The End Of The Mysterious Benedict Society Season 1 Explained
Contains spoilers for all of "The Mysterious Benedict Society" Season 1
The first season of "The Mysterious Benedict Society" is on Disney+ in its entirety, after airing on a weekly schedule, keeping in tradition with similar Disney+ shows (this structure stands apart from fellow streaming giants such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, which prefer to release their seasons in big, bingeable chunks). True to its name, the season is full of mystery, along with the titular Mr. Nicholas Benedict (Tony Hale) and the society his evil twin brother, Mr. Nathaniel Curtain (also brilliantly performed by Hale) tries and ultimately fails to create.
Like any good novel adaptation, the version of the Disney+ series makes a few changes and additions to work for TV, but still stays faithful to the original in ways that fans of the young adult novel should hopefully appreciate. If you've already watched through the entire season and have some questions about its characteristically mysterious ending, we hope we can illuminate a few things for you.
The Benedict Society successfully stops 'The Emergency' and Mr. Curtain's evil plans
After an entire season's worth of betrayals, guilt and intrigue, it all finally reaches a crossroads when Mr. Curtain has successfully completed his test run of The Whisperer (voiced by Ever Mainard), simply telling all susceptible audiences to buy a specific blue beret. This relatively benign directive is only the beginning, though, as he plans to use the Whisperer to influence the entire world, ruling it from the shadows with his powers of suggestion.
Of course, Reynie Muldoon (Mystic Inscho) and the rest of the Mysterious Benedict Society aren't going to let that happen without a fight. Through a series of fortunate, unfortunate, and hilarious events, the gang finds itself within the chamber of the Whisperer, where George "Sticky" Washington (Seth B. Carr) attempts to fight off the influences of the GLaDOS-like intelligence as a messenger, rousing Mr. Curtain's suspicion. However, Reynie is able to successfully enrage Mr. Curtain by causing him to be emotionally vulnerable, which triggers a narcoleptic response, knocking him out.
Constance Contraire uses her psychic powers to destroy the Whisperer
As has been hinted throughout the season, there's a very specific reason why everyone has to put up with the young and fiercely disagreeable Constance Contraire's (Marta Kessler) at times obnoxious presence. One of those reasons is a more intangible message about the importance of seeing past one's first impressions, but the more plot-oriented reason is that she has psychic powers, or something resembling those, as Mr. Benedict confirms in a small aside to Milligan.
With Mr. Curtain unconscious, Constance voluntarily enters the mind of the Whisperer, using her newly revealed powers to confuse the artificial intelligence until it overloads, frying its circuits and eradicating that particular threat once and for all. In the final scene of the season, the Whisperer's engineer, Dr. Garrison (Trenna Keating), confirms this, saying that what remains of the Whisperer is little more than a keepsake or paperweight.
Number Two and Rhonda make amends, sparking friendship or perhaps romance
Entering the epilogue portion after the grand showdown between the two twin brothers, Number Two (Kristen Schaal) and Rhonda (MaameYaa Boafo) make amends, as the two have been at odds with one another throughout the season. Promoting a positive message for young adult media, they learn to understand and forgive one another, becoming close friends in the process.
That is most likely the intended way to read the relationship between the two characters, but Schaal and Boafo's chemistry makes one wonder if there's not something more intimate under the surface for the two characters. If Disney+ decided to play with that reading of the relationship, it could certainly make the worst types of people enraged while providing an at least well-meaning, progressive inclusion, but the company doesn't have the best track record with LGBTQ+ inclusion, so we may very well be reading too much into it. No matter the context, it's a great dynamic and relationship thanks to great writing and performances all around.
Kate and Reynie get loving adoptive parents, while Sticky attends his dream school
Although both the novel and series go to some dark places, this is still a Disney show for all ages, so of course we're going to get some happy, heartfelt endings for our main protagonists. Kate Wetherall (Emmy DeOliveira) bonds with Milligan (Ryan Hurst), who struggles with the amnesia Mr. Curtain cruelly forced on him but learns to cope with it by forging a new identity, becoming a father figure and ultimately a full-fledged adoptive father to the bucket-loving girl.
Reynie finds his own parental figure in Ms. Perumal (Gia Sandhu), who works throughout the season to keep Reynie safe, motivated and loved. In a tearful reunion, the two decide to become a family, with Ms. Perumal as Reynie's adoptive mother.
Sticky, however, decides to follow a different path, enrolling in the Boatwright Academy, the very prestigious institute he and the rest were lied to about taking the entrance exams for. As Sticky had abusive parents he ran away from, this serves as a nice confirmation that even though families can be wonderful, they're not the only valid option.
Mr. Curtain might have some 'interesting' plans in store for the Mysterious Benedict Society
Just as everything appears to be wrapping up, however, Disney drops a bombshell that appears to tee up the possibility of a second season for "The Mysterious Benedict Society."
The final scene shows Mr. Curtain, his adopted son S.Q. (Ricardo Oritz) and Dr. Garrison on a boat heading away from the Institute he created, in "disgrace and exile," as he describes. The latter two attempt to make him feel better to little effect, until Dr. Garrison hands him a very intriguing blueprint we don't get to see. The music swells, and the camera zooms out, with every fan collectively holding their breath for the magic words "'Dr. Curtain' will return in Season 2,' and...
Nothing. As of now, it's possible this could be the end for the Mysterious Benedict Society, but we all hope not. It's clear that the show's creators have plans for the future of the series, but that all depends on how much attention and money it garners before the Big Mouse decides to greenlight it or not. This isn't Marvel or Star Wars, so the odds may not be in its favor, but it's certainly a possibility we can hope comes to fruition.
As for what exactly got Mr. Curtain so excited, well, that's a mystery. If you've read all five of the books by Trenton Lee Stewart, you're sure to have your own ideas, but with its creators stating they might want to deviate from Stewart's original script, there's no telling for sure. And that's what makes this series' future so exciting.
All six episodes of the first episode of "The Mysterious Benedict Society" are now available, exclusively through Disney+.