The Last Anniversary’s ending feels like a warm hug on a winter morning. The finale is not as gut-wrenching or heartfelt as I’d imagined, but I still enjoyed it, and it definitely gives us all the answers we’ve been waiting for, so there’s really not much to complain about. The 6-part TV show dives deep into the struggles of womanhood and how, despite decades passing, some things still remain the same. Whether it be Margie’s relationship with Ron, Grace’s feelings towards Ollie, or Sophie’s entire life, we’re reminded at every instant that it’s just not fun being a woman. However, this final episode makes all that fade away by reminding us that what we really need is family and female friendship to sustain us. I kind of love that, you know? Anyway, with that said, I’ll dive straight into the ending of The Last Anniversary.
Spoiler Alert
What Happened To Alice?
The big question on all our minds, even if we worked everything else out, was what happened to Alice and whether she is still alive. That would’ve been quite the cherry on top; however, unfortunately, Alice is not alive, and also, she’s not Enigma’s mum. See, it turns out Rose is actually the mom that Enigma has been searching for all this time. When Alice rejected Finch, he was already upset. He knew Rose and she were friends, so I’m sure he figured out that she was the one who helped Alice, but Rose also stole a dress for Alice that she was meant to wear for an audition, that is the infamous white dress from the fancy photo everyone loves, also taken by Rose as we know now. Finch took revenge by assaulting Rose, who then became pregnant. This is the 50s, and we know that Connie and Rose’s dad was not a great person and struggled, possibly from PTSD. So, Connie helped Rose hide the bump until she gave birth, and Alice stayed in the cabin under the pretense that she was married to a man named Jack. There was never a Jack.
When Rose was about to give birth to Enigma, there was too much blood, and it looked like something had gone wrong, but a storm was underway. Of course, the girls never went to a hospital, but at this point, there was no choice, so Connie sent Alice out into the storm on their boat, only for her to never come back. Alice died trying to bring Enigma into the world. Enigma was born perfectly healthy, but Rose lost Alice because of her. Anyway, the girls had to pretend Alice was the mom and left the baby and ran away, but Rose was also severely depressed, just like her granddaughter in the present day. Of course, Rose’s depression stemmed from losing Alice, whereas for Grace, it’s just painful postpartum, but you get the gist.
I’ve been trying to figure out why Rose hated Sophie so much, but it’s only just occurred to me that it was because she just didn’t want everyone to know the true story. However, she was haunted by Connie, forcing her to tell the truth, so it would’ve come out eventually. Glad Rose got over it, though, because now Enigma has a mom and never has to feel lonely again. This, in turn, makes her a better mom for Grace, too. Also, it is super sweet to see Rose live her dream through Connie’s granddaughter, Veronika, who takes the brave step to tell Audrey how she feels and seals the deal with a kiss.
What Happens To Grace?
On the other hand, things don’t go as smoothly for Grace, who completely gives up after Ollie gets sick, feeling like she’s an awful mother. To make things worse, she decides to go sleep with Zeke and then tell both Sophie and Callum about it so that she gets the Ollie situation sorted. What Grace is feeling inside is simply loneliness; it’s not therapy that she needs, nor is it an understanding shoulder. She needs everybody around her to actually see her and understand her pain. But more importantly, she needs Enigma to do that.
In The Last Anniversary’s ending, Enigma saves Grace from dying from her allergy by stabbing her with an EpiPen and giving her CPR after she’s run away, leaving a note for Ollie. It’s not that Grace doesn’t love Ollie; she thinks she’s not good enough for him and that nobody really wants her around, not even Callum. Grace later tells her mom that she didn’t do it on purpose, but it definitely feels like she deliberately ate something that basically poisoned her. However, now everyone knows how Grace really feels, and she’ll get all the help she needs, not only for her own trauma but also for that of her mother and grandmother. Huzzah.
Is Sophie okay?
The Last Anniversary’s finale is quite harsh on Sophie because Thomas’ wife shows up and tells everybody at the grand Enigma event that Sophie is the reason she threw Thomas out and that he had pictures of her saved. This is, of course, completely not her choice, and she had nothing to do with it, but it still affects her. But what’s worse is that Thomas’ wife tells her that it was he who wrote the “P.S.” on Connie’s will. This leaves Sophie quite broken, and when Callum basically tries to get with her because he thinks Grace has given up on them, Sophie is tempted initially, but she becomes the bigger person and sides with Grace, telling Callum that he needs to focus on his family.
On the other hand, she does write that article about the island and the mystery, but she decides not to send it in because she’s finally found her family, and it’s Rose who asks her to come back because they need her. When Sophie returns, we get that beautiful picture, which is the poster of the show, where Sophie and Grace are hugging, and the other women gently surround them, too. It’s a reminder that, together, they can weather any storm. Finally, the show ends with Sophie meeting a man who might actually be the one for her, right there on the island, where her home is and where her family is. A happily ever after.
