Station Eleven Season 1 Episode 10: Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Unbroken Circle

How does Miranda’s story end?

Episode 10 of Station Eleven begins in the past, with Miranda talking to Clark about their changing fates. For Miranda, she’s stuck in Malaysia. Clark is at the airport. Miranda struggles to stifle her coughs while on the phone, very clearly sick. She urges Clark to look after Elizabeth and Tyler; her final wish before this flu ravages them all.

Miranda checks the plane from her laptop, and does her best to liaise with the pilot to make sure the plane that touches down from Chicago doesn’t let anyone out.

Learning the captain’s name is Hugo and with a number to hand, Miranda gets through to him and converses with the pilot, urging him not to open the plane. She admits they don’t deserve to die like caged animals but in doing this, they’ll save those inside the airport.

As she hangs up the phone, the last shot we see of her is lying motionless on the ground, showing that she’s died.

Who is Directing the play?

Kirsten and the rest of the Symphony learn that their quarantine is over. While most are happy, Kirsten isn’t ready to let this grudge go yet. She sits down with Elizabeth and hashes out her problems.

Kirsten mentions how, for 20 years, no other town or city has locked them up despite fighting for survival. She’s not happy with the way their people have treated them.

Kirsten agrees to do one show and then they’ll be leaving. For good. Not only that, Kirsten is getting back to Directing as well, pushing Elizabeth out.

The Hamlet casting

That night, Alex quizzes Kirsten over exactly who is going to be playing Hamlet. As fate would have it, it’s going to be The Prophet, Tyler. Alex challenges Kirsten’s idea, and even suggests they stay at the airport for a year instead of leaving. Kirsten refuses to negotiate though.

Clark too is unhappy with Hamlet’s casting but Kirsten admits this is the only way she can get him to open up and talk to her. She also admits to trying to kill The Prophet but being unable to do so.

Handing over the Station Eleven comic, she reveals exactly who she is and what connection she has to the comic. When Clark realizes she was the little girl from the King Lear production, he’s understandably shocked. This also helps him to let go of his resentment, agreeing to let Tyler play his role. He also decides to play Claudius. Why? Well, that’s what Arthur would have wanted.

What happens during the Hamlet production?

The main act begins and the Hamlet production takes place. There’s a pretty unnerving moment involving Tyler and a knife but he keeps his cool and doesn’t kill Clark, which is obviously a bonus. There are, however, hints that he has a larger plan at work here, given all the kids walking toward the airport.

As Kirsten heads outside, she notices one of the Prophet’s kids showing up with “beacons” ready to serve as beacons. Kirsten gains the girl’s trust and shows off the Station Eleven comic, pointing out that this is where the origin of the prophecy comes from. However, she soon scarpers away, leaving Kirsten on her own.

What happens to Sarah?

In the middle of all this drama, a few minutes are dedicated to closing out Sarah’s story. After her heart attack several episodes ago, she never recovers from her injuries. Kirsten hears chatter on Clark’s radio, revealing that “the conductor” is dead. This is, of course, referring to Sarah.

She’s later informed directly that Sarah hasn’t made it, leaving the Symphony in need of a new conductor for the future.

Does Tyler reconnect with his mum?

Inside, Elizabeth catches up with her son. She apologizes for everything and admits she would have left with Tyler had he asked. Since leaving, Tyler has been much happier, and Elizabeth does her best to support him, smiling warmly. Breaking down his walls, this kindness helps to allow Tyler to reconnect with his mum, hugging her. As he does, all the bitterness and animosity leaves.

How does Station Eleven end?

As music picks up that night, following the lights being turned back on, Kirsten reconnects with Jeevan again, who finds his way back to her. It’s a really touching reunion, and one that eventually leads to the Symphony heading back out on the road.

Only this time, Jeevan is with them and he talks about the past. Kirsten throws her arms around him and thanks Jeevan for walking her home all those years ago.

With a fork in the road, Kirsten and Jeevan say their goodbyes as she promises to wheel around the next year when thee Symphony returns. As he walks away, thee series comes to a close.

The Episode Review

So the big conflict with Tyler comes to a close with an hour that basically works to patch up all the character conflicts and wrap up this story with a neat little bow.

Don’t get me wrong, Station Eleven has been a visually stunning and poetically beautiful series… but it’s also incredibly unrealistic too. You need to suspend an awful lot of disbelief to get into this and while that may be fine or some, hearing Kirsten telling Elizabeth that for the years they’ve been performing they’ve never experienced any hostility or been locked up just seems ludicrous.

We know there are scavengers in this world and we know how selfish people can be. Hell, look at this pandemic and how quickly people began to hoard resources and sell them off for higher prices. There will always be opportunists.

However, Station Eleven has been less about actually surviving and more about how important the arts are. in that respect, this has been a really enjoyable watch.

The highlight of the episode though is the reunion between Kirsten and Jeevan. This really helps wheel the entire show around to the opening few chapters, not to mention Miranda’s important role in all this. The sense of finality is definitely felt and her selfless act essentially saves everyone inside the museum.

Station Eleven has been an enjoyable watch over the weeks, with a final episode that rounds everything out with a neat little bow. While it seems unlikely that there will be a second season, there’s certainly room for this one to grow. For now though, the Symphony keeps on marching on, singing and performing in this incredibly peaceful world.