Netflix’s French fantasy series “Endless Night” is a psychological thriller at its core, but on its surface, it is a horror. The creators, David Perrault and Emmanuel Voisin, have showcased some chilling horror sequences, though the psychological affair becomes a bit predictable at times. The cast includes Ayumi Roux, Theo Augier, Hanane El Yousfi, Chine Thybaud, Leo Legrand, and Salif Cisse. So without any further ado, let’s find out what the series is about and where these affairs lead to in the end.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Endless Night’ Season 1: Plot Summary – What Is the Series About?
Six friends form a group and decide to escape their regular life by taking a drug named “Icelotropine.” The drug is manufactured by “Centre Du Sommeil D’Oneiroy” (Oneiroy Sleep Clinic). Sebastien is one of the former patients who visited there, and somehow he stole the drug without the authorities’ knowledge. The drug, or “blue pill,” helps one to activate the paradoxical sleep in which we dream. Sebastien told his friends about this pill, and they tried it out together. It is clinically forbidden to use the drug without having a sleeping pill in the first place. However, when a group of six friends took the pill, they dreamed a dream that was identical to reality. One girl from the group, Pauline, fell into its traps and jumped into a vacant place, dreaming of a swimming pool. She broke her thigh bone in the left leg in this process. Everybody thought of leaving the drug, but later they realized they badly wanted to live in a world of dreams and escape reality. Soon, we are introduced to a character named Eva. She possesses a unique ability where she gathers materials from her dreams. She dreams of this place on the beach where she built a sand fort with her dead father. Every time she goes there, she comes back with seashells, sand, or something else.
Eva knew about the group as they were in the same high school. She became very close with Sebastien and came to know about the drug. She wanted to feel the exact way Sebastien told her. Sebastien needed some convincing as their group’s activities were secretive, but he soon learned about Eva’s abilities. Eva broke into the Sleep Clinic one night to grab more icelotropine as Sebastien told her their stock was over. While returning, Eva interacted with a patient named Romain (whom she interacted with the same night she met Sebastien). Romain grabbed her hand, and suddenly a fragment of his dream appeared in Eva’s mind. Romain then lost his senses, and Eva ran away. She bumped into another patient named Emilie on her way out.
Now, the same vision is transferred to her mind. Several incidents occurred when Eva took the drug with her friends. Sebastien vanished right before her eyes, and the girl, named Emilie, recently released from the Sleep Clinic, committed suicide. So, Eva started looking for Sebastien and the rest of the group. Now, with every passing event, a new mystery unfolds in the series. Romain was finally awake after sleeping for almost ten years. Anyone who interacted with Eva directly saw a girl with an owl mask and big nails, the visions from Romain that were transferred to Eva. The doctors wanted to explore more of the dreams, so one of them put Eva under observation. They had this technology where they could see a person’s dream on display. The doctor tried to help Eva stay awake, but when he touched her, he ended up in her dream. The masked girl took out his heart; in reality, he died. So, after several events, Eva finally discovers that Sebastien is locked in the dreams. She almost got him out, but suddenly she was locked in the dream too. The masked girl captured Eva’s body and started living in reality. However, Eva somehow managed to make some arrangements, and finally, everyone was released from this long nightmare of their lives. Theo, on the other hand, took more than one blue pill at a time, and he died due to its overdose.
How Did Eva Manage To Gather Things From Dreams? What Was Her Connection With Romain?
The simplest of explanations would be that Eva works as a bridge between a dream and reality. She could interact with her dreams while staying in reality and vice versa. Even in the later stages, we can see that she could interact with Dr. Helene (the psychiatrist from the Sleep Clinic) while staying in her dream. But, there could be one other explanation for this. She creates a world just like us in our dreams, and there she spends time with her father, who is dead. Eva had this weird ability where she could collect things from her dreams. In our regular lives, some things make us aware of our past. Sometimes it can be a toy from our childhood; sometimes, it can be a fragrance; sometimes, an incident can bring you back to your childhood. Our subconscious mind is an alley of mysteries that is capable of remembering so many things at the same time. Some theories suggest that the human mind never forgets anything; whatever we see, hear, or feel, everything is stored in the subconscious. There may be a chance that Eva holds onto something before dreaming. She keeps something in the box, like sand or a sea shell. Even when she had Sebastien’s bracelet, she thought she got it from her dream. But maybe she already had the bracelet and was thinking about Sebastien. So, this proves that she doesn’t bring anything from the dream, but she could only dream about the things and then explore them. So, all in all, this does not change the fact that she can interact from within the dream.
This answers our next question. When Eva spelled his name, Romain’s sleep came to an end. Romain created his world by thinking about his sister, Chloe, who died when he was little. He wanted to spend more time with her, so he made a mansion (a picture of his room at the Sleep Clinic) in his subconscious. He didn’t want to be disturbed, but when Eva called his name, he heard the voice from his dream. His conscious mind was living in his dreams, but Eva’s calling brought him into reality. Eva had the power to interact both ways. In other words, Eva could talk to the person living in the dream; thus, Romain responded to her call.
Who Was The Masked Girl? How Did She Infect Everyone?
The masked girl, Chloe, was found in Romain’s imaginary dream world. She was his sister. He kept her there for almost ten years, so somehow this fragment of images grew into its conscience. She wanted to escape Romain’s mind, but it was impossible for her as she merely existed in the subconscious. She was raised like a virus in a lab that needed a carrier to infect the world outside. As we said earlier, Eva worked as a medium between dreams and reality. So, when Romain touched Eva, all of his dreams were transferred to her. The fragments of Romain’s dreams that grew into a sort of conscience have now found their place. Once the carrier is infected, it is easy for the virus to spread. So, Chloe started to grow in everyone’s dreams.
Why Was Sebastien Confined To His Dreams?
Chloe knew that if she could possess Eva’s body, her ambition to capture everyone in her dream would be fulfilled. Because Eva could interact with anyone who is dreaming, capturing her body, Chloe must capture Eva’s conscious mind in the dream world. Eva wouldn’t visit the dream world herself as there was no business. It can be assumed that Chloe tried to influence Eva’s father first, but we can see him in a dream where he came to Eva and said he wouldn’t visit her anymore. So, maybe her father fought against Chloe to save Eva. Now, the next closest thing to Eva was Sebastien. So, he becomes an easy target for the girl, and she knows that Eva would go to any extent to save him. She was right all along, and when Eva found him, Chloe locked her in the dreams and possessed Eva’s body in the real world.
‘Endless Night’ Season 1: Ending Explained: Why Did Chloe Want To Capture Everyone? Was It Romain’s Revenge After All?
When Romain first came into the Sleep Clinic, he could have been cured with proper treatment. Instead, he was tested for a new drug named “Icelotropine.” In the beginning, Romain volunteered for the experiment without knowing what was happening. Soon after, he realized that the person who promised him a cure was now using him. He decided to take revenge as he was already suffering from losing his sister. So, he creates a world in his subconscious and starts living there with Chloe. One subconscious wants to take revenge while the other rests with Chloe. Romain had created a delusion while believing it was his sister. At the beginning of the dream, Chloe never wore the mask. But, soon, in his dreams, Romain finds out that she is ill, so he goes out for help. When he returned, Chloe was wearing the mask, and she shot herself. It depicts the possibility that both of Romain’s subconscious merged in this sequence. The ambulance’s siren and gun prominently signify his revenge for the betrayal. Many can argue that the sister’s ghost did everything, but in reality, his sister has no motive to kill humankind or lock them in dreams.
On the other hand, Romain had every possible reason to get his revenge against selfish humans who used him like a guinea pig. So, our theory suggests that Romain’s subconscious made a character of his dead sister and now wants every person in the town dead. In the meantime, a doctor (Dr. Helene’s lover in the Sleep Clinic who was observing Romain) wanted to help Eva in this mess, so he convinced her to show the dreams where she was seeing Chloe. He saw masked Chloe in the display, and to save Eva from her; he touched Eva in reality. Somehow, he ended up in her dream, and Chloe killed him there. This part of Romain’s subconscious has developed a pattern for itself and won’t tolerate any sort of interference. The masked Chloe knew that she must possess Eva’s body to kill other humans, and she eventually did. Though, in reality, everyone soon realized that it was not the real Eva. Suddenly, a car hit the possessed Eva, forcing Chloe out of Eva’s conscious mind.
As Eva gained consciousness of her body, she finally realized that the only way to stop Chloe was to destroy Romain’s dream world once and for all. She went to the dream world again and convinced Romain that his sister was dead. Suddenly, Chloe (the other half of Romain’s subconscious) felt the threat and started the fire that could kill everyone in the dream. Eva made him see how Chloe died and convinced him to let her go. Since Romain believed that Chloe’s death was not his fault, he finally set her free. The fire went off, and Chloe’s mask was removed. So, the mask stands for the revenge Romain wanted to seek. Once it was put off, the brother and sister happily embraced each other. However, masked Chloe tried to lock Eva up again, but in reality, Sebastien kissed her to bring back her consciousness. This signifies the value of living life as it is. Trusting the dreams can harm our souls; our root lies within reality. Although hurried, a good message is delivered here in the end. The story ends with people living happily, embracing the present and relying on what lies ahead of them. Clement’s VCR turned into a DVD player is one of the maker’s ways of establishing the fact that the characters started rejecting their dreams once and for all.
Will There Be A Second Season For ‘Endless Night’?
Theo was dead from a drug overdose, but in the last scene, we can see that he was walking in the jungle. He collects the same mask. It seems like he, too, is seeking revenge for being neglected by everyone. His father never really respected him, his girlfriend thought less of him, and he lost his friends. All of this happened due to the Chloe issue; it changed him into a worse man. Everyone started to hate him as he could not handle the pressure and started to change. So, he will want to take revenge when he picks up the mask. How will he affect the world? Well, Theo was Eva’s friend, and if Eva ever dreams about him, the whole thing will start to fall apart again. We will find out all about it in the next season.
“Endless Night” is a 2022 psychological thriller series streaming on Netflix.
