At the end of last week’s episode, Magnus revealed the truth about Abnormals on television.
The finale opens on Addison in the SCIU offices taking calls and promising his superiors that they will regain control of the media and squash the story. Will gets a call from Magnus. She tells him that they need to derail Addison’s plan because imprisoning Abnormals is not the answer. Will continues to be frustrated by not knowing all of Magnus’s plans.
Magnus tells Henry that it is important that they get the Abnormals out of the Fifth Ward settlement because she was in Poland when the Nazis came and forced people into the ghettos. Magnus knows that history has the tendency to repeat itself. Magnus will do whatever it takes to avoid genocide.
Henry and Tesla investigate the equipment SCIU is using to keep the Abnormals in the settlement.
Addison’s boss tells him that he has handled the settlement situation poorly. The control of the matter is being taken out of Addison’s hands. Addison is not happy, so he goes to Will. Addison tells Will that SCIU can use Tesla’s containment technology as a weapon. In return, Addison wants information from Will, but Will doesn’t reveal anything—either he is refusing or doesn’t know anything.
At the settlement, Caleb tells Biggie that they are in for hard times. Biggie thinks Caleb is talking about war, but Caleb finds war a waste of life. Instead, Caleb wants to end the situation by using evolution and shows Biggie a vial of blue liquid. According to Caleb, whatever the blue liquid is will make the humans treat Abnormals like Gods.
Henry got a piece of the SCIU equipment. Tesla immediately recognizes it as his invention, but when he was fired from SCIU, the device was in the blueprint stage. Tesla is briefly impressed one of the SCIU techs could complete his work. Tesla is distraught because his containment field could be used as a weapon if enough energy is added to the device. The device would become a large electronic web and electrocute everyone inside the field.
Bruno and Kate smuggle Magnus into the settlement so she can talk to Caleb. She tells Caleb that she did not know about SCIU’s plans. She wants to get the Abnormals safely to Hollow Earth. Caleb is not happy about going back underground. He thinks Abnormals have the right to live on the surface with the sun, rivers, and oceans; he does not want to trade one prison for another. Magnus tells him that SCIU will likely kill them all, but Caleb refuses to evacuate the settlement.
Caleb’s disregard for the Abnormals in the settlement makes Magnus suspicious of Caleb, so she asks Kate and Biggie to investigate and find out Caleb’s real plans.
Biggie finds Bruno searching through things in Caleb’s office. Biggie takes out the vial of blue liquid and tells Bruno that stealing from Caleb is not a wise thing to do. An alarm sounds at the Sanctuary. Magnus goes to the roof and finds Bruno. Bruno gives her the vial of blue liquid and tells her it is from Biggie. At the settlement, Kate tells Biggie they should leave because Biggie is not safe. Once Caleb learns what Biggie did, Caleb will come after Biggie. Biggie is aware of the danger he is in.
At SCIU, Will and Abby try to figure out Magnus’s plan. Will thinks Magnus lied about spending 113 years secluded in Nepal and thinks Magnus used a different name. Abby finds records about a person who could be Magnus; they can’t verify this idea because there are no photographs. Will thinks Magnus had Felix shut down Wall Street so she could liquidate all of her assets without alerting anyone.
Tesla tests the blue liquid and discovers that it is a virus that has recessive DNA. The virus can alter every human and activate everyone’s latent Abnormal DNA. There would be no free humans left. Caleb’s goal is to cover the Earth with Abnormals.
In an alley, Magnus and Will meet. Will confronts Magnus, and she admits to lying about being in seclusion in Nepal. She didn’t trust anyone with her secret. Magnus thinks her plan was worth it because SCIU is on the verge of committing genocide and Caleb wants the world to be all Abnormals. Will wanted to be a part of the plan, especially after everything they had been through. Magnus reassures him that everything will work out and he will be told everything later, but she does need him to do something for her one last time. Will agrees.
Caleb discovers that the blue liquid is gone; he’s angry and smashes things in his office. Kate sees this and warns Biggie. Biggie wants to stay and fight, and Kate says that she will stay. To protect Kate, Biggie tricks her and locks her in a room. Caleb and four of his friends find Biggie and beat him up. Kate hears them attack her friend and is upset that she cannot help.
Will confronts Addison at the SCIU offices. Addison says that he has given Caleb the option to surrender; if Caleb doesn’t surrender, Addison will have to take action. The control is out of Addison’s hands. Will convinces Addison to let him help so they can avoid genocide. Addison gives Will the codes to the containment field devices.
Since they have the codes, Henry can cut off the power to the settlement. Tesla sends the codes to the containment field devices to basically render them useless. Will can then get inside and evacuate the settlement. Addison tells Will that he has about ten minutes to get all the Abnormals out.
Magnus gets guns from her office. She takes a long look around the Sanctuary as though she is saying good-bye. There is someone at the front gate. Magnus goes outside and finds Biggie’s body on the ground. Caleb and his friends are there. Magnus shoots, but bullets only slow the guys down. More than bullets are needed to kill Caleb and his crew.
This is the last time we see Biggie. It is not clear if he is alive or dead.
Magnus draws Caleb and his crew into the Sanctuary and tells Tesla and Henry that they need to force Caleb into the main lab. Magnus shoots to make the group change direction. Tesla and Henry encounter two of Caleb’s men. Tesla vamps out and Henry does his werewolf thing to deal with the two men.
Magnus is at a computer. Caleb finds her and attacks. Magnus is thrown across the room. Magnus leaves the room. Will convinces the Abnormals to evacuate the settlement. Will finds and frees Kate. He decides to take everyone to the Sanctuary. Magnus makes it to the main lab. Henry is not there because he is securing other parts of the Sanctuary. Magnus tells Tesla to leave.
Caleb and two of his men enter. Magnus subdues the two men. Caleb hits Magnus. She gets Caleb with a large power drill. There is a countdown on the computer. Magnus starts to put on Henry’s personal energy shield device.
The entire Sanctuary blows up.
Will, Abby, and Kate see the Sanctuary on fire. There is nothing left to save of the building. Will tells the others that Magnus could not have survived. He tells Kate to find a safe house for the Abnormals.
Henry and Tesla are fine.
Will is in an underground tunnel. He holds a device and uses it to track a signal. He comes to a scanner, and after his eye is scanned, he enters an underground cavern.
Waiting for him is Magnus. She is very much alive.
Magnus admits that she broke their “no secrets” deal, but she has something to show Will, if he is interested. Since he quit SCIU a week ago, he is available for employment. Magnus shows Will what she has been up to: Magnus has built the Super Ultimate Sanctuary in an area with a waterfall and sunlight, but is hidden from prying eyes.
Magnus asks Will, “Shall we begin?”
And that is how the season ends. Up until the end, I thought the episode was suspenseful and interesting, but the ending leaves too many gaps to fill. From what I can tell, Magnus lied about staying secluded in Nepal so she could gather resources to build the Super Ultimate Sanctuary in secret. The place is massive, so I wonder who she had construct the Super Ultimate Sanctuary. She survived the explosion because Henry must have gotten his personal energy shield device to work, so he must have gotten the rock from Bolivia to work as a power source. Magnus must have faked her death so SCIU and other agencies would leave her alone. Since Felix liquidated all of her assets, she has plenty of funds to keep the Super Ultimate Sanctuary going for a very long time.
My biggest problem with the finale is the unknown status of Biggie’s fate. We see Tesla, a minor character, alive and well, yet we are not told about Biggie. Magnus leaving Biggie’s body outside is understandable because she has to deal with Caleb and his men. However, no one mentions if he is dead or alive. When Will meets Magnus, she is happy and not acting as though one of her dearest friends died recently. Although Will says he quit SCIU a week ago, we are not sure how long Will stayed with SCIU after the destruction of the Sanctuary. So, did Will quit immediately or did he stay with SCIU for a while before quitting? I’m confused.
If Biggie is dead, why not just say so? If Biggie is alive, why not show him alive or have Will mention that Biggie is fine? We know the fate of everyone else, and Biggie is an important part of the show, so leaving his fate unknown does not sit well with me.
The episode felt more like a series finale than a season finale, and I can understand this because the show is on the bubble again. Syfy has not decided the show’s fate, so ending with a shot of the Super Ultimate Sanctuary wraps up the season while leaving the door open for more.
If you missed the previous episode, be sure to read our ‘Sanctuary: Sanctuary For None’ part 1 recap.