Archive 81 Ending Explained: Is Dan Really in 1994? What Happened To Samuel and Melody At The End?

Archive 81 Ending Explained: If you’re reading this, it’s because you too have been left with questions after the end of Archive 81, the new Netflix series based on the homonymous podcast that is already in the top 5 of the most popular in Spain and stands as worthy heir to series like Dark . After 8 episodes full of intensity, secrets, ghosts and unanswered questions, we reach the end of Archive 81 where the cards are finally laid on the table and we discover who Kaelego is, what happened in the Vos mansion in 1924, what happened in the Visser building in 1994 and the real identity of the mysterious Bobbi.

Everything seemed to indicate that the end of Archive 81 would finally tie all the dots and that we would see Melody safe and sound in the real world and reunited with Dan, who with the help of Bobbi, entered the other world to rescue her.

But as we could see, nothing goes as it should, and at the last moment, when Melody and Dan are about to leave Kaelego’s world, Samuel appears and takes the protagonist with him. The next thing we know, Melody returns to the present day with Bobbi and Mark, Dan’s friend, but there is no sign of him or Samuel, who should have dated Mel. What happened? The last thing that is revealed is that Dan is alive , he is in the hospital, but he is not in the current time, he is in 1994 and he is one of the survivors of the Visser fire. Now, is all that real?

Archive 81: The Mystery Is Hidden In The Video

As we have already mentioned, Archive 81 – Alternative universes uses elements from different media within its narrative. Among them, the videotape is the one that has the most significant role. It is through the films made by Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) that Dan Turner (played by Mamoudou Athie) manages to get in touch with her. These also play an important role within the plan of the mysterious sect which, without ever exposing itself, manipulates the actions of the two protagonists. Indeed, during the ninth episode, in which we are brought back to the 1920s by a flashback, we discover that photographs and films on film have been part of the rituals of this dark cult for almost a century.

Within the practices of this sect, photos and videos have the function of communication tools: through photos you can observe the presence of elements deriving from the other world, while through videos you can even open with it a direct link. The fact that the authors made the cult use these tools is not at all coincidental: starting from the second half of the 19th century, spirit photography was an important part of the phenomenon of mediumism and parlor spiritism.

This type of practice was often linked to organizing séances and, in fact, one of them takes place within the series. The series takes inspiration from these folkloristic beliefs but does not slavishly copy them. To make them suitable for the contemporary setting, in which in addition to photography and film there is also digital film, he re-elaborates and updates them. In fact, it is no coincidence that Dan is hired precisely to recover and transform Melody’s films into files: his work is a metaphor for the updating that these elements deriving from the spiritic tradition undergo in the show.

A World Hides Behind The Screen

As we explained in the previous paragraph, photos and videos are in Archive 81 – Alternative universes of tools to communicate with another world. Unlike what mediums did in the 1800s, the villains in the series are not interested in communicating with the realm of the dead, but rather with divinity residing in a parallel world. In fact, already from the first episodes, several characters hint at the possible existence of another reality, which coexists with ours while remaining invisible to most; an alternative plane of existence, in which this mysterious creature is hidden.

The existence of parallel universes, as well as being a reason for scientific debate, has often been dealt with within horror and science fiction. HP Lovecraft, the seminal author of the myths of Cthulhu, also dealt with this topic in the short story From the Unknown (from which Stuart Gordon’s film From Beyond was also based). In this novel, which almost certainly inspired them for the Archive 81 script, a scientist is able to get in touch with a parallel reality thanks to the invention of a machine capable of increasing the functions of the five senses.

Another source of inspiration for the authors may have been The Lord of Evil, the film directed by John Carpenter (Halloween – The Night of the Witches, The Thing) and released in cinemas in 1987. In this the author not only deals with the theme parallel reality but inserts into it a monstrous creature of incredible power, which in many ways closely resembles the one worshiped by cultists in Archive 81.

Archive 81: What Happens In The Finale?

In light of what has been expressed so far, we are perhaps able to better understand what happens during the season 1 finale of Archive 81 – Alternative Universes. What we see in the last episode is in fact a glimpse of the parallel universe to which the Italian title refers. The most interesting thing is neither the aspect of parallel reality nor the laws that govern it. It is the characteristics of the ritual that allows Dan to reach her that are worthy of attention.

The two main narrative tendencies of the series meet in the ritual. Unlike what is seen in the works of Carpenter and Lovecraft, technological tools, typical of science fiction narration, are not used to access the other world. The door is opened through the fulfillment of a ritual which, also for the use of videos, brings to mind spiritism. With the conclusion of the series not only the two parallel universes come to touch, but also the apparently irreconcilable narrative strands from which the TV series took inspiration.

Archive 81 Ending Explained: Is Dan Really in 1994?

Yes. Don’t worry because this is not Kalego’s illusion and Dan is not trapped in the other world. The scene gives us several clues about it, but in addition, the creator of the series Rebecca Sonnenshine has confirmed it in an interview with Variety. The key is that when we see Dan in the hospital, he doesn’t have those little bright specks around him that appeared when he met Melody and that we also see in the other world.

Likewise, it doesn’t seem like Kalego can create places or people that aren’t part of the lives of those inside (Dan’s house, the Visser, the church where Mel was abandoned…), so there couldn’t be created the hospital or the nurse. So Dan is safe and sound, just in the wrong time.

How Dan Got To 1994 And What Happened To Samuel At The End?

Once we know that Dan is fine, the next question to answer is how the hell did he get there and where is Samuel? Sonnenshine explained that in the passageway between the worlds there are small holes, entrances and exits at different moments in time. Dan was unlucky enough to go out on the wrong one, and it’s possible that the same thing happened to Samuel. Samuel is alive, he has left the other world, but the showrunner did not want to reveal when exactly. Would it also come out in ’94? Or maybe 24? Most likely, there are only three options, the three years in which the door was opened, and we already know that it is not in the present.

Of course, the showrunner has said that it came out in a place that fans will be very interested in in the second season. Because yes, the series was created with a second season in mind but we have to wait for Netflix to confirm it.

The theories are endless, taking into account that now the protagonists are in different times but all in the real world. Could it be that Samuel came out in 1924 and is responsible for the creation of the Visser? Or did he stay in 1994 and had something to do with the fire at Dan’s house? Will Dan try to save his family if he gets there in time?