The Terror season 1 ending came in 2018, and years later many viewers still revisit the moment that the villainous Cornelius Hickey and the weary Francis Crozier finally faced the Tuunbaq — the spirit-monster that had been hunting them. Based on the novel of the same name by Dan Simmons, which in turn was based on the true story of the ill-fated Franklin expedition, The Terror spent 10 gripping episodes blending fantasy-horror with the grim truth of the 19th century voyage that claimed the lives of 129 men.

After abandoning The Terror and The Erebus to embark on a long and difficult journey back to civilization, things went from bad to worse for Captain Crozier and his remaining crew. Hickey led a mutiny that split the survivors into two groups, and the spoiled tins of food began to take their toll on the men. Hickey forced the men in his camp to turn to cannibalism in order to survive, and in the penultimate episode, he sent some of his followers to kidnap Crozier. In The Terror ending, the true nature of Hickey's plan finally came to light.

The Terror (2018) won awards for its cinematography and genre excellence, including an ASC Award (2020) and a Satellite Award (2019), and received multiple nominations for sound editing and visual effects in 2019 and 2020.

What Was Achieved By Goodsir's Sacrifice

Harry Goodsir Poisons Himself To Thwart Cannibals' Plans

Resigned to die in the tundra towards the end of The Terror, Harry Goodsir decides to go out on his own and find a way to make his death serve a purpose. He tells Crozier that, when Hickey and the others make a meal of him, to "eat only of my feet" if he is given no other choice, and to eat from the soles of his feet if possible, where the skin is toughest.

Later, Goodsir mixes up a poison and rubs it over his skin. Then he drinks a bottle of poison as well, to make sure his "meat" is thoroughly spoiled. So that Hickey and the others will not suspect that he poisoned himself, Goodsir then cuts his wrists with broken glass. He dies shortly afterwards.

Hickey takes the bait, declaring that Goodsir "made a gift of himself," and ordering Crozier to eat from his corpse with the rest of the men. Crozier refuses, and Hickey orders one of the remaining men to stand up - clearly implying that he will be killed if Crozier continues to refuse. Crozier relents, but following Goodsir's instructions he takes a slice from the sole of his foot. Hickey is satisfied, and the rest of the men eat the poisoned meat.

Dr. Harry Goodsir also played Rob MacDonald in Bodyguard (2018)

Hickey's Ritual Explained

Hickey's Deception Leads To His Brutal Demise By Tuunbaq

In the final episodes of The Terror, the men drag the lifeboat up to the top of the hill, on Hickey's orders. They believe that they are going there to kill Tuunbaq, but Hickey has other plans. He finally reveals the truth: he is not actually Cornelius Hickey at all. He murdered the real Cornelius Hickey after hearing about the expedition and deciding that it would be worth a yearlong trip to get to the other side of the world. He stole Hickey's identity in order to the expedition, and declares that after three years spent in the freezing Arctic, he has no intention of going back to London.

He murdered the real Cornelius Hickey after hearing about the expedition and deciding that it would be worth a yearlong trip to get to the other side of the world.

Hickey begins shouting the hymn "God Bless Our Native Land" at the top of his voice to draw Tuunbaq in, as around him the men start vomiting, succumbing to the poison. The Tuunbaq arrives, and despite the sailors' attempts to fight it off, they are slaughtered one by one, until only Crozier and Hickey remain. As the Tuunbaq kills the men, Hickey cuts out his tongue — part of the Inuit ritual through which a person can tie themselves to Tuunbaq and become a shaman. Hickey brought the men with him not to kill the creature, but as sacrificial offerings to it.

The last of the men to be killed is Hickey's fellow mutineer Tozer, who is chained to Crozier. Tuunbaq swallows Tozer, the chain sticking in its throat. Hickey then holds out his hand, with his severed tongue in the palm, clearly expecting a reward for all his offerings. However, Hickey is not fit to become a shaman: his soul has been spoiled by the sin of cannibalism, and his body has been spoiled by the poison that Goodsir used. Instead of accepting the tongue, Tuunbaq bites down on Hickey's arm and then rips him in half, teaching us all a valuable lesson about the dangers of cultural appropriation.

How Tuunbaq Died In The Terror Ending

Tuunbaq Dies From Injuries And Poisoned Food

Tuunbaq is already sick when it arrives at the end of The Terror. In a previous episode, The Terror's Ice Master, Thomas Blanky, revealed that his amputated leg had become gangrenous — a death sentence. He decided to sacrifice himself to give the others a chance to escape the beast, and tied cutlery all over his body so that when Tuunbaq swallowed him its insides would be torn up. The creature came upon Blanky shortly after he discovered the Northwest age - the entire purpose of the expedition.

When Tuunbaq tries to eat the upper half of Hickey's body, the chain is already lodged in its throat and it starts to choke. It is already dying from eating crew that were sick from the tainted tins, from the damage caused when it ate Blanky, and most recently from eating the men who were poisoned by eating Goodsir's body. It doesn't take much more to finish it off. Crozier tugs viciously on the other end of the chain, causing Tuunbaq further internal damage. Finally it collapses, vomits, and dies - a symbol of the damage caused by the invading British explorers' attempts to tame its lands.

Though the creature has dogged the crew's footsteps throughout the series, The Terror shied away from blunt exposition of its true nature. Simmons based the monster on the Inuit myths of the tuurngaq, collectively known as tuurngait — spirits that can be either helpful or harmful. Tuunbaq can be connected to Inuit shamans through the ritual that Hickey tried and failed to execute, which involves a person cutting out their tongue and Tuunbaq eating it.

This then allows the shaman a measure of control over Tuunbaq. Lady Silence's father was one of the shamans connected to Tuunbaq, which is why the creature began slaughtering the crew after they accidentally killed him. Ultimately, however, the vendetta against the expedition ended up killing Tuunbaq as well.

Lady Silence's Departure

Lady Silence Leaves Alone

Lady Silence is traveling through the tundra with one of the other shamans connected to Tuunbaq, looking for the creature, when the shaman senses that Tuunbaq has died. Resignedly, the shaman turns back, but Silence decides to keep searching. She es by a crew member who ran away when Tuunbaq arrived, but ignores his pleas for help and leaves him to die. She finds Crozier and Tuunbaq, and spends a moment mourning the great spirit, spilling the last drops of water from her waterskin onto its tongue.

After discovering realizing that Crozier's wrist cannot be freed from the chain, Lady Silence cuts his hand off and then takes him away, setting up a camp and tending to his wounds. Crozier insists that they go looking for his men, and they travel across the tundra in search of them. Sadly, there is not much to find: camp after camp filled with dead bodies, with the final camp revealing that the men eventually gave in to cannibalism.

The only man left alive is Edward Little, the officer who tried to get the men to rescue Crozier. His face is adorned with piercings and golden chains — a detail based on the real-life discovery of a Franklin expedition officer whose body was similarly adorned. Little dies shortly after Crozier arrives.

Lady Silence and Crozier return to the Inuit camp. Crozier learns from their leader that Lady Silence's real name is Silna. We see her leaving in the early hours of the morning, and when Crozier emerges from his tent later in the day he discovers that she is gone. He asks the Inuit leader where she is, and is told, "She lost Tuunbaq. Alone is the way for her now." Crozier asks why, and is told, "That's the way. Everyone accepts this." Crozier wants to go after her, but no one will tell him which direction she left in. Ultimately, he has to accept that she is gone.

What's Crozier's Fate At The End Of The Terror?

Crozier Stays With Inuit, And Tells Rescuers He's Dead

Crozier is asked where he wants to go, but cannot find an answer. He is told that he can stay with the Inuit through winter, and decide what he wants to do in spring. In the end, he elects to stay with the tribe. In September 1850, two men from the rescue party searching for Terror and Erebus arrive at the camp - as they did in the series premiere. Crozier pulls up his hood, and tells the Inuit leader to tell the rescuers that he is dead, along with everyone else onboard the ships, that the ships are gone, and that the Northwest age does not exist.

The series ends with a shot of him poised by a fishing hole with a spear, an Inuk child asleep at his side.

Afterwards, Crozier heads out onto the ice with some of the other Inuit. The series ends with a shot of him poised by a fishing hole with a spear, an Inuk child asleep at his side. After everything that Crozier has been through and burdened with the guilt of losing his men, he cannot bring himself to return to England. The novel ends on a similar note, except that Tuunbaq doesn't die and Crozier decides to leave with Lady Silence rather than staying with the rest of the Inuit.

The Real Meaning Of The Terror Ending

There Are A Number Of Themes At Play

The ending of The Terror has no shortage of moving parts in its complex narrative. Each of these carry their own themes and meaning. However, the overall message behind the 2018 miniseries is that for the many of the real "doomed voyages" that The Terror is inspired by, there's no one answer to the question of "what went wrong".

There are many reasons that the expedition ultimately, and fatally, failed. If any of these existed in a vacuum, then the crew may have been able to overcome them. The fact that every obstacle present happened more-or-less simultaneously, however, meant that the final fate of the crew was more-or-less a foregone conclusion.

The Terror did a great job at mixing the fantastical with realism inspired by historical events. The inclusion of Tuunbaq, for example, not only made for a great narrative, but also played into the gaps in understanding left when real-life expeditions into unknown territories went wrong. With nobody left to tell the tale, rumors of monsters or supernatural happenings would often become part of the hearsay rumors surrounding tragic voyages, like the 1791 Houghton expedition, or Franklin's lost expedition in 1845.

The other key theme of The Terror, of course, is the comparisons between the native Inuits and the crews of the Erebus and the Terror. The crewmen quickly display that they are capable of far worse than the barbarism their prejudice led them to believe the Inuits were capable of due to their inherent bias and ignorance. Ultimately, it is the invaders in the Inuit lands who show themselves to be the immoral group, and their behavior elicits a response of disgust from the likes of Lady Silence.

How The Terror Season 1 Ending Was Received

A Solid Finale With Room For Improvement

Overall, the ending of The Terror season 1 was well received by fans and critics, which was likely a key reason season 2 was optioned and arrived a year later. The first season of The Terror currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes with a 94% Tomatometer score (critic rating) and 89% Popcornmeter score (audience rating), which gives a snapshot of how well received the supernatural horror anthology was when it arrived on AMC in 2018. The initial success of the earlier episodes continued right through to the episode 10 finale, "We Are Gone", with fans and critics alike praising it as a strong and chilling ending to the story of the HMS Terror.

However, while the ending of The Terror season 1 was mostly seen as strong, it wasn't without its criticisms. As much as it was a solid way to end the first chapter of the anthology horror, there were those who felt that the final moments weren't quite as climactic and drama-filled as they could have been. For example, Jonathan Saavedra writing for Den of Geek opens his review with the following:

The Terror can’t quite stick the landing in its season finale, opting for an hour heavy with action and gore rather than a more thoughtful conclusion to this tale of survival. That said, even the weakest moments of this series have been a true delight and “We Are Gone” is far from a bust.

Saavedra's comments echo much of the general sentiment towards the ending of The Terror season 1. It was, by no means, a bad ending. It ticked every box that viewers were expecting. However, there was also the feeling that the final episode of The Terror season 1 could have been better. It was an enjoyable and riveting watch, but wasn't as strong as many of the earlier installments.

The Terror Season 1 Ending Compared To Season 2

A Stronger Conclusion For A Less Memorable Story

When The Terror returned in 2019 for season 2, the anthology horror told an entirely new story. The Terror: Infamy was set on the West Coast during the Second World War. The supernatural terror this time around was the Japanese folklore figure bakemono, said to haunt the Japanese-American community. Like The Terror season 1, season 2 featured 10 episodes, with the finale arriving in "Into The Afterlife".

The stories of The Terror season 1 and season 2 are completely different, which makes comparison difficult. However, the ending of season 2 was overall seen as a better finale for its story than "We Are Gone" was for The Terror season 1. Once again, the overall reception to the season 2 finale of The Terror was summed up incredibly well by Jonathan Saavedra of Den of Geek:

"The Terror: Infamy brings its story to a close in a mostly satisfying way, as Chester, Luz, and their families confront a determined Yuko in the final days of World War II. “Into the Afterlife” is at its very best when focusing on the real-world horrors that make up this season’s historical background. The episode is bookended with powerful reflections on how these characters have been forever changed by their internment. It’s in the cathartic moments at the end of the episode, and in the many ruminations throughout about what it means to be Japanese-American, that this final hour hits home."

However, while the ending of The Terror season 2 may have been stronger for its story than season 1, many critics (including Saavedra) indicate that that the first season was stronger overall. In his review of The Terror season 2 ending, Saavedra points out that the second chapter of the anthology horror was satisfying, but not the peak of its storytelling:

"The Terror: Infamy might not have been this show at its very best but it is the series at its most honest and ambitious. When its mix of historical and supernatural horrors worked, Infamy was stunning television"

The Terror Is Returning For Season 3

The Anthology Horror Series Returns In 2025

The Terror season 1 was followed by a second batch of episodes in 2019, this time set in World War 2. A third season was confirmed a year later in 2020, though news on its development quickly fell silent. However, in early 2024, AMC revealed that work on The Terror season 3 had resumed, and it would be subtitled Devil in Silver.

The Terror season 3 will consist of 6 episodes and is based on the novel by Victor LaVelle, who will also be co-writing the screenplay. While no specific release date has yet been set, the next season of The Terror is expected to arrive in 2025.