Earth Abides Finale Review: Forever Is Tomorrow Is Today

20 years into the apocalypse, Earth Abides brings great triumph but also great sacrifice. Ish is now face to face with the greatest fear that a parent can have, the loss of a child. Heather is no stranger to loss when she comes back without the love of her life, and must explain to Ezra and his mothers what happened out there to Raif. It’s not a tale that is easy for anyone, but Heather handled it with strength and poise. Something she surely learned from her mother.

Not all love was lost. Raif may be gone today, but the two of them got to experience joy and togetherness as they traveled from coastal city to coastal city. They may not have found what they were looking for, but they were able to be free and spectate what wonders the world still had to offer.

All hope is not lost

Raif may have lost his life on the journey to people. But was all lost? Every city they came across showed numbers and arrows. It became a dead end for Heather or Raif, but she took that knowledge back to San Lupo. As a community, they figured out those numbers were radio channels, so in their way, Raif and Heather were responsible for finding the people left. Humanity wasn’t lost on them after all.

Poor Ish did everything he could to save Joey. Ice baths, medications, praying, even the help of a holy man. In the end, nothing worked. As other members of San Lupo got better, Joey succumbed to the illness.

Emma stayed strong while Ish went into a full-on rage and tried to erase every part of San Lupo from the signs. He nearly attempted arson on the library until Emma stopped him. Everything became a lie to him. No matter how much he worked to make this world better when Joey was gone, so was his hope and faith in a better tomorrow.

“Living has more dying in it than a heart can bear.”

The loss of a child can break the most powerful couples in television and they find themselves at a breaking point of no return. I would also like to add these writers for Emma are so on point with her poetically divine way of speaking. She garners so much strength and wisdom while speaking with such effortless sophistication. 

“I’ve lost too much. But you gave me earth, Ish. A safe place to plant my feet.”

For Ish, Emma is his one and only. The only love he’s ever had and will ever have. His love is so strong for her even when his pain runs so deep. Ish’s guilt is a heavyweight of emotion, but he looks across the horizon and sees rain and birds crying. After all this time the earth healed, which in turn helped Ish heal from his devastation.

Now it took all of this to realize that Ish had it all wrong from the start. No longer did he need to reignite the old world, he needed to help the world rise that was already there. Greed, selfishness, and chemicals surrounding them, affected their health and views of the world. The old world wasn’t the pinnacle he thought it was. 

“If the earth can abide so can we.”

As Earth Abides comes to a close, Ish has the simplistic realization that if the Earth can abide and heal itself after all the loss and trauma waged against it, then so can people. After his revelation, he decides that he no longer needs to teach the lessons of the past. All they need to do to survive is listen to the earth and cherish the beauty of nature. They already have such an abundance of life.

“If we can live in harmony with this earth, then maybe it will teach us how to live in harmony with each other.”

Before Joey died he left behind his legacy. In his journal, he had plans for a radio tower. He knew people weren’t meant to live alone in this world, and even though Ish didn’t believe in finding more people, he did. The old Ish would have scraped the thought immediately. However, this newly reformed Ish wanted to bring his dream to life. Once again, as a community, the tribe of San Lupo works together to bring Joey’s brilliance to life.

I loved the moment between Maurine and Alex. She knew he was feeling much more insignificant than his younger brother, and assured him he was just as loved and just as wanted. And although Joey was the brains behind the radio, Alex played a big part in making it a reality, with his hands.

Earth Abides: 147 225

Due to Heather’s brilliance in remembering the numbers out there with Raif, Ish was able to figure out those numbers reflected a radio frequency. When Ish reaches out they learn there’s a group of 77 people in Point Lobo, a spot by the sea less than 100 miles away.

Though both sides were fearful about picking up the other frequency, they had to do it. Without risk, there is no reward. And this was another instance in which the reward paid off mightily.

Earth Abides goes 50 years into the future and Ish hands Jack(Heather’s oldest son) his hammer. A significant moment shows the torch being passed down. And while men come and go, the earth abides.

Only the wolf survives

Ironically, both Lobo and San Lupo means wolf. Ironic fate. Earth Abides has been a pleasure to watch, review, and write about. Very few times will you come across a show that captures your heart in this way, where you can also experience a lifelong journey of the characters who capture your attention.

It’s been a phenomenal ride and I hope the show leaves you questioning how you treat family and strangers. How you can create a better world just like Emma did with a simple act of kindness.

The realist and the dreamer

Bad things can always happen when you are too trusting of people both in life, and an apocalypse. Maybe not in such a devastating way as with what happened with Charlie, but shutting yourself off to the potential of happiness again is no way to live. And it’s no way to want the people you love, to live.

Who was right when it was all said and done? You have Emma, the dreamer and believer, and you have Ish the realist king. When it’s all said and done, I don’t think either of them was right or wrong. Ish may have been guarded, but only because he holds his precious family in high regard.

Emma is a huge believer to a fault, but after all her heavy-hearted losses, it’s not wrong to want to bring joy back into the world. After she received her joy, she always wanted others to find that same happiness. Together, they created a remarkable balance between each other, which led them to create a perfect world inside an imperfect one. 

Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances-Dukes deserve all the accolades in the world for this miniseries. A big thank you to show creator Todd Komarnicki for bringing George R. Stewart’s novel to life on MGM+. And of course a big round of applause to the rest of the cast Aaron Tveit, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Elyse Levesque, Luisa D’ Oliveria, Birkett Turton, Hilary McCormack, Jenna Berman, Elias Leacock, Aleksandra Cross, Victoria Morgan, Kowie Lai, Andres Joseph, Lennox Leacock, Adelyn Bruce, and Toby Marks.

Earth Abides: What we have learned

Emma Williams could have easily shut herself out. She could have also easily blamed herself after what happened with Charlie’s group. Truly thinking Ish was wrong about the man, believing he was being overly protective and irrationally paranoid. In the end, Ish was right but he never placed any blame on his wife, and she never placed any blame on herself. Emma is refined, beautiful, equally brilliant, and vivaciously resilient. And even in fiction, a woman to aspire to. Jessica Frances-Dukes is simply masterful beyond belief in this role.

Ish portrays a strong well-led father who will do anything on earth to keep his family safe. Sometimes a bit of a selfish man when it comes to utter importance. After it’s all said and done Ish teaches you that it’s okay to be hard-headed when your heart is in the right place. It’s okay to be guarded at times, but not to let it override your life. And it’s okay to feel and let those emotions guide you. It is never too late to change. Even the strongest most stubborn men can take accountability to look within themselves to find a better purpose. And most importantly just love like Ish, the way he loves Emma and it won’t steer you wrong.

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About the author: Shay has been writing as a journalist professionally for years. Her most common topics to cover are drama and horror but she looks forward to getting her feet wet with new and exciting genres and projects. @ShaySleighs