The Ending Of The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 1 Explained
What a long, strange, walker filled trip it has been. After setting out to save their father from the clutches of the Civic Republic Military in episode 1, sisters Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour) finally found themselves on the doorstep of the secretive organization. However, as with all great journeys, by the time the Bennett sisters reached their destination, everything had changed.
The final episode of The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 1 picked up after a series of shocking developments in the episodes leading up to it. Silas (Hal Cumpston) was ostracized from the group after he was accused of murder, Elton (Nicolas Cantu) left to join his friend and came to terms with his mother's fate, and Huck (Annet Mahendru) was revealed to be a spy for the CRM who had orders to deliver an "asset" (read: Hope) to their headquarters.
At the end of the previous episode, the group fractured even more after Hope and Huck snuck away in the night and left Iris and an injured Felix (Nico Tortorella) to continue the trek to CRM headquarters alone. While it seemed at first that Hope had been hoodwinked by Huck, who was operating on orders to separate the young woman from the group, a flashback revealed that she had decoded a CRM communique and was purposefully playing into their plan (which doesn't really make sense, but that's beyond the scope of this article).
That clever move was just one example of why the CRM tasked Huck with bringing in Hope in the first place.
Hope is the asset Huck was supposed to bring to the CRM
In many ways, Hope and Iris are quite different. Hope is rebellious and brash, while Iris is a diplomatic straight-A student. There have been hints throughout the season that the CRM was working behind the scenes to make sure that one of the sisters ended up at their headquarters. While Iris may have seemed like the more obvious choice at first, we learn in the final episode that the asset they are after is actually Hope.
After Hope pulls a gun on Huck and forces her to spill the beans, Huck tells her that she's been identified by the CRM as an extremely smart, talented, and resourceful person. In fact, this whole trip across the country was one big test conducted by the CRM to make sure she was as adaptable as they suspected. By making it this far, Hope passed that test, and now the CRM wants her to join them on their mission to save humanity. Although the extent of the CRM's plans haven't yet been revealed, we do learn that by their own projections humanity has 30 years tops before it's wiped out. That is, unless they take drastic action. It appears that part of that action is to gather the brightest young minds in their alliance of colonies and bring them to HQ.
The trial trip all started with Hope and Iris getting a distress message from their father, a scientist who was brought to the CRM on official business. Except, the message wasn't from their father, it was from Huck, who knew that the sisters would respond to his SOS by undertaking the trip. As we learn in the finale, Papa Bennett wasn't in danger when the fake message was sent. At least, not any that he was aware of.
Hope and Iris' father is safe ... for now
Over at CRM headquarters, we learn that Leo Bennett (Joe Holt) has a new girlfriend. Lyla Belshaw (Natalie Gold) is a fellow scientist who we met in an intriguing post-credits scene earlier in the season, and who we now see on several candlelit dates with Leo. Leo gushes about how smart his daughter Hope is, and we learn that Lyla has some ulterior motives.
During a Shakespearian soliloquy of sorts, Lyla rehearses how she plans to tell Leo that she recommended his daughter Hope for a CRM project — and all because dad couldn't stop bragging about his little girl. Ultimately, Lyla isn't able to break the news to Leo. Furthermore, he confesses to her that he's become suspicious about the CRM since he's been there. He's concerned that a fellow Campus Colony member who came with him to the CRM, Felix's boyfriend Will (Jelani Alladin), went on a scouting trip and never returned. Lyla nods compassionately, but considering how deep she appears to be in with the organization, it looks like Leo might have found himself in some trouble, after all.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond's finale sets up season 2
Back on the road, Iris and Felix are left reeling when they discover that Hope and Huck have run away in the night. They realize that Huck is a double agent and manage to track her down. When the two groups meet, Felix's anger at being betrayed boils over and he and Huck have a brutal fight that ends in a stalemate. In order to prevent further conflict, Hope agrees to go with Huck to CRM headquarters.
As she parts ways with her sister, she reassures her that she's not scared, and reaffirms a theme that has been at the heart of the series since the beginning: The sisters each have their own strengths and flaws, but it's when they're together that they're at their peak. Little does the CRM know: Hope herself isn't the asset they want, it's the sisters together. This reveal — or, rather, thematic confirmation — sets up an interesting conflict for season 2 when the CRM realizes that Hope can't possibly reach her potential without Iris. The sisters Bennett are a package deal.
Huck and Hope eventually meet up with Elizabeth (Julia Ormond) and her squad of CRM soldiers. They whisk Hope away in a helicopter. Meanwhile, Iris and Felix are walking through the woods when they see people in the distance. One steps forward and reveals himself to be Will. Not much is explained after the tearful reunion, but it appears that Will and his group are CRM outcasts who have banded together.
The season finale leaves many exciting prospects for the show's second and final season: What will happen to Hope? How will Leo react to finding out about the organization's interest in his daughter? And will Iris and Felix join an outcast rebellion against the CRM? We'll have to wait until season 2 of The Walking Dead: World Beyond to find out.