Apple TV+’s The Gorge Ending Explained

The Gorge blends horror, action, and romance to create a movie that’s become an absolute smash for Apple TV+. But how does this Annihilation-esque movie conclude? Here’s Apple TV+’s The Gorge’s ending, explained.

What Is The Gorge About?

Before I delve into the ending’s specifics, I’ll get the big question out of the way. Do protagonists Levi and Dasha survive to find love? The answer is yes, they do, and unlike Annihilation, there’s no ambiguity about it. They’re both alive and human and safe.

The Gorge features two protagonists; Levi. a former marine sniper who still does jobs for the U.S. military, and Drasa, a covert operative working for Russia. They’re both commissioned to operate two lookout towers on either side of a mysterious, fog-filled gorge.

They’re most responsible for maintaining the automatic weapons that kill anything that attempts to exit the gorge. The “Hollow Men,” humanoid monsters of unknown origin, regularly attempt to exit the gorge. With a lot of time on their hands, Levi and Drasa form a relationship, which inadvertently leads to them discovering the secret of the gorge.

How Does Apple TV+’s The Gorge End?

Levi uses an improvised grappling launcher to meet Drasa, but on the way back to his post, he tumbles into the gorge, saved only by his parachute. Drasa quickly parachutes in to save him, and together, they discover a world of mutated wildlife and more Hollow Men.

It’s revealed that the gorge was once home to a WWII-era research facility working on biological weapons. However, an earthquake hit that breached the missiles, and a mutagen spilled out into the facility, ultimately contaminating the whole valley. The mutagen blends together the DNA of humans, wildlife, and plants, creating some real horrors.

The Hollow Men are the people who, since then, were sent in to try and sort things out, including a whole army battalion. Levi and Drasa learn that while they were under the impression they were working for their respective governments, their employer is Darklake, a private company. This Umbrella Corporation-style company is attempting to harness the mutations to make supersoldiers and kills the watchers it employs after their year-long shifts are over.

Drasa and Levi escape the gorge, using a WWII jeep to haul themselves out, but Levi’s handler Bartholomew knows, via surveillance footage, that they enter it and arrives with some mercenaries to kill them.

Levi is wounded, but the pair succeed in destroying the “cloakers” hiding the gorge from satellite surveillance. This triggers a massive failsafe bomb, which explodes and annihilates the whole valley. Levi and Drasa escape, meeting up in France where Drasa is working. But Bartholomew isn’t so lucky, and her helicopter is destroyed in the blast.

Related: Netflix’s Cassandra’s Ending, Explained

Is The Gorge Getting a Sequel?

Apple hasn’t announced a sequel, but there are several avenues that could be pursued. It’s explained that each Hollow Man is a potential infection vector, so there’s room for a follow-up where the mutations have leaked into the world. It’s also possible, but unlikely, that Bartholomew, played by Sigourney Weaver, could somehow be back as a mutated version of her character.

Unanswered Questions From The Gorge’s Ending

Sequel aside, you might have a few additional questions about The Gorge‘s ending. The movie doesn’t answer these definitively but we can draw a few conclusions.

• Why did Levi and Drasa go to the gorge?: Levi does not have many attachments, so when Bartholomew sought him out, he took her up on the offer. He was also under the impression he was serving the U.S., even if not directly. Drasa went because she was under the impression the mission was authorized by (and serving) her government.
• Are the Hollow Men intelligent?: There doesn’t seem to be much of their former selves left, but they do cooperate enough to take Drasa and Levi on as a group and set a trap for Drasa by stealing her bag. So, they’re intelligent, but they show little urge to communicate with their quarry.
• Why did Bartholomew fly to the gorge?: The character talks about Levi being her responsibility, but this still feels like a massively foolhardy move. But what if she’s not the top dog at Darkwater? If she’s working for someone else, it’d make sense she’d want to clean up her own mess or face literal termination.
• When did Darkwater take over?: We know that Darkwater has been involved in gorge research since at least the turn of the millennium, so it seems likely they took over sometime in the ’90s. Before that, it likely was, genuinely, a cooperative effort between the US and the Russian governments.
• Where is the actual gorge? It seems likely that the gorge is somewhere in Eastern Europe. Neither the US nor Russia would be keen to have a research facility on their doorstep. But the movie doesn’t confirm an absolute location.

And that’s Apple TV+’s The Gorge’s ending explained. And if you’re a fan of Apple TV+’s shows, check out this wild fan theory about Severance Season 2’s finale.

The Gorge is streaming now on Apple TV+.