‘The Bastard Son And The Devil Himself’ Ending, Explained: Did The Prophecy Come True? Did The Soul Kill Marcus?

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“The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself,” directed by Colm McCarthy, Debs Paterson, and Rachna Suri, takes us to the familiar landscape of witches and magic spells but does not forget to add its own authentic tinge to it. It’s a very dicey territory for any maker to enter. The problem is that very strong precedents have already been set in the genre, and the comparison becomes inevitable. The makers also realize that and do not hesitate to mention it upfront. They make a reference to the “Harry Potter” series in a particular scene, and in my opinion, it was the best way to tackle all the unjust analogies, if there were any. Contrary to what I had presumed, “The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself” holds its ground. The world is somewhat familiar and might not look totally authentic, but in my opinion, if you give it some time to seep in, the series will prove its merit. So, let’s see what discoveries our protagonist, Nathan, makes in the course of his journey and what obstacles he has to overcome to accomplish the task he had set out for.

Spoilers Ahead


‘The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself’ Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?

The world was divided into Fain, as in the non- magical people and the witches. The witches were further subdivided into Fairborn and Blood witches. They were both in a constant state of war with each other. Marcus Edge was the leader of the blood witches who killed a lot of Fairborn witches in a fateful incident that was called the Wolfhagen Peace Massacre. A Fairborn council of ten members had sworn to find and punish Marcus Edge. Reutger Sillwood, the head of the council of Fairborn witches, was the last surviving member of that council of ten. Others had already been killed by Marcus. That is why the Fairborn were even more paranoid. Nathan Byrne, son of Marcus Edge, was considered a threat from the day he was born. He was kept under strict supervision. Ceelia, a fierce Fairborn, conducted a monthly check up on Nathan. She asked him specific questions to ascertain if he was showing any unique traits of the blood witches or his father, Marcus Edge (referred to as the wolf). As much as the Fairborn’s would have wanted to kill Nathan, they weren’t allowed to do so as they were bound by a prophecy. Nathan met Annalise, daughter of Soul O’Brien (executive administrator of the Fairborn council protection unit), in his school, and the two grew fond of each other. Jessica, Nathan’s stepsister, despised him to the highest degree. Jessica, together with Annalise’s brother, used to bully Nathan almost every other day. One day, things went really far. Jessica and Annalise’s brother, Niall, kidnapped Nathan and took him to an abandoned facility. Jessica asked Niall to cut him with a knife so that she could prove that he was a blood witch. Blood witches had the power to heal themselves very quickly. But Niall, by mistake, stabbed him in his stomach. Though Nathan’s grandmother healed him, he lost his temper and went to teach Niall a lesson. That was the only excuse the Fairborn council was looking for. They came to take Nathan into their custody. They sent him to a training camp with Ceelia to prepare him for his upcoming battle with his own father. Annalise realized that she had fallen in love with Nathan. She was kept in the dark about Nathan by her family, but she never stopped looking for him.


Was Gabriel Able To Get Nathan’s Blood From Mercury? Whose Names Were Written In His Book?

When Nathan had left his Granny’s house, she had told him that if he got into a perilous situation, and if he wasn’t able to deal with it on his own, then as a last resort, he should call a witch named Mercury. His Granny had made a magic potion through which Mercury came into her body and talked to Nathan directly. She imprinted a map on his hand and told him that it would guide Nathan to her whenever the time came. That map led Nathan to a man named Gabriel. Gabriel was a peculiar man. He had a great sense of fashion and was very possessive of the handlooms he owned. Mercury had given him the task of bringing Nathan to her. Mercury was a sort of seer who had foreseen that the time would come when Nathan would try to contact her. Soul’O Brien, Jessica, and the hunters from the Fairborn Council were after Nathan. Annalise had come unannounced, though, and Gabriel had no clue who she was. He knew that he couldn’t take Annalise with him. Mercury was not the kind of witch who appreciated unannounced guests. But Gabriel was not left with much choice. The Fairborn hunters had broken into his apartment and were firing shots at them. They escaped from there and then took a ferry to reach a port in France. Gabriel created a magic portal, and from the port, they were transported to Paris. Paris was a Blood Witch territory. The only problem was that Annalise was a Fairborn and Gabriel knew that he would have to hide that fact from the others. He knew that the blood witches in Paris had a lot of enmity towards the Fairborns. It reminded them of all the atrocities that had been committed against them. Gabriel, together with Nathan and Annalise, reached Paris, but he realized that his home had been vandalized and a lot of items were missing. His suspicion went on a history-sheeter named Ruby. Gabriel told Annalise and Nathan that the key to the portal that led them to Mercury was also on the list of items stolen by Ruby. But it was not so. He was telling a lie, and he wanted to find something else that was very precious to him. They went to a bar to find Ruby, and Gabriel made Nathan and Annalise meet his two friends, Nicky and Hugo. Nicky and Hugo had no clue about the identity of the two strangers, who were tagging along with Gabriel. In fact, even Gabriel, at that point in time, didn’t know that Nathan was the son of Marcus Edge.

The portal which led to Mercury was situated in that bar itself. Gabriel went to meet a vagabond, who often bought stolen items from Ruby, but he didn’t have what Gabriel wanted. Gabriel suddenly realized that his stolen item could be with his ex-lover, Clark. But before he could meet him, Soul and other Fairborn hunters took him into custody, though Nathan and Annalise were able to escape. Nathan and Annalise had just come to Paris, and they didn’t know anybody who could help them. So, they went to the same bar where Gabriel had taken them, in the hope that Nicky and Hugo would be able to help them. Hugo disguised himself as Gabriel’s lawyer and went to meet him at the police station, where they were holding Gabriel. Hugo used his powers, and they were able to escape from the clutches of the Fairborn. Once again, they went to the bar, and Gabriel was able to retrieve his stolen stuff, which was surprisingly a book. Annalise couldn’t believe that he could risk everybody’s life for a book. There was something more to it, which Gabriel wasn’t revealing. All of them got drunk, and Nathan told everybody about his identity. Hearing the fact that Nathan was Marcus Edge’s son, Gabriel was petrified. He didn’t want to accompany Nathan and Annalise any longer. Gabriel knew that it was a dangerous job and that their lives would constantly be under threat as long as Nathan stayed with them. Nicky and Hugo assured Gabriel that they would take the duo to Mercury in his stead.

As soon as Gabriel left, Annalise and Nathan got to know that Nicky and Hugo just wanted to kill them, and they had no intention of taking them to Mercury. Call it fate, destiny, or sheer luck, Gabriel had a change of heart, and he came back to fulfill his duties. He saw that the Blood Witches had surrounded Nathan and Annalise. Gabriel was able to use his powers to make Nathan and Annalise escape from the bar. But the problem was that the only portal that led to Mercury was inside that bar. They knew that they couldn’t access it now. So Gabriel decided that they would have to take the longer and more perilous route. There were two ways: one which went through the Dupont region, which was controlled by the Fairborns, and the other which went through the Ozanne territory. Ozanne was a Blood Witch territory, and they decided to go along that route. They were captured by the Ozanne clan and brought to the house, where they met Max and Odette, the twins, who had their Giving Ceremony in a day’s time. They wanted Nathan to stay for the ceremony and shower his blessings upon Odette and Max. Nathan was made privy to a very different perspective. For them Marcus Edge was their one true leader. They told Nathan, that the Fairborn witches had prepared and tortured them for ages. They told him that Marcus’ mother had died in the genocide that they had orchastrated by the Fairborn. It had transformed the blood witches into anarchists. The Fairborn wanted to wipe them off, from the face of the earth. The blood witches were just trying to avenge the fallen. But the party didn’t last long, and once again, the Fairborns attacked their stronghold. Somehow, Odette, Nathan, Annalise, and Gabriel were able to escape through a trapdoor. Ceelia also came with them, though they had no trust in her whatsoever.

It was decided by the Fairborn that they would let Max finish his Giving Ceremony.  It was believed that causing the ceremony to stop, brought a curse upon the person who was responsible for it. At the Giving Ceremony, the teenager who turned 17 was given the blood of their family. Odette had to leave her home before completing her ceremony. Back in Ozanne territory, Jessica did the cruelest thing possible. She used her power of shapeshifting and took the form of Max’s kin. Jessica fed him her own blood and as a result, Max died on the spot. It also affected Odette, who was on the ferry with Nathan and others. She struggled for a bit and then succumbed. Jessica told everybody that she didn’t have the intention to kill Max, and everything was just a big accident. 

Ceelia and Annalise left to find Soul without informing Nathan. Soul woke in the ferry and got very agitated as they had left without telling him. He wanted to help his friends, but Gabriel told him that it was important for him to reach Mercury’s place and get his blood from her. Gabriel took Nathan to the place where the portal was situated. They were supposed to jump from the terrace and enter the magic portal. Nathan pushed Gabriel, and he himself didn’t jump. Nathan wanted to go to Wolfhagen and help his friends. Gabriel was annoyed at the stupidity of Nathan. Mercury had blood samples of almost every witch. Nathan had his Giving Ceremony in a couple of days, and he needed to consume the blood to get his powers. But he chose to risk it all and stay back to help his friends.

We realize that Mercury had sort of adopted Gabriel a long time back. The Fairborn were killing the blood witches, and Gabriel’s parents, Marie and Luc, were leaving for Russia. They wanted their son to be in a safe place, and they knew that with them he wouldn’t be safe. Mercury only took those who were beneficial to her. Gabriel was a genius alchemist. Mercury took him in, and since then, he had stayed with her. Mercury had used her magic to make Gabriel forget about his past. He was given a book by a man when he had first come to stay at Mercury’s. The names of his parents were already written on it. Gabriel was told that sometimes he would dream of names but not remember who they were or why they were important. The man told him to jot down the names in the book. All the names of the people that were written in Gabriel’s book were somehow related to his life. Mercury once again used her magic and made Gabriel forget about Nathan and all that had transpired in the last few days. But Nathan had written his name in Gabriel’s book. Gabriel saw that and was reminded of his duty as a friend. He got Nathan’s blood with the help of another kid who was living in Mercury’s facility. That kid reminded Nathan of himself. He told the little kid that he would come back for him. Gabriel escaped Mercury’s facility and reached Wolfhagen to help Nathan. But he was not able to give him the blood. The vessel in which he was carrying the blood broke while fighting the Fairborn, and so did the hopes of getting Nathan his powers. But something unusual happened that changed the course of things. Nathan met Marcus Edge, his father, in the woods, who gave him his blood and completed his Giving Ceremony.


Did Soul’s “Bottle Witch” Spell Work In The End? 

Soul and Aoife were the two Fairborns who were sent by the council to kill Nathan’s mother. Nobody knew about this fact. Marcus Edge had spent his entire life hunting for the 10 members of the Fairborn council who had given orders to kill his wife. Soul was scared that he would come to know about the ones who had actually carried it out. With Reutger’s demise, Soul became even more paranoid. His line of defense had been decimated. Soul’s power was growing plants, and he knew that it was inconsequential, and he wouldn’t be able to defend himself against the feared Marcus Edge. So, he decided to use a parasite spell, which would enable him to take another witch’s powers.

Nathan was being trained by Ceelia. The Fairborn council believed in the prophecy that Nathan would be the one who would kill his own father, Marcus Edge. Reutger’s mother was a prophet, and on the day of her death, she had written a line: “His own blood will kill the wolf”. That same day, Nathan was born. Soul knew that if he could get the powers of the successor of the wolf itself, then he would become as powerful as his nemesis. But to do the ritual, he needed the blood of his kin and the blood of Nathan’s kin too. Soul killed his own brother and then killed Nathan’s grandmother. He then went to the training facility and took Nathan with him. They were attacked by Marcus Edge on their way. Jessica, Soul, and Nathan were able to escape the ambush. Soul injected a drug into Nathan that made him lose consciousness. Soul aspired to become the holder of powers, just like Marcus Edge. He knew that Nathan would also have the same powers, but since he was not 17 and his Giving Ceremony hadn’t been conducted, he hadn’t realized it. Soul made a mark on his chest and his fingers. He took his blood and mixed it with his own. When Soul had stood in front of Marcus, years back, during the Peace Massacre, he felt inadequate and inferior to him. It was forbidden to use the spell, but Soul didn’t care about it. Soul wanted to keep Nathan in the facility, but he escaped with the help of Annalise. In the 6th episode of “The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself,” Soul drank his evil potion to make the Bottle Witch spell work. As soon as he drank, he fell on the floor. Nathan, who was with Annalise, Gabriel, and Ceelia at that time, also became unconscious. Nathan got visions of the Wolfhagen massacre. He saw that it was Soul and Aoife who had carried out the killing of his mother. Slowly, his body started becoming pale, and the poison started showing its effect. Ceelia told Annalise that she was the only one who could use her powers to save him. Annalise was unsure as her powers were still not in her control completely. But she gave it a try, and she was able to save Nathan. The Bottle Witch’s spell had worked. Soul had become powerful. He could hear the heartbeats of everybody around him. He could take anybody’s powers by eating their hearts. Soul felt confident, and he knew that he was ready to take on Marcus Edge. He got a call from Aoife, who told him that she had a lot of Fairborns in Wolfhagen. She asked Soul to come there so that they could join their forces and defeat Marcus Edge. Soul also thought that it would be quite poetic to put an end to things at the place where they had all started. What he didn’t know was the fact that it was Marcus’ masterplan and he had coerced Aoife to call Soul and his army of hunters to Wolfhagen. 

‘The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself’ Season 1: Ending Explained: Did The Prophecy Come True At Wolfhagen? Did the Soul Kill Marcus Edge?

Ceelia and Annalise reached Wolfhagen, as Jessica (who had shapeshifted to Soul) had told them over the phone to come there. Jessica had used her powers and Annalise thought that it was actually her father. Annalise thought that she would talk to her father and make him stop but little did she know that she was walking straight into the trap. She knew that Soul would never call his daughter to the battlefield and risk her life. She also knew that if there was any person who could stop Marcus, it was Annalise. Annalise had a power called “decimation.” She could destroy or smash anybody using her powers. It was strange, as no one in her bloodline had such lethal powers. Powers were like genes. The kids inherited it from their parents. Nathan also came looking for Ceelia and Annalise. Gabriel, too, came directly to Wolfhagen after he escaped from Mercury’s place. Nicky and Hugo, Gabriel’s friends, also arrived at Wolfhagen to kill Nathan. They believed in the prophecy, and that is why they thought that Nathan would end up killing his father. They didn’t know that Nathan was not going to do any such thing, and that he was on their side. 

Soul killed Hugo and his whole squad. He had eaten their hearts and taken their powers. Ceelia fought with him valiantly, but she couldn’t withstand his might. She was taking her last breaths when Annalise, Gabriel, and Nathan arrived at the spot. Ceelia died, and it left a void inside Nathan. He had always felt close to her. She was his mentor, and he had spent a lot of time with her in the training facility. He knew that he had to face Soul as there was no other option left. Nathan met Marcus Edge in the woods. Marcus told him that Soul might have all the powers, but he lacked mental strength. His intentions were not pure. Soul had become something that he had always hated. Marcus told Nathan that Soul was not infallible. He told his son a story. He said that once, he killed a Fairborn hunter who was a part of a patrol party that was sent to kill him. That man had one power: he knew how he was going to die. Marcus took his heart and got his power. Marcus told Nathan that he knew how he was going to die, and that day had still not arrived. Marcus gave Nathan his blood and completed his Giving ceremony. Nathan once again came face-to-face with Soul. They entered into deadly combat. Soul was just about to kill him when his own daughter, Annalise, came in his way. Annalise used her powers and smashed her own father into pieces. All this time, people had misinterpreted the prophecy. They had thought that the word “wolf” was used to signify Marcus Edge. But even Soul had the powers of a wolf and had somewhat transformed into one. His own blood killed him, making the prophecy come true.

Season 1 of “The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself” leaves us on a cliffhanger. Nathan looked at the heart of Soul that was lying on the ground. Something went inside his mind. Maybe he saw it as an opportunity. Probably he knew that if he ate it, then he would wield all the powers that Soul had. Maybe he had realized that he had inherited the powers that his grandmother had naturally, and the one’s which his father had obtained eventually. 

Jessica was still alive. She had been almost killed by Annalise. Jessica was a personification of hate. She was ruthless and could go to any extent to fulfill her agenda. She found a magical portal, but she didn’t know where it would lead her. She entered it and found herself standing in front of Mercury. Mercury already knew all about her. She told Jessica that she was there to help. It is quite possible that with Mercury’s help, Jessica would once again pose a threat to Nathan and other blood witches in the second season. Nathan, Gabriel and Annalise had a lot to figure out. They knew they would have to start afresh. But with time, they had realized the significance and the beauty of the bond that they shared with each other. They knew that no matter what, they would have each other’s back. 


See More: ‘The Bastard Son And The Devil Himself’ Season 2: Expectations – Will Nathan Become A Heart Eater?


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Sushrut Gopesh
Sushrut Gopesh
I came to Mumbai to bring characters to life. I like to dwell in the cinematic world and ponder over philosophical thoughts. I believe in the kind of cinema that not necessarily makes you laugh or cry but moves something inside you.

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