While overall, Netflix’s The Survivors seems like a very faithful adaptation of Jane Harper’s book of the same name, there was one major change in the show, specifically centered around the fate of the perpetrator who had killed both Gabby Birch and Bronte Laidler. [Spoiler Alert] As mentioned in the show, Sean Gilroy and his childhood best friend, Kieran Elliot, lost their brothers, Toby and Finn, more than a decade ago during a tragic storm in Evelyn Bay. In the show, it was Sean and Toby’s father, Julian Gilroy, who was most devastated by the loss of his young son. However, in the book, Sean and Toby’s father was never in the picture. It was Julian Wallis, manager of the Surf and Turf, who married Toby’s widow, Sarah, and adopted their seven-year-old son, Liam. Some three years after losing his dad, Liam gained a stepfather. Meanwhile, Sean found some comfort in his best friend, Ash, and as he grew up, he continued the charter boat business. Now, I am assuming you have seen the show, which means you already know why Sean took Gabby Birch to the flooded cave that took her life. Well, the events in the book differ slightly from what happened in the show’s finale, so allow me to give you a brief recap.
How Did Gabby Die In The Book?
On that tragic day, Gabby was looking for her older sister, Olivia, who she knew met Kieran regularly at the caves. As per the book, Olivia was kind of attracted to Sean when they were teenagers; however, when Sean’s friends asked him to explain his relationship with Olivia, he said they were just friends, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. In the book, Sean felt a bit jealous and embarrassed that his childhood friend kept his affair with Olivia a secret from him. That was when Gabby asked Sean to take her to the cave so she could find Olivia, and even though Sean was a bit reluctant at first, he finally agreed. However, when the two reached the location, Gabby insisted on going to the dangerous North Cave. Sean wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, because the tide was rising and the storm was coming fast; however, he gave in to Gabby’s wishes and took her to the caverns where the local lads used to carve their names on the walls. This was the same place where Sean picked up the wrong signals and abruptly kissed Gabby. He thought Gabby had brought him to the caves so they could do the things Olivia and Kieran used the spot for, but the lad was so very wrong. That was the furthest thing from Gabby’s mind. She just enlisted his help to find her sister and had no other intentions in her mind.
And as soon as Gabby’s words fell on Sean’s ears, a chain of thoughts ran through his mind and a cold horror washed over him. “What if people find out?” Ash and Kieran would make fun of him for kissing Olivia’s little sister. Toby would never leave him alone. Olivia wouldn’t talk to him again, and he would lose a friend forever. And what about everyone else? The whole school would eventually find out how he tried to sexually harass a young girl in the caves. No one will bother to understand his side of the story. In short, Sean wouldn’t be able to live in the town any more and might just have to leave everything behind: his friends, his family, his home. It was obvious that Sean couldn’t think straight, and suddenly the water level inside the caves started rising. The tide had started to come in and they needed to move out of there as quickly as possible. And while Sean was lost in his own thoughts, Gabby begged Sean to get her out of the caves as she didn’t know the way out; however, Sean, fuming with anger and embarrassment, stormed out of the cavern, believing Gabby was following him. Unfortunately, she was not. Gabby lost her way in the caves, and never made it out. The water flooded the caves and took her life. Sean never really told anyone what happened that day, and how Gabby went missing. However, three days later, when her school bag washed up on the shore, he was a bit relieved that people would stop looking for her and his crimes would never come to light. That is, of course, until Bronte arrived in Evelyn Bay and started digging up the old graves.
How Did Sean Die In The Book?
During The Survivors’ ending, Kieran, while struggling to jog his memory, finally connected a few dots when he saw some photos of the caves clicked by Bronte, one in particular. It was the same picture Sean had seen shortly before he killed Bronte on the beach. In the pictures, Sean saw his name scratched into the wall, which he believed was likely done by Gabby moments before her death. Maybe she inscribed it as per the tradition, as it was her first time in the fabled spot. Well, whatever the case might be, this piece of evidence would have proved that Gabby was with Sean in the cave on the tragic day, therefore exposing Sean’s involvement in Gabby’s death. But even though Sean killed Bronte to hide his crimes, his best friend, Kieran, eventually got to the bottom of the truth and confronted Sean in the caves while he was trying to erase the names off the walls. Kieran tried to convince his friend to come clean, explain things to the police, and find a decent lawyer who might be able to explain his side of the story, but Sean didn’t want to do that.
Once again, the same fear struck Sean as he told Kieran, “Everyone will know, won’t they? Liam. And Olivia. And Trish.” It felt like Sean had always been more concerned what people would think of him than his own life. He told Kieran that there was no way out, and these caves were going to haunt him forever. He was already burdened by his guilt for what he had done to Gabby and Bronte, and therefore it was better to just sacrifice himself and be done with it. Quite similar to what happened on the day of Gabby’s death, the tide began to rise and water started flooding the caves. Sean disappeared into the darkness of the North Cave, and even though Kieran wanted to go after his friend and pull him out of the caves to save his friend’s life, he couldn’t do that. He knew he wouldn’t survive, and those depending on him would be distraught forever. His mother and father had already lost a son years ago, and they wouldn’t be able to handle the loss of another child. They were waiting for him to help them pack the belongings so that they could move their father to nursing care. His wife, Mia, and their newborn daughter, Audrey, wanted him to be there for them. Kieran couldn’t just sacrifice his life for someone who had already lost his way, and therefore decided to walk away, leaving his friend behind, just like Sean had left Gabby. However, this time around, it was Sean who made this decision himself, and Kieran stayed with him as long as he could. But he refused to go after him, knowing no one ever comes out of the cursed cave alive.
In The Survivors’ ending, the two childhood friends went their separate ways. While Kieran returned to his family, Sean likely drowned in the water, the same way Gabby did and the same way he killed Bronte. Well, you could say it was poetic justice and nature finally took Gabby and Bronte’s revenge on their behalf. And ironically, it ended where it all started.
