'Midnight Mass' Ending explained: Father Paul's plans cause Crockett to perish
Mike Flanagan's 'Midnight Mass' may not have the jump scares, with the series backs in horrors and shocking moments that are sure to get under your skin. The last episode of the series has it all, seeing that it is gore, dramatic and melancholic all rolled into one. In the final episode of the series, Episode 7, 'Book of Revelations, picks up after Father Paul's (Hamish Linklater) preparations for the mass conversion, seeing that he plans to help everyone in the town of Crockett Island achieve salvation. Since his arrival, he had been giving the islanders vampiric blood, which resulted in a range of miracles. These miracles included Lezza (Annarah Cymone), the mayor's daughter, walking again, and Millie, an elderly woman suffering from dementia, who began recovering her health and youth.
Seeing that Father Paul mistook the vampiric being for an angel, he was convinced that turning everyone into a vampire, like him, would bring them closer to God. However, it was vital for them to die first and then be 'reborn' to make them vampires. If you're looking for similar series to check out, you might want to consider -- 'Uzumaki' and 'Demonic'.
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With Riley (Zach Gilford) being the first to experience the transformation, Father Paul soon realises that Riley killed himself, as he can sense that he has ceased to exist. Before his death, Riley tells Erin (Kate Siegel) everything and even exposes himself to the sun so that she may believe him. Erin goes to Sarah (Annabeth Gish) in the hope of finding someone who would listen to her story about Riley's death. Sarah doesn't question Erin's story, seeing that her own research on her mother's and Erin's blood samples have proven that their blood combusts when exposed to the sun.
She initially assumes that it is some form of acute Porphyria Cutanea Tarda -- a disease that led to vampire folklore due to patients' inability to expose themselves to the sun. Erin, Sarah and her mother Millie try to flee the island, but they soon realise that they're trapped. Sarah and Millie figure they should hide for safety, but Erin decides to attend the Easter vigil mass, as she knows something terrible will happen, and she doesn't want Riley's sacrifice to go in vain. Rightful enough, Father Paul reveals to the congregation that he is Monsignor Pruitt, the old priest they all believed was unwell and on the mainland.
He told them how he encountered an angel in Damascus and had brought it back with him to help save them all. He proceeds to give Sturge (Matt Biedel) poison and lets him die, much to everyone's shock and horror. Hassan (Rahul Abburi), who attends the service on his son's insistence and due to Sarah's suspicion of a contagion being spread, reacts to the situation grabbing his son and trying to leave. It is here that the vampiric being reveals itself as Sturge comes back to life. The mayor and his wife promptly begin passing out poison, and chaos ensue, with some people turning into vampires while others refuse. In an attempt to end the chaos, Millie shoots Paul in the head, causing the Vampiric being to attack her. Bev (Samantha Sloyan), who is now a vampire, takes over the situation and locks everyone in the church, resulting in a mass vampire conversion. She then goes against Paul's wishes and lets all the vampires loose on the island, resulting in deaths and vampire conversions.
Hassan, Sarah, Erin, Riley's mother Annie (Kristin Lehman), Warren (Igby Rigney) and Lezza are the only surviving humans. Annie sacrifices herself in the hope of saving at least the children. The adults decide a plan to destroy the whole island, while Bev herself, too, begins to set houses on fire while quoting the book of Revelations. Father Paul finally realizes the massive error of his ways, as he tells Millie that if she had asked him to give up the priesthood, he would have. He was always in love with her and wanted nothing more than to be a father to Sarah, his secret lovechild with Millie. Millie reminds him that it would have never worked out, and she couldn't risk ruining all their lives. They were now meant to fade away and let Sarah live. Paul tries to fix the situation when he notices Sarah dozing the church in gasoline. He urges her to escape, but Scuttle shoots her. Paul fights him in a fit of rage but then rushes to his daughter's side. He tries to convert her into a vampire, but she refuses, choosing to die human.
Millie and Paul mourn her, and they carry her corpse to her favorite part of the island, as they decide to expose themselves to the sun and die with their daughter. Meanwhile, Hassan tries to burn down the vampire safehouse but is caught by Bev, who shoots him. Erin shows up and tries to set the place on fire, but the vampiric being attacks and feeds on her. Hassan's son. Ali, who rejects his own faith and is a vampire too, in the act of defiance, picks up the lighter and helps his father finish the job. While the vampiric being feeds on Erin, she cuts holes in its wings to disable it. With the chirping of birds heard in the distance, it signifies that sunrise would soon be upon them. The being tries to flee, but with its damaged wings, struggles to do so. Meanwhile, the islanders, who are now vampires, have grown tired of the chaos and bloodshed.
With nowhere to hide, they gather together and sing hymns as they await their death. The series ends with Ali and Hassan praying on the beach as Hassan succumbs to his wounds and Ali burns to death, while Bev screams desperately and tries to save herself, but to no avail. With Warren and Lezza, the only two teens who escaped the island now on a rowboat, they realise that the entire island has perished and that the being might be dead for good. The series ends by implying that everyone, including the vampiric, is dead, although its death is not shown. Fans can make this assumption as Lezza, who was unable to walk before she unknowingly consumed the being blood, loses feeling in her legs yet again, implying that its powers had worn off.
'Midnight Mass' is now streaming on Netflix.