Lord of the Flies took us on a journey of savagery and self-discovery and it’s one that we wont soon forget.

Though it’s only four episodes, the dramatic series from the Emmy-Award winning Adolescence creator Jack Thorne and director Marc Munden manages to capture our attention and move the audience to tears, both through heartbreaking character deaths and through exploring the depraved side of human nature.

Netflix is not new to making us think but it is nice to see a TV adaptation of a classic novel that handles the source material with care and style, feeling out both the torturous themes and the truth in the central ideas of the project. Sure, everyone wants to say “boys will be boys,” but at what cost? At whose expense?

If you haven’t read the book or finished the series yet — or if you have but you’re still a little confused about the way that everything shakes out — we have happily prepared a piece to make sense of the ending. You are welcome in advance! Keep reading for a brief breakdown of the ending of Netflix’s Lord of the Flies series.

Lord of the Flies Ending Explained

After watching Simon’s murder over at Jack’s camp near the rocks, the series finale, “Ralph,” begins with Piggy and Ralph discussing what to do about the growing divide and savagery happening on the island. This concern grows when the other boys ravage Ralph’s camp and steal Piggy’s glasses, their only tool to make fire on the island.

After going to the rocks to speak with Jack, Roger, and the rest of the boys about the glasses heist, which has left Piggy virtually blind, Jack orders his underlings to shut Piggy up, as he is complaining about the entire situation. As Ralph is pleading with Jack, Roger picks up a rock and throws it at Piggy, knocking him in the head and incapacitating him briefly. Despite the hard hit, Piggy is at least able to stand and walk away as Jack realizes what he’s done.

Despite his best effort to get Piggy back to base camp and nurse him back to health, Piggy’s head wounds is just too severe, and he slowly bleeds out as Ralph sits with him in the trees. Ralph opts to bury Piggy in a shallow grave. Recruited by hunger and sheer force, Sam and Eric join Jack’s camp, but act as inside agents, even warning Ralph ahead of time that Jack and his followers are planning to hunt him down and kill him.

After a twisted game of cat and mouse, Jack starts a fire in the heavily wooded area, knowing that it will burn the trees down but hoping it will force Ralph to leave his hiding spot. Just as Jack hoped, Ralph is forced to run out from hiding and into the clear line on the beach, which is when he sees a man, waiting just near the water’s edge. Out in the distance, Ralph catches sight of a ship, indicating that a rescue has finally come.

Just as Jack’s crew is running out onto the beach to capture and kill Ralph, the man witnesses the children in exceedingly concerning dress — faces painted and tribal-esque masks — and realizes what has been happening. Jokingly, he asks if they have been playing “war,” and if there have been any casualties, which is when Ralph shakes his head up and down and responds, “two,” referencing Piggy and Simon.

As the camera shows all of the boys on the beach, it sets in that they will finally get off the island, and that they all — minus Ralph and a few of his companions — will have to live with what they’ve done while stranded.

How To Watch Lord Of The Flies

Netflix offers three subscription plans to fit your streaming needs. The plans start at $7.99/month for standard with ads and go up to $24.99/month for unlimited ad-free streaming in up to 4K UHD quality.

All of Lord of the Flies is now streaming on Netflix.