The Echoes finale has everyone talking - being a twisty, turny, rollercoaster ending to an extraordinary tale
Making its premiere on August 19, new Netflix series Echoes, has wasted no time in storming to the top of the streaming giant’s top 10. Not only that, but the mystery thriller has everyone talking about the twins with the dangerous secret. Identical twins Leni and Gina have been swapping lives since childhood - something they decided to keep going into adulthood. This sees them both living double lives where they share their homes, husbands, and even a child. Their secret life is about to come crashing down, when one of them goes missing. Here, we break down that ending to season 1, and share everything we know about a possible season 2.
With charming and rural settings, location aficionados have been seeking details of where Echoes is filmed. The show has toppled hilarious coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever season 3 from the top of the Netflix tree, joining thriller Devil in Ohio in the top 10 TV chart.
Echoes on Netflix: Ending explained
The series finale sees Gina and Leni running from their childhood home with it on fire, and their father Victor remaining inside. Victor has been diagnosed with a deadly heart condition and has chosen to stay where he is.
Gina believes that Leni has ruined her life by keeping the two of them so close together, and entwining their lives. She wants rid of the situation, and has been hiding aspects of her life to extricate herself from her controlling twin. When Leni finds out Gina entered into a relationship with Dylan she didn’t know about, she went as far as murdering him to end the relationship and bring Gina back under her control.
Leni tells Gina she just wants the two of them to stick together. The twins then fight in a nearby river, where Leni admits she saw their father murder their mother when they were children, leaving her traumatised. Gina however, tells Leni their father had drowned their mother not out of malice, but at her mother’s request. Their mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and wished to die on her own terms, rather than suffer.
A devastated Leni ruminates over how this information about their father has dictated her life - she needn’t have felt the trauma she’s lived with, if she’d known the truth. The fight ends when Gina apparently jumps to her death from a nearby waterfall. Under suspicion for murder, Leni assumes a new identity and flees to Australia. Once there, she is told a woman looking identical to her had been spotted in the same area - leaving her to believe Gina is alive and also made her way to Australia.
The final moments see Charlie promoting a book he wrote about his involvement with the twins, at a book reading. One of the women arrives at the reading, and there’s ambiguity over which one twin it is. When Charlie later bumps into the twin again, he asks if she was at the reading - she replies she wasn’t. This leaves viewers wondering if both women are back in town, or if one is simply lying. She then announces there are things she needs to settle, and first on the list is Charlie. The audience is still unaware which twin was at the book reading, or if both are alive or not.
Where did Gina go in Echoes and does she come back?
It is believed Gina went to Kansas when she disappeared, and show writers have confirmed she comes back, despite the ending appearing ambiguous.
When the airport official tells Leni they’ve seen someone who looks just like her recently, they assert that person is heading to Kansas. However, it was never ascertained on the show exactly which twin attended Charlie’s book reading, or if Gina went to Kansas, or if she died. In a surprise twist during an interview with The Wrap, Leni and Gina actress Michelle Monaghan decisively answered a question over which twin attended the reading, despite the show leaving this open-ended.
She said “Gina’s at the book reading”. Showrunner Brian Yorkey followed this up by saying the team made a decision “for Michelle’s sake, and for the sake of, you know, the production team, Roland, our awesome costumer. So Gina is at the book reading”.
What happened to Claudia in Echoes?
As a child, Leni pushed Claudia from a ledge where she broke both legs and became unable to walk. However, the twins had swapped identities at the time and Claudia blamed Gina - Leni was “playing” Gina at the time, and never owned up to what happened.
It’s clear early on in the show that Claudia holds plenty of animosity towards Gina. Flashback scenes show the 3 sisters playing on an industrial site, on a high ledge. When a fight breaks out over a doll, Claudia intervenes. During the ensuing tussle Claudia is pushed by Leni - who is pretending to be Gina. Leni refuses to take the blame, and Claudia never forgives “Gina” for what she’s done.
Such is Claudia’s hatred for Gina, that Gina leaves for LA. Claudia and Leni grow close during Gina’s absence, with Leni trying to increase Claudia’s shattered confidence with boys. When Claudia begins a relationship, she effusively thanks Leni for her help. It transpires that it was Gina assisting the budding relationship all along, having switched places back again with Leni for a short time before really leaving. Knowing Claudia is settled, Gina feels able to leave town for good.
Is Echoes based on a book or a true story?
Echoes is not based on either a book or a true story. The series was created by Vanessa Gazy, who also acted as executive producer.
Vanessa Gazy hails from Australia, and is an award-winning writer and director. Prior to Echoes, Gazy was responsible for the creation of 8-part mystery drama Eden. The series followed a devastating chain of events triggered following the disappearance of a young woman.
Taking to Instagram, Gazy shared how proud she was of the Echoes series. She said “Watching your story come to life on set is a beautiful thing. It justifies the hours spent writing and fighting. I am so appreciative of the talented, generous collaborators I met on the set of ECHOES, a few of whom are pictured here. They made the shoot of my first American TV project a joyful experience. Thank you to you all - and to our @netflix team for the privilege of making this big, complex show in the middle of a pandemic”.
Will there be a season 2 of Echoes on Netflix?
There has currently been no announcement about a potential Echoes season 2. However, the series is billed as “limited” which often suggests it will be standalone.
Fans needn’t be too upset though, as limited series do not always stay that way - if Netflix feels a strong enough pull for season 2, it will likely be greenlit. Speaking to The Wrap, showrunner Brian Yorkey admitted he hasn’t ruled out a second season, stating there were still plenty of directions the show could go in.
He said “we’ve been pitching each other Season 2 since even before we started shooting Season 1 because these women are fascinating and this situation is super tangled. And like you said, there’s threads to follow”.
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