Noughts + Crosses Ending Explained: Season 1 ends on a hopeful note as Sephy and Callum make a getaway
Spoilers for Noughts + Crosses Season 1
In the explosive finale, we see the last chapter of Callum's 180-degree evolution, going from someone who wants to be a model Nought citizen to becoming a domestic terrorist. While you could say that his arc has some romanticized backtracking towards the end, we know enough about Sephy and Callum's conflicted love to see how his decision to ultimately flee with Sephy rings true.
In this episode we see Callum joining the Noughts’ rebellion after his father's death. What is worse is that when his "friendship" with Sephy is revealed thanks to his brother Jude, he is persuaded to betray her so that the Liberation Militia (LM) can kidnap her to pressure her father, Kamal, to resign from his post as Prime Minister and give them a hefty ransom. Callum going through with this plan shows just how far he has come from the boy who wanted to join the military in Episode 1. By now, we know Sephy is pregnant but her joy at reuniting with Callum is overtaken by shock as she is dragged back to the LM base.
It is heartbreaking to see Sephy question Callum who insists she means nothing to him. Sephy is enraged enough to stab him in the back to escape after news comes that Kamal has resigned. Of course, this action is triggered by the fear that the rebels will have no use for her and therefore kill her. Callum tells her that she never really loved him anyway. This is when Sephy drops her bombshell -- she wonders if he could kill his own child.
This is when Callum has his change of heart and he decides he wants to be with Sephy and their child. The interactions between the couple show just how closely love and hate are intertwined when everything has been stretched to a breaking point. Of course, our young lovers have a few more barriers to cross before they can be together.
Jack Dorn, LM's leader, who is as much the show's villain as his counterpart, Kamal, has no intention of leaving Sephy alive. Even though Kamal shows up with the bail money, Dorn instructs Jude to kill Sephy. But when Dorn reveals he was the one to kill Danny, Jude turns the gun on him instead, allowing Sephy and Callum to escape. Jude's fate is uncertain because though we hear a gunshot, it is uncertain who shot whom when Dorn and Jude wrestle for the gun.
Outside, Sephy and Callum encounter Kamal who wants to kill his daughter's abductor. It is then Sephy's turn to 'rescue' Callum as she steps in to prevent Kamal from shooting, saying she is pregnant with Callum's child. Kamal is so shocked that he lets them go. Therefore Kamal, loses not one child but two, since he has already discarded and discredited Yaro Baloyi-Hadley, his illegitimate mixed-race son, forcing him to leave Albion.
We do see Callum and Sephy together in the woods, away from cities and the police, when Callum calls his momma Meggie to say they are safe. But their future and how they will bring up their mixed-race child will be grist for Season 2.
'Noughts + Crosses' premieres on Peacock on September 4.