Midnight Mass ending explained: Who dies? Who lives? Who could we see in season 2?

Watching the beginning of Midnight Mass, you would have no idea it’s actually a sci-fi show. Murder mystery? Maybe. Ensemble drama? Definitely. But how these incredibly human people will encounter the otherworldly is unclear.

By the end, however, the sleepy town of Crockett Island is in a fight for its life, and St. Patrick’s Church is in a fight to “convert” members into something entirely other. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of Netflix’s latest chilling series.

Warning! Major spoilers for Midnight Mass ahead!

Midnight Mass ending: Sacramental wine

First of all, we need to talk about the church’s sacramental wine.

Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) gives a homily about how Catholics believe the Eucharist bread and wine turn into Jesus’ body and blood literally, rather than being a symbolic transformation, during Mass.

However, in Midnight Mass, the sacramental wine is the blood of The Angel, the Nosferatu-like vampiric creature that turned Monsignor Pruitt into the young man introduced to Crockett Island as Father Paul.

Ever since he returned, he’s been giving the churchgoing populace doses of this “Sacrament,” slowly introducing vampire blood into their systems. Daily churchgoer Leeza Scarborough (Annarah Cymone), who is paralyzed, is the first to experience effects, allowing her to walk again.

Suddenly, St. Patrick’s Church is packed, and Father Paul serves dozens of more people the Angel’s blood.

Midnight Mass ending: The Resurrection

Finally, at the Easter Vigil, Father Paul intends to fully convert St. Patrick’s congregation to become like the Angel and like himself — resurrected but with an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and an insatiable desire for blood. So, basically, they’re vampires.

In a scene that wouldn’t be out of place in a death cult, one by one the churchgoers take rat poison and die horribly on the floor, only to be reborn as fully conscious but bloodthirsty versions of themselves.

Midnight Mass ending: Who survives the Easter Vigil?

By the end of Easter Vigil conversion, the only survivors are:

• Dr. Sarah Gunning (Annabeth Gish)
• Erin Greene (Kate Siegel)
• Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli)
• Warren Flynn (Igby Rigney)
• Leeza Scarborough

Warren and Leeza make a break for the water. A canoe won’t get them to the mainland, but it'll at least keep them from being attacked. Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan), leader of the newly turned congregants, starts torching every building on the island to force everyone out, but the survivors have their own plan. They torch all the boats to keep all the new vampiric beings isolated to Crockett Island.

Sarah Gunning and Sheriff Hasan get shot by Sturge (Matt Biedel) and Bev, and Erin Greene gets attacked by The Angel. While it feasts on her jugular, she remembers what she told Riley (Zach Gilford) about what happens after death. In one final act of rebellion, she takes a knife and slices up the Angel’s wings, meaning it won’t be able to fly off the island.

The only building left is the rec center, which Bev refers to as an “ark,” a vessel to save the “Chosen,” the people converted by The Angel. However, Sheriff Hasan’s son Ali, despite having been one of the first to take the poison, chooses to side with his father and burn the rec center.

Midnight Mass ending: What happens to the Chosen?

Now, Bev and the rest of the Chosen have to face a grim reality. They are now fully-blown vampires who will self-combust in the sun, there is no more shelter left on the island, and the sun is about to rise. Without any other option, they start singing “Nearer My God to Thee,” which supposedly was the last song played on the Titanic.

Sheriff Hassan and Ali pray together in the Muslim tradition, reverting Ali’s sudden interest in Christianity. Just as the sun rises, the Sheriff slumps over, dead.

On the boat at sea, Leeza tells Warren she can’t feel her legs, meaning all the “miracles” the Sacrament caused are undone.

Midnight Mass ending: Who could we see in season 2?

So, who’s alive at the very end of Midnight Mass? Believe it or not, just Leeza and Warren.

It’s now up to them to share the story of what happened on Crockett Island. All the vampires have disintegrated, and it’s implied The Angel wouldn’t make it to safety either.

While this season of Midnight Mass had a strong sense of finality, there is still room to continue the story with a season 2. With that said, Netflix has not announced a second season for Midnight Mass, and in fact, it labels Midnight Mass as a limited series. However, if it’s popular enough and creator Mike Flanagan wants to continue to story, it could happen.

After all, The Angel could somehow survive and bring about another resurgence of the Sacrament. Leeza and Warren are alive to tell the tale and warn others. While for now, this is the end, it might not be the last we’ll see of this universe.

Midnight Mass is now streaming on Netflix.