The ending of Netflix's Echoes, explained
Netflix's Echoes is the latest crime drama we can't stop talking about, after the thriller set around two twins dropped on the streaming service last week. But if the ending left you feeling as confused as when you started watching, allow us to give you a detailed explainer of what happened.
What is Echoes on Netflix about?
As the official synopsis explains, "Identical twin sisters Leni and Gina decide to swap their lives. However, there are dire consequences when one of the twins goes missing, causing both of their lives to rapidly fall apart."
The story follows twin sisters Leni and Gina (both played by Michelle Monoghan) who swap lives on their birthday every year, and live a year in the other's shoes. Gina is a writer married to a former therapist Charlie (played by Daniel Sunjata), who live in Los Angeles. Leni, meanwhile, lives in Mt. Echo where the twins grew up, with her husband Jack (Matt Bomer).
The ending of Echoes, explained
*Spoilers* While we're originally told it's Leni that goes missing, it quickly transpires it's actually Gina, while pretending to be Leni. She's trying to escape the life-swapping situation she says Leni put her in, controlling her life from a young age (guilt-tripping her over an accident with their older sister) - hence her desire for a fresh start in LA.
In the final episode, we see Gina and Leni - both alive - running from their childhood home, which is on fire with their father inside. The twins begin to fight on a cliff edge, where Leni admits she felt traumatised from seeing their father murder their mother. Gina replies that their father drowned their mother at her request, and that she wanted to die on her own terms instead of from the terminal illness she had.
The fight comes to a climax when Gina seemingly jumps to her death from a nearby waterfall, though her body is never recovered. Under suspicion for murder, Leni flees to Australia, where someone tells her they recently saw someone identical to her also living; leading her to assume Gina is also alive and living under a new identity.
In the final scene, Charlie, Gina's former husband, is on promotional tour for his book about the twins, when a woman dressed in a black disguise approaches to ask about the "sister who killed herself." Charlie confirms it was his wife, but that her body was never found. When he gets home, he sees a woman waiting for him wearing a black dress, and seemingly doesn't know which one of the twins it is.
When Charlie suggests it was the same person as at the reading, the twin looks confused and says she's been waiting in the house for over an hour. Charlie admits he'll work out whether he's talking to Gina or Leni eventually, before asking why she returned. She replies, "So many scores to settle, Charlie. I thought I should start with you."
The screen fades to black, and viewers are left wondering: Are Gina and Leni both alive and back in Charlie's life? Was it the same woman at the reading as in his house? Or is one of them just a very good liar? So many questions!
Echoes is now streaming on Netflix.
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