonder if Victor went to Julie randomly or if he knew who she was.,  Didn't she say she visited Mr Lewanski at his home several times as a nurse?  Victor must have seen her even if he was in hiding.   I think, as someone else mentioned, that Victor wasn't able to totally revive Mr Lewanski before the ambulance people came and he ran away so he wouldn't be discovered. But leaving him in that not dead, but not alive state is what brought the other dead back.  Then when he died, the horde, who had been scattered throughout the town, started meeting up again for their journey back to where they came from.

 

Besides Victor (where did he come from) I think the greatest mystery is Lucy.  Why did she seem to know more than anyone else? When she first came to Milan 35 years ago (or was it 36) why was she waiting for Victor?   They apparently were already linked way back then.  Was it because Milan killed Lucy that Victor ended up at the Lewanski's door?

 

I wonder if Nathan will age.  I guess if that couple really loves him he will grow up a normal boy.  And I guess Victor will somehow look out for him.  I did wonder who the other  boy was at the beach with Victor, Julie, and the nurse.  It seemed like they knew him.

 

There are still so many questions and yet, it really was a satisfying ending.  I think because we all got the ending we wanted for Victor and Julie.  It was a wonderful, captivating series.  I'm so glad to read the comments here about how much others enjoyed it.

[DotCotton]

Simon was an infant at the time.  He and the other children of the suiciders were in a room together when the police came.  A woman was in another room grinding up sleeping pills presumably for the kids to kill them as well.

Thanks so much for the explanation.  The children have been driving me crazy.  I didn't associate them with the suicide group.  At one point I thought Etienne was a pedophile because of those children. I could not figure them out.  Did we see any other children of the suicide group members?  What became of them?  

 

I feel like I miss so much watching on my own.  Thank goodness for these boards!

[alias1]

Thanks so much for the explanation.  The children have been driving me crazy.  I didn't associate them with the suicide group.  At one point I thought Etienne was a pedophile because of those children. I could not figure them out.  Did we see any other children of the suicide group members?  What became of them?  

 

I feel like I miss so much watching on my own.  Thank goodness for these boards!

Besides Simon, I know for sure that Etienne's son, Berg was one of those children.  Maybe Toni and Serge were there, too.  I guess I didn't notice them, but they must have been in that group, too.

 

I thought it was kind of heartbreaking when Etienne told Berg he didn't remember him. 

Edited December 21, 2015 by SierraMist

[lidarose9]

At one point, I was wondering if the initial group of Returned were the ones who committed suicide in the clearing, but there were far, far too many of them for that to be the case. Then I thought maybe they are all people who died violently, via murder or suicide or some terrible accident. Would Mrs. Costa's death count as violent?

 

Unanswered questions:

 

- Why did Simon commit suicide on his wedding day? Why did Adele's pregnancy last only 6 months? Why did he and Adele abandon their children? Did Adele die in the forest? How and why? One minute she's fine, then she's dead? What happened in the cave?

 

- Which dead people came back as Returned, and why?

 

- Who is Victor? How is he different from the Returned? What is his role? Does he see the future and then try to warn people? Remember he was standing in the road when Camille's bus drove off the road. Was he standing there to try to force the bus driver to pay attention to the road rather than being distracted by Camille's antics? 

 

- Who is Lucy? How did she know about Victor? She arrived a year before the dam burst, specifically looking for Victor. What is her relationship with Milan? What is her relationship with Morgane? Why or how does she see dead people when she has sex? 

 

- Milan seemed like a normal guy 36 years ago. In the days after the dam burst, he became kind of a vigilante, and then to become a wacko, murdered Morgane, murdered Lucy, organized the suicide cult, and facilitated the mass suicide in the clearing. Died, came back 35 years later in the mass wave of reanimation, unchanged, the same murderous nutcase. Terrorized his children some more, was forgiven and murdered by Lucy, wakes up a new man, seemingly calm, rational, and no longer murderous. Why?

 

- Was Serge's serial killing related somehow to the crazy notions of his father? About "saving" people by killing them? Were Serge and Toni also in the closet on the day of the mass suicide in the forest? Were those children all to grow up to be visited by their dead parents when the Returned came back?

 

- What's the story with Mr. Lewanski? Assuming he was in a coma because Victor was only able to bring him back to life but not awaken him before the ambulance guys came.... why then did Victor not come to the hospital to wake him up? Why did Mr. L wake up when Julie came? Why then did he die after he told Julie that Victor was not his son?

 

- Who was the little boy in Victor's first dream of Julie at the beach? Why and how was Victor able to change that? 

 

- What's the deal with the water? 

 

I am sure there are many more questions. Please add to the list. And PLEASE offer answers if you have any theories!  

Edited December 21, 2015 by lidarose9

[CMDV]

OK, so the consensus on here seems to be that the thing in the cave was Simon. That hadn't occurred to me but it makes sense, it would explain why she took his hand and went with him. But, otherwise, were there any other signals that it was Simon? That red shirt wasn't what he was wearing (was it? I tried to go back and rewatch the scene but the sundance website makes you sit through 5 minutes of ads when I tried to jump around so I gave up). I feel like they should have had him wearing the jacket from the previous scene or the clothes Simon first showed up in or something to make it a bit clearer. 

 

I feel bad for Chloe. If Adele really is dead, that poor girl has no one. It's especially sad given that she seemed so worried about people leaving her. 

 

The backstory of where Victor has been for 35 years was fascinating but undoes the explanation of why he grew between seasons 1 & 2. Mr. Lewansky seemed to have loved him very much (and vice versa) but Victor stayed the same size. What was the last picture Victor put up? It looked like a woman in a flowing bluish dress? Did I miss what that was a reference to or is that something we haven't seen?

Edited December 21, 2015 by CMDV

[CMDV]

 

All along I have wondered what was the trigger that caused the Returned to start coming back, and I think it was this incident where Victor brought Mr. L back to life -- but not all the way - he was alive but not awake. The ambulance guys took him away to the hospital and I guess Victor had other things to do... I can't remember what Victor did after this. Did he go find Julie? Why did he not attempt to see Mr L at the hospital and bring him out of his coma?

 

I imagine Victor might not have known where Mr. Lewansky went or how to find him. Personally I think he didn't know it worked or about the coma - Mr. Lewansky didn't open his eyes til after Victor ran off. 

[Ruby25]

I think maybe Victor and others like him age, but only very slowly.

[enchantingmonkey]

The backstory of where Victor has been for 35 years was fascinating but undoes the explanation of why he grew between seasons 1 & 2. Mr. Lewansky seemed to have loved him very much (and vice versa) but Victor stayed the same size. 

I thought about this myself.  The only thing I could come up with was that there was an admiration between Victor and Mr Lewanski but it wasn't the same as Julie's love for him.  Didn't Victor say that he grew because Julie loved him?  And in season 1, it seemed that Victor was drawn to Julie because she represented the blond fairy that Mrs Lewanski had read about in their bedtime story.  I'm guessing that Victor's relationship with Julie was somehow more fulfilling than his relationship with Mr Lewanski, which is why he grew.  We know so very little about Victor, though.  It could also be that he doesn't fully understand why he does or doesn't grow.  

Edited December 22, 2015 by enchantingmonkey

[Ruby25]

I think one of the more interesting questions they left unanswered is who Julie was pregnant by at the time she was attacked. She and Laure were a couple then, right? So was she having an affair with a man? It seems like they put that in there so she could find out that Victor was right in what he said to her about the baby dying, but I'm more interested in who the father may have been.

[CMDV]

I think one of the more interesting questions they left unanswered is who Julie was pregnant by at the time she was attacked. She and Laure were a couple then, right? So was she having an affair with a man? It seems like they put that in there so she could find out that Victor was right in what he said to her about the baby dying, but I'm more interested in who the father may have been.

Yes, I've been wondering about that too... perhaps they weren't exclusive, or were on a break, and Julie had seen other people. The night she was attacked, they had a fight of some sort but I cannot remember at all what it was about.  

[dbklmt]

What was the last picture Victor put up? It looked like a woman in a flowing bluish dress? Did I miss what that was a reference to or is that something we haven't seen?

 

It was the Blue Fairy that was referenced several times in season 1 especially when Mrs. Lewanski read that fairy tale to Louis 35 years ago.  Victor saw Julie as the Blue Fairy but it was actually Lucy.  She always wore a blue jacket and since there was a guardian angel vibe with her this fits perfectly.

[NeelyOh]

I was thinking that Nathan and Victor aren't just alike but that Nathan could be Victor. Victor is different and has these supernatural powers because he was born to one live person and one dead person. Victor didn't say that the baby was like him until he confirmed that it was Adele's baby. I got the impression that there was some time time shifting going on that Victor caused and then ultimately could control. Was guessing that the boy at the beach could be the baby Julie was carrying and that Serge let himself decompose or whatever in the tunnel and so his murders and attack on Julie never happen.

 

Agree with Lidarose9 about water.

 

Figured Lucy was just a psychic who could actually commune with the dead and was called to the town to help the returned, knowing that a little boy was the cause or at least important.  She ended up a returned but still remembered what she was called there to do.

 

Agree that Adele died in the woods. Will have to re-watch to see if I think it was her fiancee (I think his name was Thomas?) in the cave

 

 

 

 

[alias1]

I read that in another review, that they thought it was Thomas leading Adele to Simon and that doesn't make any sense to me.  Thomas hated Simon and told Adele (in her vision) that Simon was the one who killed him.  I also read the part about Nathan being Victor.  I don't believe that either.  Some of the reviews I read seemed way off base to me.  People who posted on this forum regularly seemed much more knowledgeable about the things that happened on the show than some of the reviews I read elsewhere. 

[Bugs Meany]

I sort of hope that was it for the show. Season 2 introduced too many elements that I don't think were fully thought out. A third season would only get messier.

 

Criticisms in question form:

 

-The thing in the cave. If that was Simon, then how/why/when does he change form? If not, then is that the only monster--and why did the show resort to introducing monsters? It definitely wasn't in Adèle's imagination because the engineers saw it on camera.

 

-Why did S2 waste precious time on Morgane? He could have been cut out entirely.

 

-I can accept that Serge was a psychotic cannibal serial killer. Why did sweet little Audrey Sabatini go cannibal too? Did they throw this in just for shock value?

 

-In episode 7, that gendarme was mind-controlled by Milan to go psycho. When we saw from his POV, the normal/living gendarmes had demon faces.

a. Milan goes from orchestrating a massacre in episode 7 to being calm and chill in episode 8. Why the 180 in a matter of days?

b. Had we seen mind-control before then?

c. Demon faces. What?

 

Those last two elements were clearly added to make Les Revenants more of a horror series. That's not what we signed up for. Who knows what season 3 would turn into?

[enchantingmonkey]

The show runner, Fabrice Gobert, said this about third season--

"I think there can be a third," he said. "But season two is really constructed as a mirror to season one. There are a lot of questions, a lot of mysteries, a lot of stories that began in season one, and those had to be completed in season two.

 

"So we can imagine easily season three, but I think it would be different from the two first chapters."

 

 

-I can accept that Serge was a psychotic cannibal serial killer. Why did sweet little Audrey Sabatini go cannibal too? Did they throw this in just for shock value?

Audrey wasn't a rare case.  We saw a quick glimpse of one of the decomposing Returned that looked like it was eating something, and I think we're to assume those decomposing Returned were eating the animals and scaring them into jumping into the water in season 1.  I saw someone mentioning Camille eating a squirrel in season 1.  Maybe Claire found the squirrel after Camille had eaten on it?  My memory isn't fresh on this, as I think it was early in season 1.  

[lidarose9]

Audrey wasn't a rare case.  We saw a quick glimpse of one of the decomposing Returned that looked like it was eating something, and I think we're to assume those decomposing Returned were eating the animals and scaring them into jumping into the water in season 1.  I saw someone mentioning Camille eating a squirrel in season 1.  Maybe Claire found the squirrel after Camille had eaten on it?  My memory isn't fresh on this, as I think it was early in season 1.  

 

 

Yes. All of the Returned who are not with the Horde degenerate into animals. Claire found the remains of a dead squirrel in the trash back in Season 1 when Camille was living with her family pretending to be a cousin. In time the other Returned started losing touch with reality even in the Domain, like Esteban. So what happened with Audrey and her poor mother would eventually happen if Camille had stayed with her family. 

Edited December 22, 2015 by lidarose9

[CMDV]

-Why did S2 waste precious time on Morgane? He could have been cut out entirely.

Yeah, I've been wondering too. At first I was just thinking he was her boyfriend and it was going to have something to do with why Milan killed them (which I guess it did, since they were together in the cell, but we never found out their 'sin', did we?). But since we've found out Lucy isn't a normal Returned, the focus on him and their previous relationship is confusing.

 

-In episode 7, that gendarme was mind-controlled by Milan to go psycho. When we saw from his POV, the normal/living gendarmes had demon faces.

a. Milan goes from orchestrating a massacre in episode 7 to being calm and chill in episode 8. Why the 180 in a matter of days?

I thought it was Victor doing this. But it could have been either one I guess.

 

b. Had we seen mind-control before then?

Victor did this several times in season 1 (making the nosy neighbor and Toni stab themselves but think someone else was doing it). The Returned in the Domaine had Claire think she was being attacked when she was actually hitting herself. And it was implied that the Returned had the police shoot themselves the night of the showdown at the Helping Hand.

[CMDV]

I read that in another review, that they thought it was Thomas leading Adele to Simon and that doesn't make any sense to me.  Thomas hated Simon and told Adele (in her vision) that Simon was the one who killed him.  I also read the part about Nathan being Victor.  I don't believe that either.  Some of the reviews I read seemed way off base to me.  People who posted on this forum regularly seemed much more knowledgeable about the things that happened on the show than some of the reviews I read elsewhere.

I suppose one could make the argument that maybe Thomas found peace in death and just wanted Adele to be happy, yadda yadda.. but I agree it wouldn't be in line with what we know of his character.

I don't think the Thomas that Adele kept seeing was really him though. I think she was hallucinating. In season 1, it seemed she had previous mental health issues that included hallucinations (she thought Simon was one at first). I don't remember any clues that they were ESP or anything other than mental illness.

Also if it were Thomas in the cave, he should have been in uniform, no? That's what he had been wearing that night, I think.

[lidarose9]

Yes, Camille's boyfriend (blanking out on his name, Virgil?) explained that to her -- the Returned have the ability to read your thoughts and make you see things that aren't there. When Milan confronted the soldier, he told him he knew what he was thinking. He made the soldier see scary faces because he knew that's what the soldier was afraid of. 

 

Victor can also do that. He made the neighbor lady kill herself and the dude from the shelter jump out his window. And/or he made Julie think he jumped out the window but when Julie ran downstairs, he was behind her inside watching her. He seems to have many of the abilities of the Returned is not subject to the laws that govern them.  

 

Someone upthread connected Serge's M.O. in his serial killings with the flesh-eating of the Returned. I hadn't connected the two, and wonder if the two were meant to be connected. Serge was doing it as part of his serial murderer ritual -- whereas I think the Returned who have devolved are just eating the way an animal eats. 

 

I also noticed when the sympathetic soldier brings the baby to Lucy, she says she failed, the others had gone, and the reason why they lost confidence in her was cuz she harmed Milan. (Not because she didn't have the baby or Victor -- she kept saying she needed the child, don't know which one.) Apparently that is a rule for her, in her guise as the guardian angel of the Returned. (I'M GLAD SHE DID.)

 

I think Etienne did not know his son because when he died his son was a child. I have no idea why he wouldn't figure it out. 

 

As to why they wasted time with Morgane -- I suspect they may have intended to give us more info about the Lucy/Milan relationship because they left that very unclear. But maybe then they ran out of time or something.

 

It also occurs to me, they didn't actually give Morgane much screen time -- he seemed more of a factor than an actual player. He never did anything that we know of, except have sex with Lucy. Maybe we expected that if an episode was named for a character, then something vital about them would be revealed in that episode, because that is a TV show convention. Maybe in this case, it only referred to the opening sequence, those first few minutes. 

 

I am going to watch the whole series all over again, both seasons. Maybe some things will become clear. Even though not everything was wrapped up tidily, I still absolutely love this show. LOVE. It's a show about impermanence, about letting go of the ones we love, and in spite of how painful it is, it is the nature of things and this we must accept. I really loved that as Camille turned away and departed with the other Returned at the end, she was crying. Even knowing she had to go, it was still hard. There is nothing easy about death, even when you have a chance to come back and say goodbye again.