Final Destination: Bloodlines confirms which characters survived (& teases even more survivors)

Final Destination is one of the most ruthless horror franchises, and there is no denying that. Each of the twenty films to douse the franchise in blood has followed a fixed formula—death will always be waiting for you. You can attempt to elude, but it will always find you.

There haven’t been any attempts to diverge from this narrative: a character has a premonition, successfully dodges death for a while, and then is forced to stand by as they witness the gruesome demises of their close ones.

Bloodlines, set to release in 2025, aims to change all of that. Instead of leaving viewers any ambiguity about who truly emerged victorious from Death’s grasp, this installment does not hold back, even suggesting that Death’s victims may not be alone at all.

Kimberly and Thomas: The ones who cheated death

For years now, fans have been debating the outcomes of Final Destination 2 characters Kimberly Corman and Officer Thomas Burke. Usually, side characters in the series are killed either brutally or mercifully, on-screen or off-screen, but this pair somehow managed to survive, up until now. Bloodlines has chosen to finally answer this mystery, confirming the survival of both Kimberly and Thomas, and not by coincidence, but rather by crafting a clever plan to deceive Death.

In Kimberly’s case, her move in Final Destination 2, where she drove her vehicle into a lake only to be pulled out by Thomas, was indeed over the top. But it was also a means to an end. She did, in fact, die for a brief period, which means she outsmarted death and "cancelled" herself out. In the words of long-time series mystery William Bludworth, this audacious strategy made her the only person to understand how to escape Death, and owing to her success, Thomas goes unscathed.

For quite some time now, fans have doubted this outcome, particularly after a bonus feature on the DVD of Final Destination 3 displayed a mock news article that suggested Kimberly and Thomas's deaths in an absurd wood chipper accident. However, Bloodlines sets the record straight once and for all: that scene is considered non-canonical. As a gentle beacon of repose, the new film goes as far as to place a wood chipper in the background, cheekily honoring the old lore while dismantling it.

A hidden survivor: The truth about Bludworth

However, Bloodlines explores further into the franchise mythos, noting that perhaps Bludworth, the mortician, had a secret of his own: he was a survivor, too. The film introduces a new character, Iris, who had a premonition long before the events of the original movie. Bludworth, as it turns out, was one of the people that she saved. Being last on Death's list meant protection, but only as long as Iris and her family — her parents — were alive.

This explanation reframes his unsettling insight on which there was a statement. He wasn’t a mere guide; Bludworth was surviving on borrowed time, too. The man’s relationship with death wasn’t some sort of spiritual bond, and certainly not mystical; it was highly intimate. By the time the events of Bloodlines arrive, Bludworth is a cancer patient at the end of his life, or what he would like to consider the end, but looking at his legacy—and the knowledge he leaves behind—it appears that his efforts, unlike what most people thought, meant a great deal to a lot of people.

Could there be more Final Destination survivors?

Now that Bludworth has been dismissed and his story together with Iris’s has been told, Final Destination: Bloodlines opens up one massive gate — what comes next for Kimberly and Thomas? If they actually managed to break free from Death's design, are they truly safe? Or is Death merely biding its time?

There is always a chance that many others like Bludworth have slipped through the cracks. His presence in every movie suggests that there are other survivors hiding in plain sight, people who have been carefully crafting the design without anyone noticing, always one step ahead. The film does not name these survivors, but it does suggest that Kimberly and Thomas may not be alone — and that Death's tally may still have some names waiting to be marked.

A new chapter with unfinished business

Final Destination: Bloodlines doesn’t simply bring back a snoozing franchise. It reshapes it entirely. It shatters the unspoken law that no one escapes, and, for the first time in the series, brutal survival is merely an option.

It hints that more survivors could exist, which makes the prospect even more tantalizing. Perhaps now there is a chance that the final destination really isn’t so final after all.