Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I'm your Host Paul aka The Headless Hostman and this
video we're breaking down the ending of The Haunting Of Bly Manor!
There will be Heavy Spoilers here so if you haven't had a chance to check out the season
yet then I highly recommend that you check out now.
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this, now let's get into our breakdown of Bly Manor
The Haunting Of Bly Manor Series Recap Ok so the Haunting Of Bly Manor is loosely
based on the book The Turn Of The Screw. This psychological supernatural horror has been
the basis for a lot of ghost stories such as The Innocents, The Haunting, The Others
and even The Turning which was released earlier this year.
Unlike the other adaptations though, Bly Manor isn’t so much a ghost story as it is a love
one. The show carries the central theme of memory
as well as the past, and the series showcases how several characters are haunted by theirs.
There's a real dichotomy here with us seeing how some characters try to escape their past
whilst others won't let go of it. If you've seen Flanagan's other work Doctor
Sleep you may remember in that there was a line that stated memories are the real ghosts,
and though we do get our fair share of the supernatural here, it definitely feels like
it dabbles in this motif. We pick up at a wedding dinner rehearsal and
are introduced to Jamie, a woman who recounts the story of her deceased lover Dani, an au
pair that worked at Bly Manor in the 80s. Dani is haunted by the ghost of her ex-fiance,
who tragically died several years prior and she moves out to the UK in order to get away
from this. Throughout the series it's revealed that Dani is actually gay and when she came
out to her partner he ended up getting knocked down.
His ghost has followed her since this moment and she is desperate to escape him and her
past. Ultimately when one is trying to flee from something they often are unable to because
the thing that they are trying to run away from will inevitably become their driving
force and her inability to let go ends up making her constantly live in fear.
This is reflected in several of the characters that we meet throughout the season including
Henry Wingrave. A lot of the character arcs in the show actually stem from Henry and he
oversees his brother's estate who sadly died before the events of the show. It's revealed
that Henry had an affair with his sister inlaw and that he is actually the father of Flora,
one of the children that lives at the manor. Because of his guilt over this, Henry has
mentally manifested a darker version of himself that he has to live with. Instead of facing
up to the fact that he should take responsibility for both Flora and her brother Miles, he stays
in his office, ringing the manor in the hopes that one day he will have the guts to tell
the truth. There's also Peter Quint, what one could call
the villain of the show and in the prior adaptations he was certainly portrayed this way. However,
Bly Manor paints him out in a much more complicated light and we realise that he is not only trying
to escape the abuse that he suffered as a child but he also refuses to let go of the
one good thing in his life. That is Rebecca, the prior Au Pair at the Manor who ends up
falling in love with Peter. After Peter is killed by one of the ghosts,
known as the lady of the lake, he manipulates Rebecca into dying too because he refuses
to let go of her. Peter even takes Rebecca to some of their happier moments in order
to make it seem like they will live like that forever when in reality his inability to let
go of the past leads to them being trapped in a living hell on the grounds.
It's said that Peter doesn't understand the difference between love and Possession and
this becomes literal when he and Rebecca try and take over the children's bodies in order
to escape the grounds. Rebecca doesn't go through with this, and
she becomes one of the first characters to truly break the cycle that so many of the
characters end up becoming victims to. Next is Hannah, an almost Doctor Manhattan
esque character who can't accept her death because of the reprecussions it would have
on her mentally. She lives moments of her life almost simultaneously, jumping about
from the past to the future, living completely out of sync and due to her inability to accept
the past in which she is truly unable to hold on to any of the moments that she experiences.
Now it's revealed that the spirits within the house are all sucked into a gravity well
of despair caused by the Lady of the lake. We learn the lady of the lake was the prior
owner of Bly Manor and that she was killed by her own sister who smothered her on her
death bed. The lady known as Viola, wished to see her
daughter more than anything and this memory tortured her ghost for decades ultimately
becoming her driving force in the end. Viola would lie at the bed of the one located at
Bly Manor and every night she would wander into the house, mercilessly murdering all
that crossed her path in search for her daughter. I love how this was first set up in what became
pergatory for her and after waking up dead she awakens, walks the room, returns to her
bed and then rinse and repeat. This is also the reason why the children tell
Dani that she mustn't go about the house at night as like clockwork, Viola roams the halls.
This idea of holding onto the past drives her mad and the never ending search for her
daughter causes a lot of misery. The Lady never finds her but she carries out
this routine in the hopes of one day coming across her so that the two can be reunited.
After all the memories of her life fade away and the lives of those she loved had vanished
she still instinctively carried this out even though she didn't know why.
Finally this is mirrored in Jamie who runs a bath for Dani every night and leaves the
door unlocked in the hopes that one day the two will meet again.
Those are the key players that we kinda have to discuss in order to fully process the ending
and the events that happen in it. I don't wanna do a full season recap as chances are
you've already watched it but just to add some context the basic plot follows Dani as
she unearths the truth of the house including the truth about Peter and Rebecca's death.
As we mentioned Peter ends up possessing Miles and Rebecca let's Flora go which allows Dani
to escape with her. However things hit the fan when The Lady Of The Lake arrives and
she attempts to kill Dani and pull her into her own well.
However, Flora poses as her daughter and due to her existing purely on instinct she attempts
to take her back to the lake. Dani gives herself up to the ghost uttering the phrase, it's
you, it's me, it's us. Something that had existed in the house for centuries, passed
on by the inhabitants and ghosts to the living who then passed it on to the following occupiers.
Now though we don't get this confirmed, I do believe that it Rebecca possessed her in
some manner in order to make her aware of the words and thus she was able to invite
Viola's ghost into herself. With the Lady's gravity of despair now withing
Dani, the spirits of the house are released. The family and Dani and Jamie move to the
US and the latter pair try and build a life together, aware that one day Viola will take
over. Though gay marriage wasn't legal at the time
the two decide to wear rings as a sign of their commitment and they spend years with
each other. However, Viola starts to appear in reflections,
much like how Dani's ex-fiance did. This time it's much worse though as the ghost is in
place of her and thus the PTSD from her prior haunting starts to make her doubt whether
she can remain in control of the situation. One night Dani finds herself almost strangling
Jamie and she realises that they can't risk the danger that Viola pooses. Thus she heads
back to the manor and drowns herself in the lake. The routine of Viola over powers her
but Viola holds herself at the bottom of the lake, waiting until the lady fades like all
memories do. Jamie spends years waiting for her lover return
and we realise that she has in fact been narrating the events of bly to Flora and the guests
of her wedding. We learn that both Miles and Flora slowly
forgot the events of the manor and their memories faded as they grew up. Because they were able
to let go of the past, primarily because of their age, they were able to move on and build
lives for themselves. Memories work two fold and though they can give you purpose, which
we saw demonstrated in some of the ghosts, they can also hold you back.
Now the show has a very bittersweet ending with us seeing that the characters have grown
older and moved on from the events of the show, all except for Jamie who still holds
out for the return of Dani. Not gonna lie...that song at the end had me
a bit...well there was some dust in the room but you know.
The series ends with Jamie sitting in her chair with the door open and we see Dani's
hand touch her chair. She's still wearing the wedding ring that the pair bought as a
symbol of their love and finally she's returned after escaping the lake.
Now how was this possible? Well the main thing that was keeping the ghosts
on the grounds was Viola and her gravity well that pulled all the spirits to the location.
This is how they were unable to leave and they remained on the property living so long
their forgot their lives, identities and even what they looked like.
I believe that the same thing happened with the Viola and with Dani holding her in place
for decades she slowly started to forget everything until there was a point in which she would
finally forget about her hold over Dani and let go of her.
As Dani was much younger than she was and hadn't spent the centuries prior on the lakebed
she still had memories of her life and the fact that she would be able to one day return
to Jamie if she held Viola in place gave her purpose.
Jamie's memories of their life together too is what gave her purpose and though the show
wrestles back and forth with letting go of the past and holding onto it, I think when
it's a positive memory it very much carries the message that one should hold onto it.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the opening episode in which Owen practices his
wedding speech. He states that the worth of loving someone
is also worth the pain of losing them and though we are all destined to leave behind
the ones that we love at some point, the memories that we have of them are what we will truly
hold onto. It's very bitter sweet and just as flora has
a life ahead of her in which she will lose the person she loves eventually, she's likely
going to create a lot of amazing memories with her.
That's the central theme of the show to me at least and in the end Jamie is reunited
with the one that she loves much like how Owen and Hannah will be, Peter and Rebecca
were and Henry and his daughter are as they dance at the latter's wedding.
It brings everything full circle and closes out the season on a high note.
Now before we get into the review I just wanna let you know we're giving away three copies
of the Marvel Phase 1 box set to some of our subscribers. All you have to do to be in with
a chance of winning is like the video, subscribe to channel and leave your thoughts on the
show in the comments below. The winners gonna be chosen on the 30th of October and the set
will be shipped out from then to whoever gets the prize so best of luck to everyone who
takes part. Ok so The Haunting Of Hill House is actually
my favourite Netflix show ever. I found that it perfectly handled the themes of family,
the horror elements and told the heart warming story of hill house in the perfect way.
Naturally I was very hyped for this season but I think that may have led to me being
slightly disappointed in it. Though it has some brilliant moments, on the whole I felt
that it slightly paled in comparison to the prior entry. To me the characters just weren't
as interesting as The Cranes and whereas that had an episode that really gave light to each
character and got you swept up in their lives...here I found it difficult to really find anything
engaging. I feel like there are so many elements remixed
here that don't quite capture the imagination of the original. For example the twist with
Hannah is very similar to the bent neck lady one, they go through the adults lives and
then the kids have a character that's haunted by his own vision of someone close to him.
Even the background ghosts this time around feel like they're just trying to recapture
the original series and play on it's motifs without truly pushing the boat out.
Now it certainly isn't bad but the pacing is slightly off and at 9 hours I do feel like
there are several elements that could've been cut here to provide a much brisker storyline.
There's only so many times Dani can wander around the house before it becomes repetitive
and though the background ghosts were fun to spot, at points it felt as empty as the
halls of the house itself. Now saying that, it is brilliantly directed
and acted too. Everyone here handles the material really well and each character is memorable
however, the pacing just leaves things feeling a bit off at times especially when this is
a story that has been adapted so many times before. I think when we hit Viola's backstory
things slow to a crawl and by the time we return to the characters for the finale it
feels a bit disjointed. We then spend a lot of time out the house for the last hour and
I dunno, kinda return of the kinged it a bit for me.
I still love you Flanagan I'm still hyped to see what the director does next but for
now, I dunno how I feel about this. If I was gonna score the season I think I'd
give it a 6/10 but who knows whether that will improve or increase after a revisit.
Your Thoughts Now obviously I'd love to hear your thoughts
on the season so make sure you comment below
and let me know. If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our
breakdown of the prior season and all the hidden ghosts which will be linked at the
end. Make sure you stay locked to the channel as
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you’ve been the best, I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace