Summary
“First Betrayal” is the kind of finale that’s obviously angling for a second season, and while it leaves most plot threads unresolved, it does make the possibility of a follow-up more enticing.
This recap of First Kill season 1, episode 8, “First Betrayal”, contains spoilers, including an explanation of First Kill’s ending.
So, Theo is dead. Or is he? That’s the essential question that this finale opens with since we pick up right where we left things, with Jules and Cal arriving in the bathroom where a confused Apollo is cradling his dead brother. He can’t remember anything. But with the patrols, checkpoints, and anti-monster fervor worsening, they can’t stick around. Cal takes Apollo home, while Juliette cleans up the scene, discovering Elinor’s lipstick nearby.
First Kill season 1, episode 8 recap
But when Cal and Apollo get home, they find Theo seated at the dinner table, seemingly healthy, though acting a little out of character. After he excuses himself with heartburn, he heads to his room, where he sprouts fangs and sees the Emerald Malkia lunging at him in the mirror. What’s going on here?
Things aren’t much better in the Fairmont household. When Jules confronts Elinor about what happened to Theo, they get into a very nasty argument, and that’s enough to finally tip Jules over the edge. She gives the key to Elinor’s storage unit to Oliver, and the police raid the place, turning up her collection of driving licenses. Suddenly, they’re at the house, taking Elinor away in cuffs while Juliette smirks from the upstairs balcony.
Elinor’s “lawyer” turns out to be Oliver, although he’s not exactly there to appraise her of her legal rights. Through him, and with the aid of some brief flashbacks, we come to understand that Elinor was always manipulating her twin and convincing him to do the demented things that he would eventually be exiled for. She talked him into killing his pet turtle, a camp counselor, and countless others. And she did it for no real reason, just because she could. For that, Oliver says he will enjoy watching her burn, which she inevitably will since the reputation of the Keeper must always be protected within the matriarchy. She’s surplus to requirements.
Besides, Margot has other things to worry about, namely the fact that Davina has been called to have her status as Keeper questioned in an official capacity, and obviously can’t attend since Sebastian ate her.
And in the hunter’s household, things aren’t looking too great either. Jack is adamant about killing Theo, since he no longer considers him to be his son, but Talia won’t allow it. When Theo breaks out of captivity he fights with Apollo outside until Juliette intervenes, claiming she can help him by letting him feed on her. She is, after all, the one who turned him.
First Kill ending
Big twist! In flashback, we see that Theo asked for Juliette’s help, and she fed on him. She claimed to have intended to drain him so he could die with dignity, but instead, he turned, and Cal is not thrilled with this development, to put things mildly. Like, “spear to the chest” not thrilled. Despite Juliette’s insistence that Elinor is to blame and will be getting everything she wanted in splitting the two of them up, Cal resolves to spend the rest of her life figuring out how to kill Juliette and every Legacy like her.
But the Burns family, especially Jack and Apollo, are still adamant about putting Theo down. And Talia isn’t having that. So, after bargaining for a final moment with her son (Aubin Wise is really exceptional here), Talia frees Theo and takes him to the relative safety of… Oliver and Carmen’s place?
Look, I have no idea what the history between Oliver and Talia is. I don’t why he calls her “Ms. Talia” or says she’s the best mother he’s ever seen. It’s probably a story for a second season. But either way, Oliver clearly has a lot more to offer, since when he leads Theo into the backyard, we see he has a whole coterie of monsters with him. As he explains to Theo, he only came back to Savannah to ruin some lives. And with his menagerie, his witch girlfriend, and now Theseus, he’s pretty confident.
You can stream First Kill season 1, episode 8, “First Betrayal” exclusively on Netflix. Do you have any thoughts on the First Kill ending? Let us know in the comments.
