What happens to Sean in The Survivors? Character’s fate, explored

The Survivors is a recently released Australian mystery thriller that takes an incisive look at themes of loss, murder, and lies. The action of The Survivors takes place in Evelyn Bay, Tasmania, Australia, and in tune with the backdrop, much of the narrative has a transcendent and isolated character.

Throughout the Netflix series, the disappearance and death of Gabby Birch and Bronte Laidler consistently haunt the other characters until the culprit, Sean, is finally apprehended and brought to justice.

Here's everything that you need to know.

Sean was responsible for the murders on The Survivors

To understand much of what happens on The Survivors, the audience will have to take into account a tragic incident that happened fifteen years ago in the universe of the Netflix show. Finn Elliot and Toby Gilroy had taken their boat out to the tumultuous sea on that fateful night in the past to rescue Finn's brother Kieran, who was there inside the caves atop the cliffs. Elliot and Gilroy perished after their boat capsized, and Kieran's mother blamed him for Finn's death. Moving on to the present, Kieran returned to Evelyn Bay after many years, along with his partner Mia Chang.

Mia found it strange that the whole of Evelyn Bay still mourns the deaths of Gilroy and Elliot, but has somehow forgotten about the disappearance of her friend Gabby Birch, who was last seen on that same night. It was eventually unearthed by a photographer named Bronte while working on the case that Sean had lured Gabby into the caves during that night and tried to make a pass at her. Once Gabby turned him down and asked him to stop kissing her, Sean couldn't take the rejection and left her there alone to die. Sean's father soon learned about this and tried his best to cover up his son's crime. Eventually, Bronte finds out about Sean's guilt, and Sean ends up beating her to death on the beach.

In the finale episode of The Survivors, Sean tries to murder Kieran after confessing all his secrets to him. Kieran somehow managed to survive, and Sean was apprehended and finally brought to justice.

Showrunner speaks about The Survivors

Tony Ayres, being the showrunner, spoke with Tudum about the thematic belonging of the show, which he described as a:

"serious introspection into human processes and human emotions and feelings … The things that are really at its heart are things like a son wanting his mother's love, and the mother who just cannot afford to give it because her whole world might fall apart."

Ayres further added:

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"The themes of grief and loss are something that I've danced around my entire career, I've always been interested in the way that people respond to loss because it seems to be one of the universal human conditions … That’s a central theme of the show, just trying to understand."

The Survivors is available on Netflix.

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