Before Season 1 Ending Explained: How Does Eli Save Noah? What Do Noah’s Hallucinations Mean?
Before Season 1 Ending Explained: The Before Series, a thriller starring the usual comedian actor and director Billy Crystal as a child psychologist who meets a troubled child, is coming out on Apple TV+ on October 25, with the first two episodes of ten. If the premise piques your curiosity, follow us in this review that begins with a spoiler-free summary of the plot of Before. Forget When Harry Met Sally: the Billy Crystal of romantic comedies has given way to a man in great difficulty. Let’s be clear: his proverbial and effective humor is not lacking here either, at least at the beginning. But, like all great actors, Billy Crystal also switches from comedy to drama – and what drama – proves equally effective. But be careful: Before, it was not for everyone. Not without instructions for use. It requires an initial leap of faith on the part of the viewer. We must let ourselves be guided through a narrative with a deliberately slow pace and build on a mechanism that continues to insert questions and remains for a long time without providing answers. We are given a big picture when the clues are so many.
In Before, an Apple TV+ miniseries, we follow the connection between Eli (Billy Crystal), a child psychologist, and his young patient Noah (Jacobi Jupe). It all starts when Noah mysteriously appears in Eli’s house, triggering a series of events that explore the bond between the two through past lives, trauma, and mysteries that lead to a big old house. As the series progresses, it is revealed that Noah not only suffers from unexplained symptoms such as hallucinations of worms, ice water, and bees but also appears to be connected to Eli through a tragic experience in another life. This leads to a climax where the trauma of the past must be resolved to save Noah in the present.
Before Season 1: Story Recap
Eli Adler (a challenging last name for a psychologist) has recently lost his beloved wife, Lynn, although he still seems to see and talk to her now and then. Eli is mentally devastated, even if he doesn’t want to express his feelings; in addition, as we see at the beginning, he also has a rather disturbing recurring dream in which he keeps diving into an empty swimming pool, hurting himself more and more. But even if he would like to take a break from work, he is forced to take on the case of a troubled child, Noah. The first time Eli sees him, the little boy has mysteriously arrived at his front door, which cuts his nails. Then he discovers that Gail, a social worker he works with, has asked him to take care of that very child. Eli doesn’t believe in signs of destiny, but there is no doubt that the coincidence is quite singular, shocking him to the point of wanting to get to the bottom of the mystery. So how did Noah find Eli’s house? What’s the connection between the two? We won’t tell you to avoid spoiling it, but you can learn a few more details from the trailer below.
Before Season 1 Ending Explained: How Does Eli Save Noah?
Before‘s outcome occurs in the big house that connects both characters to their past lives. Noah, seriously ill, is on the verge of death due to unsolved trauma from his previous incarnation. Eli, desperate, takes him to the big house, where they recreate the events of that past life to change his tragic ending. In his previous life, Eli was a boy who accidentally pushed Noah (then a girl) into the brittle ice of a lake, killing him by drowning in the icy water. This traumatic event was left unsolved, affecting both Eli and Noah in their current lives. On the weather scene, Eli jumps into the ice water with Noah and recreates the fatal moment, but this time he manages to save him, allowing him to overcome his trauma and return to life without further symptoms.
What Do Noah’s Hallucinations Mean?
Noah’s hallucinations — bees, dark water, and ice — are directly related to his death in the past life. Each element symbolizes an aspect of the trauma he experienced: the bees took him to the lake, the ice marked his fall, and the icy water was his grave. These visions are not simply medical symptoms, but manifestations of deep trauma that can only be resolved by facing it directly.
Why Does Eli Keep Seeing the Worm?
Although Noah overcomes his trauma, Eli continues to hallucinate a worm under his skin. This could mean that the trauma of the big house was not the only one that affected Eli. Perhaps it drags another unsolved trauma from an even more distant life. Another interpretation is that Eli has been unable to forgive himself for what he did in his past life, leaving the door open to his healing process.
What Do Noah and Eli’s Past Lives Represent?
The end of Before raises intriguing questions about reincarnation. Although it is hinted that Noah could be a reincarnated version of Benjamin, a connection to Lynn, Eli’s late wife, is also glimpsed. This creates a philosophical puzzle: can we carry traces of multiple lives in our current being? Although the show does not offer a clear answer, it plays on the idea that all of our lives are intertwined in a continuous cycle of learning and healing.
Conclusion of “Before”
Before closes with a philosophical message: if there is a life after death, there must also be a life “Before”. This concept, exposed by Eli in a final monologue, invites us to reflect on how the traumas and connections of the past shape our present. However, the series also leaves us with a warning: Facing trauma is essential to move forward, but doing it without care, as Eli’s impulsive behavior shows, can be dangerous. With its mix of psychological drama, supernatural elements, and deep reflections, Before leaves a lasting impact on the viewer, exploring how we face our deepest wounds and how our past and present lives are inextricably connected.
