Washington Black: The ending of the Hulu TV adaptation isn’t what readers of the book expected, here's why

The Hulu miniseries Washington Black, adapted from Esi Edugyan's Booker-shortlisted novel, begins dramatically well and remains emotionally consistent.

From Washington "Wash" Black's bondage in Barbados to his shocking flight with Christopher "Titch" Wilde, the miniseries faithfully replicates the book's core narrative. Wash's quest for freedom and self-discovery unfolds in a dense, character-driven narrative that stays true to Edugyan's initial vision.

But by the final episode, Hulu's Washington Black strays quite far from its source. The ending isn't merely different, it is rewritten. The emotionally redemptive Wash/Titch reunion, composed specifically for television, is a flagrant counterpoint to the novel's open-ended, ambiguous conclusion.

This narrative shift in the drama reconfigures not just the form of the story but also the broad thematic focus, provoking reactions among readers, viewers, and reviewers.

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Diligent foundations in Washington Black: A beginning that is comparable to the novel

In both the novel and the Hulu television series, Wash's youth is marked by trauma and a strained relationship with Titch, a White abolitionist inventor. The book's central romance is treated with restraint and depth in both the film and the novel. The show has received praise from critics for remaining faithful to the emotional and thematic integrity of the novel's initial chapters, particularly in its portrayal of Wash's mental state and the gradual, trust-building relationship he forms with Titch.

This dedication starts to falter, however, as the series continues. The novel dwells on interiority, quietude, and psychological trauma stemming from abandonment, but the series begins to shift towards dramatization and concrete solutions.

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The ending of Washington Black: An entire break

Most difference occurs at the end. In Edugyan's book, it is only after a fevered, multi-year search that Wash finally locates Titch in Morocco. Instead of reconciliation, he is met with emotional coldness. Titch is unforgiving in leaving Wash behind, and the two are unable to heal old wounds.

Wash rides off by himself, into a sandstorm, a symbol for the unresolved pain and unknowing that defines his past. The book ends without catharsis, reasserting its theme of abandonment, racial trauma, and identity-in-transition. In the TV version, this conflict is replaced by a redemptive, emotionally satisfying reunion. The TV series culminates in a climactic scene where Wash and Titch engage in open-ended dialogue with one another, presenting mutual comprehension and closure.

Wash is depicted as professionally resolved, having a secure life and curating museum exhibits, a far remove from the novel portrayal of ongoing emotional and existential ambiguity. The TV series conclusion offers a clear resolution, whereas the novel avoids it vigorously.

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Thematic transformation of Washington Black: From ambiguity to resolution

This adaptive choice is not just a twist in the novel's story; it completely revamps the themes of Washington Black. Edugyan penned her novel with doubt as her compass. Tension is avoided to create the deep and enduring power of slavery. Wash's path, in the story, is one of unremitting motion and psychic disorientation. The novel suggests that some hurts can't be healed, and that they shouldn't be in the service of narrative convenience.

The Hulu edit is a deliberate choice. Showrunner Selwyn Seyfu Hinds has explained that the variation was intentional and intended to place Wash in a position of agency on-screen. According to Screenrant, he said,

"We knew that we would tell the arc of the story in the book. One of the things that drew me in is that my family is from Barbados, like Wash is. There was an instant realization of, can I tell a story that means so much personally to who I am... That's not something that comes around every day."

Creators had to place his narrative in a position of agency, enjoyment, and redemption. While the conclusion is not the same as the novel, it was explicitly written to be a different, although no less calculated, trajectory.

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Edugyan's stand in Washington Black: Support without endorsement

Esi Edugyan was not involved in the production of the Hulu series. Still, she did support the project and provided the creative team with some latitude to adapt the work for television. According to cbc.ca, Edugyan explained,

"very much took a back seat

"It's probably never a favourable thing to have the writer of the book kind of lurking in the background, looking over your shoulder, saying, 'Why have you done this and not that?'"

She did not denounce the new ending in public, but she refused to declare that it remained faithful to what she had initially envisioned.

Her novel resists neat conclusions; its power is emotional nuance. Wash's fate remains ambiguous, and the open-ended meeting with Titch emphasizes the ongoing power of betrayal and displacement. Edugyan's interest was never reconciliation, but rather the richness of self after trauma.

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Public and critical reception of Washington Black: The identified divergence

Critics have long recognized the divergence between the book and series conclusions. Publications such as the LA Times, New York Times, and Variety have reported on the thematic evolution of the series from ambiguous self-doubt to resolution in storytelling.

According to Deadline, Sterling K. Brown, who acts in and executive produces the series, also spoke about the artistic decision, explaining that the show aims to center on the joy and possibility that the book does not. He said the show was:

"focusing on the joy, focusing on the triumph of the soul, to see beyond those circumstances."

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Wash's fate in Washington Black: Undefined in the novel, resolved in the series

Wash continues to move, physically and allegorically. He's devoted to scientific inquiry, yet even more emotionally lost, characterized by questions left unanswered and inner emptiness. There is no resolution, no reconciling of peace. His future remains deliberately ambiguous, which aligns with the novel's larger exploration of post-slavery identity and affective fragmentation.

In Hulu's representation of Washington Black, he is depicted as tranquil and confident. His success as a curator and his emotional closure signify healing and triumph, foreshadowing the show's insistence on presenting a positive trajectory of the story.

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Hulu's adaptation of Esi Edugyan's novel takes a conscious and intentional divergence from the original. It replaces the book's ambiguity with resolution, its emotional complexity with catharsis, and its thematic ambiguity with narrative closure.

Both versions tell the story of Washington Black, but with contrary intent and effect. One leaves a reader in uncertainty. The other removes uncertainty. Some readers will settle for change as a substitute. Some readers of the novel will be cheated out of the power that gave the original emotional impact.

Also read: These 7 moments from Washington Black will keep you hooked