The Changeling Episode 8 Battle of the Island Ending Explained-Rumbling Beasts, Carousel Rides, And Callisto’s Constellation

The Changeling ends on an unsatisfyingly vague note in a baffling short episode 8, which chooses ambiguity over answers. Much of the episode dedicates itself to montages and rehashing existing scenes, bringing nothing new to the narrative.

After a long montage of the events of the previous seven episodes, The Changeling Episode 8 opens with the conversation between Apollo and Emma’s sister. When Emma met the mysterious witch in Brazil, she made three wishes, which came true when Apollo broke the bracelet. She wanted a husband and a healthy child, and we never learned what the last wish was. This flashback sets up the third wish, yet ultimately, the episode never reveals it.

The opening montage links some of the show’s themes, which is probably more helpful than what is shown in this episode. It links William’s Norwegian heritage with the immigrants coming to America from Victor’s opening monologue. It also links Williams with the social media page dedicated to Apollo’s deceased son, Brian.

Meet The Kinder Garten

After the title credits, we are on the Wise One’s island, moments after episode 5 closed. William has just transformed into his true identity. He looks human (only with a new head of hair and his injuries magically healed) but is beastly with supernatural powers.

“Dinner plans tonight, a meal inspired by baby Brian…boiled vegetables,” William snarls. He quotes the disturbing message Apollo read on the Brian tribute message board. He announces that the collective he belongs to is called the Kinder Garten. William had blamed Patrice for setting up this tribute page to Brian, but it was him all along.

Of course, kindergarten is the name of a grade in school. Literally, it means children’s garden. What this name means in connection to the story is left for audiences to interpret.

Wiliam runs through the island’s wild landscape, escaping the creature rumbling behind him. It’s a cinematic shot that is too dimly lit to appreciate fully. It’s wise for The Changeling to set this scene at night; you can sense a beast on the prowl and hear the creature’s dramatic rumblings, but they never have to show it in any detail.

Suddenly, an explosion hits the island, and the community created by The Wise Ones blows apart. Apollo runs to the library and sees the destruction. He connects the library with Emma; this space was created by Emma, who would bring back books from the mainland. William’s ex-wife is dead, but Cal survived. Cal regrets that she brought Gretta to the island only for her to die trying to rescue the children.

Then comes a long sequence of Cal and Apollo running through the island, trying to help the remaining survivors. The women who believe their children are evil replacements have been on the island for some years, yet no one has worked out an escape plan. They have to climb down a rope into a ravine to get to the beach, where their escape ship awaits. This dramatic scene of Apollo and Cal helping people down the rope feels unrealistic and unnecessarily dramatic compared to some of the show’s nuances.

Of course, Apollo’s rope breaks, and he falls in slow motion off the cliff. Other than for dramatic effect, this scene feels like time-wasting in an already short episode. He somehow survives the fall and wakes up to a child declaring he is a superhero. A superhero or the Mighty God Apollo? Apollo is a special man, but what makes him unique is never addressed. Perhaps it’s connected to his mother’s deal with God.

Escape boats are waiting for the group at the shore. Cal doesn’t let him go on the trawler. Instead, she tells him to get on the rowing boat to find his wife. He needs to find her to understand that Brian was a changeling, not an innocent child killed by his mother. Cal also stays behind, wanting to distract William and give the trawler some distance.

The Battle For The Island

Cal gives a lovely speech about the reality of magic and witchcraft. For Cal, the real magic is what you will do for the ones you love. She doesn’t believe her island community of women are witches, but just “women who did things that seem the impossible.” Jane Kaczmarek’s performance has been one of the highlights of this show, a bundle of maternal anger at the loss of her child.

Cal admits she is on a suicide mission but has accepted her fate. Cal is tired and wants to reunite with her child. She compares herself to the story of Callisto, who is gifted with the ability to spend eternity with her child. Cal thinks her child is dead and accepts her own fate in the hopes she will be able to be with him.

In Greek mythology, Callisto’s story is a powerful allegory about the grave consequences of infidelity. Zeus transforms Callisto and her son into constellations in the night sky: Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. To some people, this is a curse to a mother. This is the perfect ending.

 Cal and William fight it out on the clifftop as Apollo rows away. Cal ultimately wins over and stabs him. William appears to die a human death, stabbed by Cal. The creature still rumbles over the island, even after William’s human body dies. We’ll never know whether this creature comes from inside William or is a separate entity. Cal dies on the clifftop, the stars aligning above Apollo to signify she has also joined her child. It’s a fitting end to Cal, someone originally portrayed as a villain who unveiled herself as a community leader.

What Happened To Brian?

This is when The Changeling episode 8 becomes totally ambiguous. All the plots gripping audiences since the first episode slowly slip away. With only a 30-minute run-time, there needed to be more time to explore all the dangling threads.

Emma (Clark Backo) reaches the forest she has been hunting for to find a carousel lit up in the dark. “I’m coming for you,” she announces. The show sets up expectations for Emma to find Brian, yet the carousel is empty.

Apollo says as he rows: “I’m coming for you.”

Victor recites a passage from The Waters Of The Wild. The last sentence, and the one which sticks out the most, is “At home in the forest, forever lost in the wild.”

“Kindergarden 10,000 men with one name,” William explains. The only explanation directly offered in this final episode is a glimpse of William sitting at his computer on a webcam with other masked men. He is part of a villainous collective who likely replaced human babies with evil changelings. The reasons why is entirely up to the audiences
Apollo hears cooing and investigates inside a cave. A colossal eye blinks through the cave at him, and it fades to black.

Apollo hears cooing and investigates inside a cave. A huge eye blinks through the cave at him, and it fades to black.

 The book delivers some far more concrete answers that tie the story together. There is no announcement about The Changeling season 2, but this ending acts like there is more to come in the future of this show. Apollo and Emma’s story is frustratingly unfinished at the end of season 1. Perhaps the writers want the show to have a more ambiguous ending than the source novel, but it dampens the whole show and feels a little like seven and a half hours of your life has been wasted on an unfinished story.

Spoilers on how the book ends and some of the plots not addressed in the TV show.

• Apollo digs up Brian’s grave and finds not a human body but a hairy creature that looks like a wasp’s nest.
• Cal explains that there’s a powerful magic called glamour that can make fake things look real.
• William Wheeler’s ancestor made a deal with a Troll. In exchange for safe travel to America, he had to bring the troll a human child for them to raise as their own. However, the troll always fails, and the children pass away.
• Emma was always right; Brian was never real.
• William’s father stole Brian and gave him to a troll. Brian is still alive and living with the troll.
• We also learn Emma’s third wish was a ‘life full of adventure.

Catch up with all our The Changeling recaps here.