The Signal Ending Explained: What Really Happened to Paula and Who is Behind Everything?
Borrowing the idea behind films like Arrival or Interstellar, the new German sci-fi series The Signal, questions what the reaction of human beings would be to the idea of the arrival of aliens on Earth, bringing to the screen the story of an astronaut, her disappearance and, above all, her mysterious discovery. After returning from the International Space Station, astronaut and scientist Paula is the victim of a tragic plane crash on her flight that was supposed to bring her back to her husband Sven and her daughter Charlie. But, after an initial moment in which the police lead Sven to believe that it was his wife who had caused the aircraft’s failure (Paula had entered the control cabin of the plane during the turbulence and had sent a coded message to her husband), the man realizes that his wife, while in space, had made a sensational discovery. She discovered that someone wanted to pass over in silence.
If you have reached the end of the four episodes that make up the miniseries, you will surely know what Paula had discovered and who had wanted to hinder her to the point of killing her. But, given the complexity of the narrative and the continuous twists and turns, it is worth analyzing the latest events told in the show through our explanation of the ending of The Signal. Directed by Sebastian Hilger and Philipp Leinemann from a script by Florian David Fitz, Nadine Gottmann, Sebastian Hilger, and Kim Zimmermann, The Signal (Das Signal in its original language) is a German miniseries from Netflix that tells the story of Paula Groth (Peri Baumeister), an astronaut who mysteriously disappears after completing a mission. In addition to the pain of her irreparable loss, her husband Sven (Florian David Fitz) and her daughter Charlie (Yuna Bennett) must deal with the investigation into the case, the accusations against the woman, and the secrets that remain. they cannot understand. Next, I’ll tell you what happened in the four-episode fiction.
The Signal: Summary Recap
The sci-fi drama begins with Sven and Charlie watching the live broadcast of Paula’s landing, who waits until the last minute to activate the parachutes, despite the pleas of her partner and colleague Hadi Hiraj (Hadi Khanjanpour). Father and daughter head to the airport to meet the woman who managed to complete the mission entrusted by the International Space Station and supported by the billionaire Benisha Mudhi, but they are informed that the flight was delayed and after a long wait they receive the terrible news that the plane disappeared.
Sven and Charlie, as well as the relatives of the other passengers, are transferred to a nearby hotel until they obtain more information. Shortly after, authorities reported that the wreckage of the plane was found in the ocean, so it is most likely that all the passengers died. Before he can process the tragedy, Sven is questioned by Detective Friederike and her partner about his wife’s behavior before the accident. Although he remembers that his last call with Paula was strange, he prefers not to say anything.
The Signal Ending Explained: What Really Happened to Paula and Who is Behind Everything?
Despite the instructions of the authorities, the protagonist of The Signal returns home with his daughter, who still hopes that her mother will communicate on the radio. Frederick visits Sven and shows him the recording of the plane’s cockpit. In the audio, Paula is heard asking him not to fight with her daughter and apologizing to her. What does it mean and why were they in the cabin? Police believe the astronauts are responsible for the accident. While Sven tries to decipher his wife’s messages, since some do not make sense, the relatives of the other passengers show up at the door of his house to express their pain, point them out as guilty, and demand justice. Sven decides to send Charlie to her grandparents, but the girl, who she has is deaf and only hears with special hearing aids, refuses to leave.
Why is Sven Suspicious of Paula?
Shortly before becoming pregnant on the space mission, Paula took a drug that caused her to have a psychotic break. Since then, she has received medication to not lose control, however, to be part of the International Space Station project, the woman secretly left the pills. When Sven finds the pills, he remembers that he could have prevented Paula from traveling by handing over her medical report, but he preferred to support her. While in space, Paula hears the voice of a child who only repeats “Hello”. She immediately informs Hadi, who helps her track down the message and discover its origin, but they get nothing, as it is only heard while they are in the dead space that separates them from Earth. The next day, the woman is willing to share the information with the other two astronauts who have a different mission, but she does not find the recording that proves her story. Hadi pretends that it is a joke so as not to alarm his colleagues and helps Paula stay calm. After convincing her that this is a bad move of her mind, he sends her to rest. In her room, the astronaut has another psychotic break and hurts herself, however, she regains control, takes medication, and shortly after informs Mudhi about her problem. Her boss calms her down and asks her to move on.
Is The Voice Paula Heard Real?
The child’s voice is real. Hadi also heard it, but she took possession of the recording and is pursuing his investigation because he has other objectives. Paula soon discovers it and manages to recover her data and work behind her partner’s back. One day before returning, Paula reveals to Hadi that she knows the truth and that she discovered that something is approaching Earth. To get her coordinates, Hadi deprives her of oxygen. Meanwhile, Sven learns of the discovery of his wife thanks to Rainer, the man who trained Paula, and Charlie claims to have received a call from her mother and goes out in search of her.
What Does End Mean?
Father and daughter end up in the bunker of an old woman who also heard the boy’s audio, but before they can continue investigating, the army appears and takes the protagonists of ” The Signal ” before Rainer, who reveals that thanks to the coordinates of Paula knows when the object will arrive from outer space and plans to shoot it down to avoid any threat. Sven and Charlie can do nothing but watch the bombing. Detective Friederike, who knows the truth thanks to Sven, continues the investigation. After they find the black box of the plane, which includes a recording that proves the innocence of Paula and Hadi, since a previous explanation occurred, Friederike discovers the person behind everything. She tries to warn Sven but is attacked. When the military discovers that they shot at nothing, it is clear that Paula did not share the true coordinates. So, who has them? Charlie. Among the messages from her mother was that valuable information, which the father and daughter decided to share with Mudhi, who offered to help them fulfill Paula’s wish.
Who is the Real Culprit of Paula’s Death?
While in the helicopter heading to the place where the extraterrestrial object will arrive, Sven receives Frederikke’s message, “Mudhi is the red hand.” Before Sven can make any moves, Nora, the billionaire’s assistant and the woman who left the explosive on the plane discovers him and informs her boss of the problem. Benisha justifies herself by pointing out that everything was for the greater good. Father and daughter are taken to the desert where they wait and wait without anything being seen in the sky. Mudhi demands to confirm the coordinates and even shoots Sven to get Charlie to reveal the truth, but the girl has no idea. Sven assures him that nothing will come and that it is all part of Paula’s deception. Benisha leaves and orders Nora to get rid of the father and the girl. Nora is unable to do so and leaves them alive, later confessing to her crimes and getting Mudhi imprisoned. Sven and Charlie return home and after deciphering the message Paula left, they discover the true date and time of the object’s arrival. This is the original Voyager probe sent in the 70s. At the end of “The Signal”, the news reports the events and mentions that it was probably sent back by something outside.
What Had Paula Discovered?
While on the International Space Station to carry out research funded by billionaire philanthropist Benisha Mudhi, Paula hears something coming from deep space. In fact, through the radio that she used to communicate with her daughter, the woman picks up the voice of what appears to be a little girl pronouncing the word “Hello” as if in a loop. Having confided her discovery to her teammate, Hadi, the latter initially seems to support her in the idea of telling everything about her to the rest of the crew but, later, begins to sabotage her. First, she deletes the message that Paula had recorded – leading the woman to believe she had had a hallucination, as had already happened in the past – then she begins to track down that voice.
But only Paula knows the exact position in which the spacecraft was at the moment of receiving the message and, when Hadi discovers that not only has her colleague realized her deception but that she has also calculated the coordinates of the ship’s arrival on Earth’s unidentified object from which the voice comes, threatens to kill her to obtain the information he needs. It turns out, then, that Hadi is actually a pawn of someone who doesn’t want such a discovery to be disclosed. Back on Earth, Paula confides in Mudhi about what happened to her, also telling her that she gave Hadi the wrong coordinates for her.
How Does Sven Get the Truth Out?
Thanks to the intervention of one of Paula’s bosses, Rainer, Sven comes into possession of a confidential file that confirms that the woman had come into contact with an extraterrestrial creature, managing to calculate the exact time and day of her arrival on Earth. This had made her the target of someone who, most likely, had also caused the plane crash that killed her. Very close to the truth, Sven must, however, deal with Charlie’s disappearance, convinced that her mother is still alive and that she sent her a message. In reality, it was Die who contacted her, a Russian woman belonging to a community that, for years, had been monitoring the skies in search of an alien signal. Just like Paula, Die had heard that mysterious voice of hers pronouncing the word “Hello” and was anxiously awaiting the astronaut’s return to Earth to have a confrontation with her; Having learned of her death, however, she had contacted her daughter Charlie in the hope of gleaning some information.
After recovering Charlie, Sven and his daughter are joined by the military – who had identified them via locators – and taken to a field, where everything had been set up to shoot down the alleged alien spacecraft, according to the coordinates that Paula had provided to Hadi while found on the International Space Station. Once the operation has been carried out, father and daughter are released, since, having solved the problem once and for all, the two no longer represented a danger to the government. However, it was soon discovered that, after the explosion, no trace of the alleged alien object had been found, which therefore had not reached Earth at all. Sven realizes not only that his wife had given Hadi the wrong coordinates, but that her daughter Charlie had always had the correct coordinates, told to her by her mother during one of their conversations on the radio. The two are thus targets again and, after escaping a second reprisal by the military, they survive a car accident thanks to Mudhi who takes them to safety.
Who Caused the Plane Crash?
Once at Mudhi’s house, Sven reveals to her that Charlie has the real coordinates indicating the day, place, and time of the alien landing. The three, accompanied by the philanthropist’s faithful assistant, Nora, then decide to reach the landing site by helicopter, to welcome who or what is about to arrive on Earth. Just as they are on the flight, however, Sven receives a message from a journalist friend of his who reveals to him that Mudhi is responsible for the plane crash in which Paula lost her life. Nora, who had already had the man’s phone under surveillance for some time, informs Mudhi who, once they reach their destination, admits that she was the one who planted a bomb on the plane, causing the death of all the passengers on board. The reason? Paula – convinced of the good intentions of the entity whose voice she had heard – would have liked to spread her discovery with the world but Mudhi, aware that the government would try to destroy at all costs any alien form coming from space, had decided to silence her. Not only that: the woman wanted to profit from this incredible discovery, being the first to welcome the alleged visitors.
How Does The Signal End?
Even the coordinates in Mudhi’s possession, however, soon turn out to be false: there is no trace of the spacecraft in the expected place and time. Initially convinced that Sven and Charlie have deceived her, her woman is then persuaded by the idea that, in reality, that voice heard by Paula was the result of a hallucination of hers. She then decides to return home, but not before giving the order to Nora to shoot the father and daughter, leaving their bodies in the desert. However, tired of Mudhi’s modus operandi, Nora only pretends to kill the two, who pretend to fall to the ground, dead, and then get up once the helicopter leaves.
Thus, Sven and Charlie not only survived, but the man also realized that he had always had the right coordinates or, at least, part of them. In the last message left to him by his wife, she referred to St. Nicholas Day as their anniversary, which, in reality, was not true. So if Charlie’s coordinates indicated the landing site, those in the coded message to Sven indicated the exact date. The narrative then jumps three months later: we see Mudhi arrested thanks to Nora’s confession and Sven and her daughter leave again for the desert to await the arrival of the alleged aliens.
Who or What Comes to Earth?
Thus, on St. Nicholas Day, the two find themselves in the same place where they had almost died three months earlier. At the appointed time, something arrives on Earth but, when Sven and Charlie get closer to the object, they discover that it is not an alien form. It is, however, Voyager 1, a probe launched into space by NASA on 5 September 1977 with the main objective of flying over Jupiter, Saturn, and the satellite Titan. Inside the probe, the two discover the famous golden disc containing images, sounds, and texts that could represent humanity if it is found by some alien creature. A symbol of the desire of human beings to connect with other life forms in space: this was the message – Hello – that Paula had heard. No alien landing, therefore, but The Signal‘s courageous choice to deliver a strong message of unity to its audience at a time when chaos and conflict reign in the world.
