Earth Abides Season 1 Full Recap & Ending Explained

Earth Abides Season 1 is an American post-apocalyptic science fiction drama television miniseries, which stars Jessica Frances Dukes and Alexander Ludwig. It is based on the same-titled novel by George R. Stewart. On December 1, 2024, the series debuted on MGM+ in the US and Stan in Australia. You can watch Earth Abides right now on Amazon Prime Video.

The story of Earth Abides centers on Isherwood “Ish” Williams. After months of seclusion, Ish discovers that a mysterious disease has afflicted most of the world. Despite his natural desire to isolate himself even more, he takes the lead in creating a new civilization.

WARNING: This article contains heavy spoilers

Episode 1: Alone

The first episode of Earth Abides Season 1 opens at a peaceful cabin in the middle of the forest. In his journal, Ish, a man, writes about his luck in finding pyrite through excavation. When his mother calls, he chooses to ignore it and go to the cliff’s edge instead. A snake unfortunately bites him, and he has to spit out the venom.

His phone falls to the floor amid the confusion. After Ish returns to his cabin, he tries to recover from the poison after passing out on his bed. Thank goodness he does, but his hand is swollen like a balloon. Over time, he experiences bizarre, delirious visions, such as a helicopter flying overhead and a group of people sniffing around the cabin and remarking on how ill he is.

Although the exact duration of Ish’s absence is currently unknown, we do get a glimpse of his phone in the woods.  “We love you” is what his mother wrote in her final message. When Ish wakes up, he gets into his car and drives to the city. Except for the bodies, the place is empty. Here, Ish sees a sign stating that there has been a worldwide pandemic, the government has suspended operations, and several people have died.

Startled, Ish dashes to his mother’s house. Coffee cups are still on their saucers, and there is still food here, albeit it is beginning to rot. Whatever occurred, it did so quickly. Regretfully, he discovers his family dead. Ish finds many people dead at the local church after burying his parents.

Ish grabs some supplies from the store and sets out, determined to find other survivors. He puts his foot down and just floors it along the desert roads to Las Vegas because the roadblocks out of town are deserted and there is no one else on the road. All of the lights are still on because of the hydroelectric power from Hoover Dam, but no one is there. Not initially, anyway. After drinking some alcohol and taking a late-night dip, a couple of survivors appear out of nowhere. Ann and Milton appear to be immune, and they have also recorded the news.

The pair is cynical and defeatist, saying that nothing is left and that they are prepared to simply drink their troubles away even though only three weeks have gone by. In contrast, Ish holds onto hope. When he finds Ann trying on clothes in the morning, she reminds him that although her heart is beating, she doesn’t feel vital. She believes that the world and her existence have ended. 

Ann tells how she met Milton at the hotel, right after she witnessed her daughter’s death on a Zoom call. The two have remained together since Milton’s wife passed away at the hotel, and now they are the only ones who survived. That was, of course, before Ish appeared. Ish, however, is leaving to try to find other survivors and make sense of the situation.

But Milton wants him to think again. Everything they require to “get to the end” in a few weeks is at their disposal. They plan to end their lives as soon as they are out of food in the hotel. They could be kept alive on the strip for almost ten years, Ish points out to Milton, adding that there is still canned food and a ton of water. However, he asks, “Would you want to?”.

Ann and Milton both shoot themselves after he leaves, apparently not wanting to wait around for a few weeks. Ish hears everything and is troubled by the noises as he drives away from Las Vegas. On the way back to his hometown, he picks up a dog and names it Lucky. His first stop is the library, where he plans to look for ways to live sustainably and sustainably in the future.

Next, we jump to “Year 1.”. Ish is doing his best to survive and stay in shape. But his mental fortitude is beginning to erode until he finds hope in the form of a distant survivor with smoke rising from their chimney.

Episode 2: The Space Between

Ish drives to the source of the smoke at the start of Earth Abides Season 1 second episode. When he mentions that they are practically neighbors, the woman on the rooftop who is brandishing a gun drops her guard. Emma lets him in right away, and they end up having tea together. Here, we discover more about Emma. Her father served in the military, and her mother was a nurse in the past.

Although she is originally from Pensacola, she has somewhat adapted to the survivalist lifestyle because she grew up hunting and camping. She was certain that she would die alone, so she picked this house because it was for sale. She doesn’t have to stay here anymore, though, because Ish gathers her belongings and brings her to his house.

However, they leave quickly because there seems to be a rat infestation. Before hunkering down and returning to the survivalist methods of hunting, foraging, and trying to exact “payback” on Mother Nature, the two go shopping and stock up on supplies. The two eventually end up sharing a bed as their relationship deepens. As they eventually strive to acquire the equipment required to truly survive, it strengthens their bonds. They have gasoline and solar panels, but Ish hurts his ankle after falling off the former.

Meanwhile, Emma spends that evening browsing through her photos by the window. She allows some grief to seep in, remembering what was and is now lost, even though it is only for a brief moment. Ish learns of Emma’s pregnancy the following morning. Stunned, he questions how they will safeguard a child in this unfamiliar environment. Emma is confident that this will work and that Ish is “built for this.”

Ish kills a cow, and the two of them succeed in turning the lights back on. But there’s a more urgent issue right now. Rats. A plague of them all. There are far too many of them, but the two quickly destroy as much trash as they can and even burn the cow carcass.

There are far too many for Emma and Ish to manage, so they are forced to escape inside. They forget about Lucky, seal the windows, and bleach the toilets. Ish tries to kill every rodent after snatching their dog and keeping rats inside. Sadly, Lucky suffers injuries in the process.

We fast-forward another year as Emma and Ish survive the apocalypse. The rats are soon hunted and killed by cats, and Lucky is doing just fine. But this also makes it possible for Emma to give birth to a gorgeous baby girl despite a few issues. Emma spray-paints a message announcing that survivors are residing in the town on the walls as the two start their new life together. Additionally, we see what appears to be a new survivor making his way in the community as the camera moves across the ground.

Episode 3: World Without End

The third episode of Earth Abides Season 1 jumps ahead to the sixth year. When Ish ventures into the wilderness, he unintentionally runs into a mountain lion. Before shooting it to end its suffering, Ish spots a young girl running through the forest.

He quickly follows after spotting her. Ish tries to reassure Evie that he is trustworthy by telling her that he now has two children. Instead, she starts yelling. Ish backs off and offers to take her in if she wants to. However, when Ish returns, the lion is no longer in front of the car, giving the entire endeavor a slightly unsettling vibe. The girl does, however, choose to accompany them and return to the safe place that Emma and Ish have created.

They have two children, Alex and Heather, but they will soon welcome a third one named Joey, into the world. Maurine and her husband, Jorge, are also present at the house. In episode 2, these two were the ones who noticed the spray paint. Since then, they have been residing with Ish and Emma.

Like this girl, Maurine also has scars, but discussing them hurts her. For the time being, Maurine gives the girl a bath and shows her kindness. Maurine searches through her possessions while Evie is in the restroom. She reads her journal, which is filled with drawings about her experiences.

In an attempt to locate the girl’s relatives, Jorge and Ish venture into the forest and survey the area. Given that they discover a dilapidated cabin with drawings and signs of abuse, it is obvious that something terrible happened to her. Maurine discovers a letter from Evie’s mother attesting to the fact that the girl was severely abused by her father. Evie chooses to remain silent for this reason.

Next, we jump ahead to Year 7. Ish, Emma, and Jorge patrol the perimeter because of a wanderer in the area. When three newcomers and their son Raif arrive, there is a heated exchange because they have bells set up to warn of intruders. Since they’ve come a long way, Ish doesn’t trust them at all, and he fears that this will upset the balance of what they’ve established here.

As of right now, everything appears to be going well, with the new members—Ezra, Molly, and Jeanie. They join the existing group and go out looking for equipment at the neighborhood stores. Molly goes to the hospital by herself and picks up bags of supplies.

Emma can change Ish’s mistrust of these three, and they do at least provide a feeling of belonging. Regretfully, Jean, one of them, seems to have an alcohol problem. After discovering alcohol in one of the shops, she goes to the restroom and consumes a large amount of it while yelling at her reflection in the mirror.

Nevertheless, we jump ahead to see Jorge and Maurine welcoming a newborn in their commune. We jump ahead to year 14. Today is Heather’s birthday, but something is going on. For the seventeenth consecutive day, it has rained at night, and the storm seems to be getting worse. Lucky happens not to be home when Ish and Joey leave the library.

As it turns out, he was hit by a falling tree while outside. He is eventually buried in the garden by Ish after this terrible incident. Meanwhile, out of nowhere, a cougar appears and tries to attack Joey, but the situation takes a terrible turn. Ish bears the brunt of the assault by jumping in the way.

Episode 4: Predators

The fourth episode of Earth Abides Season 1 begins with everyone rushing to help Ish. After the cougar attack, he is in a rough state, but they are able to get his pulse and see that he is breathing. However, the group is uncertain for some time whether he will survive.

Molly assists Ish in dressing his wounds, but she is conflicted about everything that has happened. Ish is shocked that she was able to pull this off, and she acknowledges when he regains consciousness that she failed medical school. But it gives Molly hope that she might be making the right choice, and Ish soon gets back to his normal activities.

Emma, meanwhile, returns to the deserted playground and decides to go after the cougar on her own. She finds the big cat quickly and shoots it multiple times while yelling into the sky. After that, we fast-forward three years. Now that we are in Year 17, Ish’s children are beginning to mature.

Heather, one of them, decides to leave the neighborhood and travel the world. She uses the threat of death to coerce Emma into speaking with Ish about it. Ish has his doubts, but Emma believes it’s the right thing to let her go and experience the outside world.

But there are more urgent issues at hand. It hasn’t rained in a while, and the survivors are dealing with a drought. Water dries up everywhere as a result of this. Ish leaves for Hoover Dam, but upon inspecting the pipes, they discover rust, a large, gaping hole, and a noticeable shortage of water. Ish determines that if they ration before they run out properly, they most likely have a week or so left.

When a bus full of people passes by on the road above, the group is forced to return to the compound because it has been ten years since they last saw anyone. Ish is unsure, but Joey is thrilled about the prospect of meeting new people. He believes that everyone should get ready, but it’s too late. At their compound, the bus rocks up and presents a bottle of water as a “peace offering.”.

It seems that these survivors have mastered the art of well excavation and wish to share their good fortune with Ish and the group. Charlie serves as the group’s leader, and several other survivors are introduced over a meal. Charlie contradicts himself while they eat by talking about poetry and saying he can get the water flowing in about 72 hours. He requests food and a place to stay for himself and all of his friends in return. Charlie seems dubious, but he says he’ll move on when the time is right.

In addition to the drama, Alex feels ignored and pushed away by Ish, but Ish worries about Charlie. He doesn’t trust him, but when he confides in Emma that evening, she simply rolls her eyes and doesn’t believe him. After witnessing everyone content and getting along well, Ish, who is alone with his reservations, staggers through the woods by himself.

Do you recall Jean’s apparent substance abuse issues and how we skipped ahead ten years and saw nothing? She talks to Charlie outside that night. He even offers her a drink while they smoke together. Charlie is quite insistent, saying that one swig “won’t kill her,” but Jean declines, sensing that he’s not a good influence, and eventually avoids him.

Emma is upset when Ish arrives late that evening. He apologizes when she talks to him alone, saying he got lost in the woods when he turned around. Charlie and the others drill deeply the following day, and water shoots out. Unfortunately, Charlie decides to stay for a while because he doesn’t want to leave, just as Ish had assumed.

Episode 5: The Return

In the fifth episode of Earth Abides Season 1 Charlie wins everyone over with his charm. As they raise a toast in his honor for discovering water, they actually all chant his name. Ish, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t trust him. That evening, while his friend Silas is waiting outside the barn, Charlie rapes Evie by showing his hand. Charlie and Silas decide to do something drastic the next day, while Ish rushes down to console the poor girl.

It’s clear that Evie is having a rough time, and the people in the community are not pleased. Jean agrees with Ish that he is a predator and that they must defend themselves, while Maurine and Molly are inconsolable. The only course of action is to kill him because he will only keep coming.

Until they finally resort to a vote, the group is divided on whether this is the best course of action. Jorge is adamantly opposed to this until Maurine persuades him otherwise, but Emma feels that this is the only way they can accomplish this.

That evening, Ish talks to Charlie and requests him to leave the community. But Charlie naturally agitates him, until Ish uses a hammer to beat his brains out. Ish recites the phrase “we had to” to cope with the psychological burden of taking another person’s life.

Joey discovers his father by the sink that evening while cleaning blood off of him. Although the job isn’t flawless and there is still blood in the bath, the murder has a lasting impact on the neighborhood. Meanwhile Charlie’s partner, Perry, soon finds out that Charlie has been killed.

Ish and the others give the group a choice: stay with the group or leave with Silas. Perry is permitted to stay. Silas, however, is left alone and eventually leaves. However, he begs Ish at the gates, saying that their community was the first to fight back and that he has nowhere else to go. But Ish decides not to let him in despite everything.

After that, we fast-forward three years. Now that the drought has ended, the community is once again experiencing positive growth. People like Charlie are no longer a problem, and Evie is getting better as well. Rather, we witness additional drama involving Alex and Joey. 

As he creates an “ultralight,” Joey receives an unending praise from his father. This solar-powered bike looks like it can actually fly. With a ton of food to celebrate, Ish is sure that Joey can shape the future, and everyone praises him nonstop. Joey gets extremely cold that night and develops a fever before collapsing. Having witnessed this previously, Molly thinks the persistent fever is a resurgence of the virus. Even though Ish doesn’t think it’s real, it’s spreading quickly.

Ish’s constant monitoring of Joey exacerbates the rift between him and Alex. Heather, however, makes her way back to the compound during this time. She says she’s on her own now and apologizes for leaving. Ish, for his part, chooses to venture outside the bridge barricades and discover the world.

He believes that fate requires a life in exchange for his killing of Charlie. In particular, Joey’s. Ish immediately makes his way to the hospital with the goal of finding antibiotics or another treatment that will aid in his son’s recovery.

Episode 6: Forever is Tomorrow is Today

The sixth and final episode of Earth Abides Season 1 opens after the 20th year with Heather discussing her journey with Raif. They traveled north together, but they didn’t come across another living person during their journey. They found a beach and were not planning on leaving. Both of them vowed to stay together, and they were content, relishing their time in peaceful bliss.

With so many empty spaces, Raif and Heather interpreted it as a sign that there are crumbs of a life left for them to pick up and carry on. Fascinatingly, the two chose to follow after seeing numbers and arrows painted on rocks and beside buildings. But they didn’t get anywhere with it. Finally, they made their final destination before returning home—a location directly on the brink of a perilous cliff face.

But in the end, they come across an odd bearded man in the woods who stabs Raif to death after threatening him with a knife. Sadly, Heather is on her own and returns to their commune after weeks of traveling after killing the man. It turns out that Silas was the man who killed Raif after threatening them. Well, what are the chances of that?

Does Joey survive the illness?

Joey is still having trouble, and his brain is “fuzzy.”. Even though Ish comes home from the hospital with more resolve than ever, Joey is certain that his dad has given up on him. But Ish tries to pass on his immunity to his son.

Heather begs her father to stop, pointing out that medication is currently being developed that might help. Sadly, Jean pours herself a drink after this, but takes only one shot in Raif’s honor. Ish sets up an ice bath to try to break Joey’s fever and help him cool down as it gets worse.

Because Jorge is a devout man who wishes for the best, Ish brings him in for help. Joey tragically dies, but some of the other residents, like Kori, do recover.

How does Ish cope with Joey’s death?

Ish loses hope that the old world will ever be revived. He has put everything he has into his son becoming their commune’s savior, but it is obviously insufficient. Emma tries to talk to Ish in the library while crying. She reminds him that Ish is not acting in a healthy manner and that they have other kids to care for. He is grieving, to be sure, but he cannot abandon the life they have created. 

After some time, Ish accepts Joey’s death and returns to teaching the younger generation. Ish explains to the young minds that the prehistoric world had numerous issues. They cannot afford to take advantage of their current state of exquisite abundance. Because he thinks that people should live in harmony with one another and with what they have, he no longer wants to try to bring the old world into the new.

What does Ish discover in Joey’s possessions?

We then jump ahead to Year 21 and see what Ish discovers in Joey’s belongings. While packing up Joey’s things, Ish discovers a journal. Joey has a ton of entries in this section, including diagrams and different ideas for bringing inventions to life.

Specifically, one uses an antenna and a makeshift radio to reach out and listen for messages from other survivors. Together, the entire community works through Joey’s radio, entering various frequencies and transmissions in an attempt to connect with the outside world.

In between, they decide to play baseball together at the deserted playground. On the field, Ish talks to Heather, who mentions the numbers she’s been seeing everywhere. As it happens, this is a frequency. 147–225. And they do receive a response from California.

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