Warning: This article includes MAJOR SPOILERS for The Survivors!

Netflix’s great murder mystery.

Before Bronte’s death, she was researching the disappearance of Gabby, leading Mia to wonder whether the murder might be connected. As she, Kieran, and the police look into the murder, they begin to realize that there are secrets in Evelyn Bay. The Survivors’ cast includes many suspects who could have been involved in the disappearance, the murder, or both. Luckily, the ending provides a genuinely shocking answer that connects Gabby’s disappearance and Bronte’s death.

How Gabby’s Disappearance & Bronte’s Death Connect In The Survivors

Bronte Was Killed To Cover Up The Truth About Gabby

Throughout The Survivors, Mia tries to figure out whether Bronte’s death is connected to the fifteen-year-old disappearance of her childhood best friend, Gabby. After all, Bronte was directly researching Gabby’s disappearance and interviewing friends and family before her death. Even though everyone treats Mia like she’s out of her mind for thinking that, she is right about the two incidents; they are directly connected. Gabby and Bronte were both killed by the same person – Sean Gilroy.

While Gabby’s death was mostly an extremely careless accident made by a teen boy, Sean killed Bronte because she got too close to the truth about Gabby. Bronte and Sean went down to the beach to take pictures of the bioluminescence. While there, she showed him the picture of Gabby’s name in the North cave, suggesting that she might not have been swept away in the storm. When Bronte tried to leave with the camera, he hit her twice with a flashlight.

Whether he premeditated the murder or just snapped is debatable. It seems likely that the first time he hit her with the flashlight was just a snap impulse driven by fear, but he seemed to be trying to shut her up with the second hit. Either way, Sean most definitely decided to dispose of her body in the water instead of calling for emergency services, hide the evidence, and frame Brian.

What Really Happened To Gabby The Day Of Her Disappearance

Sean Punished Gabby For Her Rejection

The Survivors provides some of the biggest puzzle pieces of what actually happened to Gabby leading up to the finale. However, it’s still a shock at the end when Sean reveals the truth. On the day of her disappearance, she wanted to buy alcohol for a party, leading to a fight between Gabby and Mia. Sadly, this is the last time the two best friends see each other, which undoubtedly weighs on Mia.

Gabby goes looking for Kieran, hoping he will buy her alcohol. As revealed early on, she comes across Brian, who warns her about the incoming storm. She brushes him off and goes down to the dock, asking Finn and Toby to take her out to the caves. The two older boys put her backpack in the dry box because it’s too narrow to carry a backpack through the caves. Ultimately, Finn and Toby have her go into the caves with Sean.

Inside, Sean kisses Gabby, but she turns him down. She asks him to help her get out of the caves, and he tells her to follow him. However, he runs off because he’s mad at her. Sadly, without Sean’s help getting out, Gabby drowns. It’s clear that, rather than acting in cold blood, Sean was a brash and careless teenager who probably didn’t understand the full scope of his choices. Unfortunately, he follows the advice of his father and hides the truth for 15 years, preventing Gabby’s family from getting the closure they need.

Why Sean Framed Brian For Bronte’s Murder

Sean Didn't Value Brian's Life

The most obvious reason why Sean frames Brian for the murder of Bronte is the fact that he was present on the beach the night of Bronte’s death. It’s easy to write it off as Brian simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, Sean reveals a more insidious thought process underlying the decision when Kieran confronts him about framing Brian. The killer states, in much less blunt , that Brian’s life is already over because of his memory regression, implying that Brian wouldn’t be able to tell what was happening anyway.

Just because Brian struggles with memory doesn’t make his life any less significant, in the same way that everyone forgetting about Gabby’s disappearance doesn’t make her any less important.

Sadly, this reflects the attitude of many characters toward Brian in The Survivors, as very few characters treat Brian like an adult man with thoughts and feelings. Sean sees Brian as worthless because he has a neurodegenerative disease. Officers are so dismissive of him that they almost miss him explaining through gestures that he helped get Bronte out of the water. Even Verity, the person who gives him the most care and comion, talks over him constantly.

Ultimately, Brian’s relationship with memory is probably the most relevant to the message of The Survivors. Just because Brian struggles with memory doesn’t make his life any less significant, in the same way that everyone forgetting about Gabby’s disappearance doesn’t make her any less important. Sean was wrong on both s.

Why Kieran Left Evelyn Bay After The Accident

Brian Suggested That Kieran Leave For His Own Good

Most of the town holds hostility over the fact that Kieran “caused” Toby and Finn’s death, and they’re even more aggressive over the fact that Kieran left afterward. They take it as him itting guilt. However, it turns out that he left Evelyn Bay at the behest of his father. Brian notices how cruel Verity is towards Kieran, blaming him and making it clear that she would have rathered Kieran die instead of Finn. Based on her hostility, the father thought Verity would have ruined Kieran’s life if he stayed in Evelyn Bay.

Ultimately, Brian sending Kieran away was an act of empathy and care, but it halted the entire family’s healing. Kieran was isolated from his whole family and community, making him feel like he couldn’t return. Meanwhile, Verity held onto her anger towards Kieran. The tragedy was a sad situation where everyone lost out.

The True Meaning Of The Survivors’ Ending

Answers Offer Closure And Healing To Survivors

Netflix’s Australian show is deeply compelling and has a lot to say about grief, family, tragedy, and truth. Throughout, it speaks to the way that families can get stuck in their grief when they don’t have answers. Finn and Toby’s families were able to come to with their tragic deaths because they had some sort of answer about what happened. However, Trish, Liv, and Mia remained stuck for 15 years because they lost Gabby without ever knowing about what really happened. Even though they all expressed it in different ways, they were living with the ghost of Gabby.

The Survivors’ ending provides a concrete example of why it’s important to fight for answers to cold cases, even when they seem elusive. Although it took 15 years, Mia, Trish, and all the other people who loved Gabby were able to make peace with her death. Additionally, the fact that they all come together to honor Gabby and Bronte at the end of The Survivors shows that healing frequently comes in community instead of isolation. It’s beautiful to see them all grow closer and heal the strained relationships.