The Solitary King
Episode 8 of Feria: The Darkest Light begins right off the back of the big cliffhanger last time out. Halid awakens and heads in to see Dr Belda, who finishes his phone call and reveals that he’s the next “chosen one.”
Why did Elena sacrifice herself?
Down in the mines, Pablo and Guillen realize that in order to open the strange door they need a blood sacrifice. However, Cuellar suddenly begins choking and gasping for air. Hearing high-pitched ringing in his ears, the worker is taken outside to try and cool off. As he sits on the floor, clutching his head, those same strange black veins protrude up to his ear.
Back at the station, Guillen interviews Pablo. The latter opens up and reveals everything that happened in the past, including how he believed they ended The Cult of Light years ago after blowing up the mine.
Elena knew that if she performed the rite then the gates would open. In doing so, everything from that side would pour through and our world would be doomed. So she sacrificed herself by “crossing the altar”, which was a bid to stop that from happening. The thing is, Sofia is also like her and much like Elena, can be used as a key. So naturally, this isn’t over and the threat is still very much real.
How is the portal opened?
In the mines, an entranced Cuellar heads in with a gun and drops to his knees. Although the other workers stop him from killing himself, he does bleed which is enough to open up the portal. And out from the strange doorway steps Umma, a monstrous undead stag.
Elsewhere, Sofia recovers in hospital after her ordeal with the Dekta. Eva apologizes for not believing her while Sofia reveals she was unable to stab Eva because, well, she loves her
As the sisters share a moment, Sofia continues on and reveals she initially saw her mother. Unfortunately, she’s currently trapped in Hell and they owe her their lives. She’s the reason why they’re still here, because of her sacrifice.
Sofia soon realizes the portal has been open and after some frightening visions, remains worried that things are going to go horribly wrong. The sisters are eventfully visited by Mar and Lozano.
Who is the key?
Lozano admits that the Black Altar is like a door and that can only be opened by a perfect woman – a woman like Sofia. As he brandishes a gun and points it at her, Eva instinctively tries to shield her from harm.
Thankfully they’re saved by Raul, who grabs the man’s head and smashes it repeatedly against the sink. That same strange high-pitched ringing soon ensues, as Raul clutches his head in pain. It’s very obvious he’s bein brainwashed by Dekta, but he’s taken away and arrested.
After her outburst earlier on, Blanca is tied down and kept under surveillance She’s devastated that she’s not chosen as the vessel for Dekta and soon starts to lose control. She claims that she’s been left alone but suddenly, she stops. From the ceiling, the familiar black goo begins to protrude down the walls like tendrils. Dekta has arrived.
Why doesn’t Dekta kill Guillen?
Meanwhile, Halid sneaks into the wards and manages to talk to the sisters alone. He admits he’s been sent by Belda who wants to take Sofia to the temple and end the path once and for all. Arresting him is futile too, and it’s here Halid reveals that the doctor has been in the cult all alone.
When Guillen returns to the room, he finds the place empty and the girls gone. Even worse, Blanca is free from her binds and races up to the roof.
Guillen gives chase and manages to knock her down. Dekta suddenly climbs out from her mouth. It’s a pretty frightening image, and as it screeches, Guillen shoots it several times. Blanca reveals that Dekta can’t actually touch him given he’s dying. Guillen has got leukemia, so to Dekta it’s like a poison which explains why it didn’t try to take over him.
What happens with Eva at the hospital?
In the hospital, Eva ends up hallucinating thanks to the demonic entity of Umma spreading through the hospital. It’s looking for Sophia but in doing so, stumbles upon her sister first. Coming to her as a vision of her father, Pablo grabs her by the throat, growling at Eva that she’s useless.
However, the creature slowly stalks toward Halid and Sofia, with the latter deciding to skip out and leave, bound for the mines.
When Eva snaps out of her hallucination, she hurries out and finds Guillen just arriving at the hospital. Hastily updating him on what’s happening, the pair head up to the mines together.
Does Halid die?
Dr Belda is already there though, having driven Halid and Sofia to the mines. When Halid sits up, he panics and snaps out of his brainwashed state, urging Sofia to run away. As she scrambles away, piercing gunshot blasts through the air, as Halid is fatally wounded.
The last shot we see of Halid is outside the mines, clutching his stomach as help arrives. It’s hinted that he’ll survive but right now, his life is still hanging in the balance. Eva decides to rush inside the mines and try to help her sister.
Deeper inside the mines though, Umma comes to Sofia in its monstrous form; an undead stag. Sofia refuses to open the final veil so naturally, it kills the doctor. In doing so, the blood oozes across the ground and opens the doorway, allowing it to pass through the other side.
How does Feria: The Darkest Light end?
Sofia realizes there’s no other choice to escape this fate and after seeing her mother in the portal, urging Sofia to come to her, she steps forward to hold her mother’s hand… and subsequently opens the portal. Unfortunately what comes out is a monstrous, horrible demon head that growls at Sofia. As she screams in fear… the season comes to a close.
The Episode Review
Feria: The Darkest Light bows out with a big ol’ Netflix cliffhanger which leaves plenty of question marks over what could happen next. The thing is, all of this rests on whether the Spanish series is renewed or not. The ride to get to this point has been pretty slow paced, although Feria has undoubtedly been atmospheric and dripping in moody mystery vibes.
The second half of this show hasn’t been as strong as the first, which unfortunately revealed a little too much about the cult and ended up playing catch up late on to actually get our characters to the same spot we’ve been at most of the time.
The other problem here comes from the subject material itself. There have been a number of these cult-like shows recently, including Curon, Archive 81, Save Me and even docu-series like Wild Wild Country too. The result is a show that instantly feels familiar and also has a mountain to climb to match up to what’s come before.
Credit to Feria though. Unlike Archive 81, this one doesn’t feel as cliched (minus the obvious “chosen one” plotline) but instead, it replaces that with a heavy dose of slow pacing and some pretty needless episodes.
Episode 2, for example, didn’t add a whole lot to the series beyond Father Ezcaray’s death. However, the overall storyline here has been interesting enough to keep watching to find out what happens next. It’s just a pity that it’s resulted in a cliffhanger ending that doesn’t resolve anything.
Hopefully this one will be renewed for another season as there’s definitely potential here.
Read More: Feria: The Darkest Light Season 1 Review
Thanks for reading our Ending Explained article! What did you think of the ending? Do you think there will be a sequel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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Episode Rating
(3)