Apple TV’s Constellation’s Ending, Explained

Apple TV’s Constellation series has drawn to a close with the last of its eight episodes. So what happened? Did Jo get back to “her'” Alice? If that’s what you’re wondering, here’s Apple TV’s Constellation‘s ending explained.

Apple TV’s Constellation’s Ending, Explained

How did Apple TV’s Constellation end? The short answer is that protagonist Johanna “Jo” Ericsson decided to stay in the wrong universe with the other Alice and Magnus. If that’s got you scratching your head, don’t worry. Here’s an explanation of the ending to Apple TV’s Constellation.

As has been revealed in previous episodes, the Jo we follow for most of the series is from a parallel universe. For the sake of making things easier, we’ll call her universe “Universe B” and the “main” universe, where the show spends most of its time, “Universe A.”

So, what happened in this final episode? The start of the episode has Universe B’s Henry “Bud” Caldera, who has swapped places with his Universe A counterpart, destroying the CAL experiment. It’s revealed that the CAL is a bit of a red herring. While it does help enable communication between A and B, it wasn’t the cause of Jo’s dimensional hop.

We discover that, for years, those who go into space are at risk of visions from the other universe, and if a death occurs in either universe, they may end up swapped between universes. Jo knows she’s been swapped, as does Universe A’s Alice, but no one really believes them. In fact, Universe A’s Paul Lancaster didn’t die – he was shunted to Universe B, as we saw in Episode 6.

Jo is sent to a mental health facility with only one other occupant, who we later learn is Universe A’s first man in space and who has also been stricken with “madness.” The facility is run by Irena Lysenko, head of Universe A’s space program. Jo is subjected to electro-shock therapy, but it doesn’t change her mind.

It’s revealed that Irena is also aware of the truth and is probably from Universe B, having settled into Universe A. Irena’s childhood nickname was “Valya.” She, or an alternate self, is the dead cosmonaut Universe A’s Alice has been seeing, and it’s her corpse that impacted the ISS in Episode 1. She reveals that Jo is pregnant, and the scan suggests there’s something odd about the fetus. Jo is from one universe, but the father, Magnus, is from another.

After talking to Irena and Universe A’s Alice, she accepts she’s not going to go back home and resolves to set up a new life with Universe A’s Magnus and Alice. As far as Universe B is concerned, Jo is dead, and her corpse is still aboard the ISS. Universe B Alice has seemingly accepted that she’s never getting her mother back, either. Irena later sends an email to other former astronauts asking for their experiences.

But while Alice gets a happy-ish conclusion in Constellation‘s ending, Universe A’s Henry Caldera has no such luck. He’s been swapped with Bud Caldera, his Universe B counterpart, and charged with the murder of critic Ian Rogers and the attempted murder of Paul Lancaster (who lived). Bud Caldera, living the high life on Henry’s assets, looks up the Universe A version of one of his former comrades and wishes him well.

Universe A Paul Lancaster wakes up in a Universe B hospital bed (Universe A thinks he’s dead), but that’s all we see of him. Finally, we watch Universe B Jo’s corpse “wake,” a chunk of her face decayed, and grab a floating tablet.

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Who Lives and Who Dies in Constellation’s Finale?

Surprisingly, Constellation‘s finale is entirely death-free. The character who’s arguably in the worst immediate position is Universe A’s Henry Caldera, who is being charged with Universe B Bud Caldera’s crimes. He could, despite his attempts to prove his innocence, be given the death penalty. Irena Lysenko is also suffering from an apparently terminal illness. However, no one actually dies in the finale.

Why Do People Jump Universes in Constellation?

Constellation‘s ending doesn’t give a concrete explanation as to why people can switch universes, but the series brings up the concept of quantum entanglement. As explained by Space, “Quantum entanglement states that two particles are connected and affect one another even if those particles are light-years apart.”

So, a similar idea may apply here, that changing the state of someone in Universe A – in this case, Jo dying – impacts Universe B, swapping the two. But that doesn’t explain why the effect only happens in space. It’s also suggested that there’s something wrong with space, the slightly Lovecraftian notion that just orbiting the Earth is enough to drive people mad.

But, ultimately, it just happens. It’s not the CAL’s fault, even though the accident itself might have been, and it was going on well before Jo went into space. Could a second series of Constellation explore the why? Absolutely, though not knowing is even more chilling.

And that’s Apple TV’s Constellation‘s ending explained.

Constellation is streaming now on Apple TV.