In North of North’s ending, Siaja’s project isn’t entirely approved, but her presentation gets her town the appreciation it deserves. In Netflix’s show, Siaja is a young woman who finds herself struggling at the hands of her chauvinist and traditional husband. She’s only 26 and already has a 6-year-old. She married her high school sweetheart at the young age of 21, thinking she’d play the role of a traditional Inuit woman, but unfortunately, she doesn’t feel fulfilled by the time her daughter starts to go to school, and she has nothing to do for herself. Siaja tries to talk to her husband, Ting, about how she wants to get a job and have something to do for herself, but he decides it’s time for them to have a second kid instead. In fact, he’s just told his cousin he’s willing to adopt their kid without a word with Siaja. As if this isn’t enough, while hunting for seals, Siaja falls into the sea, and self-obsessed Ting doesn’t even notice what he’s done. Instead of worrying about her, he calls her an embarrassment and leaves. This is when Siaja loses the little bit of calm remaining in her and publicly breaks up with her husband and also the whole town by flipping them off, all while being drunk. She then kisses a random man she’s just met, who is a research scientist, but quickly learns from her single mom that said man is her dad (yuck). Will Siaja be able to crawl out of this hole? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Does Siaja Forgive Her Mum?
In North of North’s finale, Helen has to make a presentation for a research team that wants to set up shop in the North. The competition is between the two towns of Ice Cove (Siaja’s home) and Tuktuktalik, a much bigger and more established town in comparison. By this time, though, Helen has finally learned to trust Siaja, who knows her community, cares for them truly, and wants to make a difference. Siaja prepares a presentation for the outsiders, but she’s upset because of her mom, who has broken her dad’s heart, even though he didn’t really do anything wrong. We already know that Siaja struggles with avoidance issues, but she’s inherited this directly from her mom. See, what Siaja doesn’t know is that her mom’s hiding a massive secret from her because she’s just plain scared.
A little before the guests are about to arrive, Siaja learns that there’s a massive leak in her mom’s shop, and she’s not doing anything about it. Siaja drops everything and rushes to find her mom. Just a little before, we learn that Siaja’s mom didn’t know her own mom, who died early on. She basically raised herself and had to deal with a lot before she had Siaja. Elisapee tells Neevee (Siaja’s mom) in church that keeping secrets only weighs you down and doesn’t really help anybody. This breaks Neevee a little bit. So, finally, Neevee tells Siaja that she had another baby before Siaja, who was taken from her by the White father. This is why Neevee has always been afraid that Siaja will be taken away from her, too. So, she never told Alistair about their kid and kept the other baby a secret all this while. Siaja finally forgives her mom and is shocked to learn she has a sister. She’s definitely going to go looking for her. Also, what kind of older man takes away a baby from a 16-year-old! After the girls hug it out, Neevee realizes it’s the day of the presentation and rushes Siaja to work. I suppose the relationship between Neevee and Alistair was one that really surprised her, so before it got a hold of her, she decided to ruin what she had with him.
How Does The Presentation Go?
Siaja jumps into the presentation as soon as she reaches the office. At first it looks like everyone is bored, so she decides to do things her way and abandons the pre-planned presentation. The whole point of the North is authenticity. She talks about how many people have come to the North to do research and to “improve” it, but there’s no need for improvement; there’s only a need for learning. She says that the Inuit have been doing the research for centuries, and they know exactly what’s going on in their land; this is why Ice Cove is the perfect spot for their research center. While Siaja’s presentation is certainly touching and truthful, Tuktuktalik has better infrastructure and internet, so the research center will be opened there. However, the team is so impressed by Siaja that they’ve decided to put a satellite office in Ice Cove, and Alistair has volunteered to take charge to stay back with his girls, you know?
What Happens with Siaja in the Love Department?
You know how they say right person, wrong time? Well, in Siaja and Kuuk’s situation, this is the perfect phrase. In the final episode, Kuuk and his girlfriend have a conversation, and it seems Kuuk finally tells her how he really feels about following her around like a lost puppy. So, she decides to do something for him instead and stay back in Ice Cove to help at the center where Siaja works. Now, not only does Siaja have to struggle with Helen’s attention, but Kuuk’s too. Or wait, it’s the other way around. But anyway, the point is, she’s got competition in both love and work now. On the other hand, Ting may have worked on himself, but he’s still a selfish chauvinist who is essentially a work-in-progress. Also, Alistair doesn’t know why Neevee abandoned him a second time after getting so close, so he tells her he’s staying back for Siaja and Bun, not them. I do hope she’s able to tell him the truth at some point, or that Siaja lets him know somehow. I do think Kuuk and Siaja are quite perfect for each other, but she can’t bring herself to become a home-wrecker, so let’s see how that works out if there’s a second season.
During North of North’s ending, Neevee tells Siaja that she can stay with her as long as she likes (by telling her when rent is due, of course). Siaja then asks if they have any shamans in their bloodline, because she’s been seeing Nuliajuk ever since she had her near-death experience. Nuliajuk is a mythological sea goddess who is meant to protect sea animals. I guess, in the end, Nuliajuk guided Siaja to her happiness, basically enabling her to help her community and be around her people.
Will There Be A Season 2?
Siaja’s story isn’t over just yet. Not only are we curious about her situation with Kuuk, but she’s also got a lot of work to do to develop a healthy relationship with her father. The final episode isn’t open-ended as such, but it leaves enough room for a second season. I do hope we get more of Nuliajuk and see more of Inuit culture. While nothing is certain as of now, we hope there’s a second season of North of North.
