The first season of 1899 captivated Netflix audiences with its intricate mystery, following in the footsteps of the hugely successful Dark. However, as it has happened before, not many have managed to unravel a finale that initially appears incomprehensible.

Today, we will try to shed some light on the matter by explaining all those aspects that remain unclear and/or foggy. Please note that this analysis will contain spoilers, so proceed beyond this point only if you have already watched the final episode of the series.

Without further ado, let’s analyze all the aspects of a finale that is as strange as it is beautiful.

The Finale of 1899

A Disturbing Simulation

Before delving into our explanation of the 1899 finale, we need to make one thing clear: our interpretation of events may be wrong. Yes, as it happened with Dark, it is not easy to find the truth in a show so rich in mysteries and secrets. The truth will only be revealed in the upcoming seasons, if they happen.

With this necessary disclaimer, let’s try to understand what happened. Let’s start with a certainty revealed in the finale: everything shown in the series is not real but the result of a rather complex simulation that repeats in a loop.

This is all orchestrated by the owner of a psychiatric hospital, who turns out to be Maura’s father, the protagonist of 1899. This doctor has assembled a group of people with a troubled past to study their behavior in rather difficult and/or disturbing situations.

Furthermore, what we see in 1899 is not even the first simulation created by the doctor. In fact, we have seen several ships, each with a group of people who unwittingly became subjects. Each time, the “patients” had their memories erased, and the loop restarted slightly differently each time.

But what is Maura’s father’s objective? He wants to prove that human decisions can be uninfluenced by emotions, but he fails each time because people always let emotions guide them.

Analysis of the Finale

If all this seems strange or even crazy to you, know that there is more. If you paid close attention to the series, you may have noticed that the end-of-episode music and some pieces of technology do not belong to 1899, simulation or not.

This is because the events are not actually set in 1899 but in 2099. But that’s not all. Earlier, we mentioned that the simulation was orchestrated by Maura’s father, right? Well, in the finale, it is revealed that things are actually managed by Maura’s brother.

This revelation confused many viewers because initially, it seemed like the brother was trying to pull Maura out of the simulation loop. In the end, however, she actually manages to wake up, to break free from a kind of machinery that kept her imprisoned in the simulations. But there’s another significant problem: the simulation lab is not on land but aboard a spaceship.

Yes, everything is in space. It’s a sort of survival mission on an ark heading who knows where for who knows what reason. Additionally, it is revealed that Maura and Daniel (her husband) were the protagonists behind the entire management of the simulations, called Project Prometheus. Maura swears that she is not part of that madness and blames her father, but when she finally manages to wake up, she is greeted by a rather meaningful message: “Hello, sister. Welcome to reality.”