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The End of the F***ing World Recap: Here's What Went Down in Season 2

Nov 7 2019 - 4:00pm

Warning: If you aren't keen to spoilers, I suggest you stop scrolling!

Season two of The End of the F***ing World gave us just as much drama, plot twists, and action as the first season, and we seriously need to talk about everything that went down. From finding out that James isn't actually lying dead on the beach somewhere [1] to learning about the backstory of one of this season's main characters, the show reeled us in and kept us on the hook with every twist and turn it had. Though we aren't too sure there will be a third season [2] of the Netflix original, we did get a pretty satisfying ending, and that's good enough for me.

If you're still trying to make sense of everything that went down between James, Alyssa [3], and the terrifying Bonnie [4], then read through the gallery to revisit some of the most important scenes in season two of The End of the F***ing World.

We Meet Bonnie

In season one we met Professor Clive Koch [5], and we found out that he was an abuser and a rapist. In season two, we meet Bonnie, the professor's girlfriend. Within the first episode of season two, Bonnie is introduced to us as a character who seems to have gone through life with an overprotective mother and a father who abandoned her.

After a few flashbacks from Bonnie's childhood, we see Bonnie at college — except she isn't actually enrolled as a student. Since she failed her exams, she works in the library at the school and finds herself getting involved with Professor Koch. At the end of Bonnie's episode, we see that she's on a mission to get revenge on James and Alyssa for killing the love of her life, which sets up the premise for the rest of the season.

James Isn't Actually Dead

Season one left us with the grim notion that James was dead [6] after we heard a gunshot, accompanied by a scene of him spilling blood onto the sandy shore of the beach he and Alyssa were hiding out on. In season two, we learn from James himself that he's still alive. He gives a voiceover saying, "It was a fitting end, a doomed love story. A perfect tragedy. And then I didn't die."

After he survived the gunshot and spent months recovering in the hospital, he then got probation after the judge ruled the professor's murder an act of self-defense. The only downside to all of this? Alyssa's mom forced James to write a letter explaining that he never wanted to see Alyssa again. Watching James write the letter was as painful as it was for him to write it, knowing that he and Alyssa would never really stop loving each other.

Alyssa Gets Married . . . and Then Runs Off

In an attempt to put James behind her and start fresh, Alyssa begins dating a local boy. She opens up to him, trusts him, and then asks him to marry her. The two seem happy together, but Alyssa still continues to think about James and what her life would be like with him in it.

The night before her wedding, James shows up to the café Alyssa's working in. He doesn't offer an in-depth explanation as to why he's decided to make a visit to Alyssa, but he does let her know that his dad died. Still infuriated over the letter he sent her, Alyssa shoos James away and tries to focus on her wedding day. James leaves the next day and finds Alyssa in her wedding dress in the middle of the road where she jumps in the car, and the two take off with no true destination in sight.

James and Alyssa Meet Bonnie

After James and Alyssa stop to eat at a diner and hash things out, Alyssa decides she wants to return home. On their way home, they see a stranger on the side of the road, and Alyssa tells James to pull over and pick her up. It turns out that stranger is Bonnie, and this is exactly what she wants.

Bonnie gets into the car with James and Alyssa only after she puts a hole in the car's tire, causing it to break down. The trio end up spotting a motel down the road and push the car to it, hoping that they can get it fixed and put this mess behind them.

Bonnie Tries to Kill James and Alyssa Repeatedly

Bonnie has done her research and knows exactly where James and Alyssa are. After she sends both of them bullets with their names engraved into them [7], she begins her journey to find the pair, so she can murder them. She finally is united with James and Alyssa in episode four and desperately tries to get each of them alone so she can shoot them.

It wouldn't be The End of the F***ing World without plans going awry, so it's fitting that it takes Bonnie multiple attempts to corner James and Alyssa. It isn't until the seventh episode that we finally see Bonnie alone with the pair, ready to make her move on them.

Bonnie Kills the Motel Man

It's The End of the F***ing World, so we should always expect the unexpected, but I can honestly say I wasn't expecting this. When Bonnie, James, and Alyssa arrive at the motel, they're greeted by a front desk clerk who is a little overbearing. He takes an immediate interest in Bonnie, who couldn't appear less interested in him.

After an evening of wining and dining, the three go back to their rooms, and Bonnie encounters the guy again — only this time he has plans for himself and Bonnie. Bonnie tries to shut him down, but he's persistent. She whips out her gun and points it at him, threatening to kill him if he doesn't back down. Scared for his life, he backs down. Bonnie puts the gun down on the dresser, but it slips off and a bullet ends up lodged in the guy's head, making Bonnie a killer by accident.

James and Alyssa End Up Together

After almost dying in the café, James and Alyssa have been through more than enough together. In the last episode we see Bonnie being arrested for the murder of the motel clerk, and we see James and Alyssa give their witness statements to the officers on the case. When James is giving his statement, Alyssa leaves the police station and leaves behind a note explaining to her aunt that she will be back and to "take care of James." When James comes out of questioning, he immediately notices Alyssa's absence and begins the trek to hunt her down.

James finally finds Alyssa back where all of this mess started — the professor's house. After some pretty heavy conversation, Alyssa and James drive off together. Throughout the season, James attempts to utter an "I love you" to Alyssa, but can never find the right time. He slips it into a scene where Alyssa is sleeping but then immediately retracts it when she wakes up, pretending it never happened in the first place.

In the final scene of the season, Alyssa admits that she feels the same way about James, and the two end up together, ready to return to a life filled with normalcy.


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