Cold feet before a wedding is one thing. Immense dread? That’s another — and that’s what the bride in the new Netflix series “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” experiences in the lead-up to her big day.
The show takes place over the course of a week and follows Rachel (Camila Morrone) and Nicky (Adam DiMarco), an engaged couple preparing to get married.
In Episode 1, Rachel and Nicky travel to visit Nicky’s family before the wedding. At the end of the episode, Rachel stumbles upon an invitation to her nuptials and finds the following ominous message: “Don’t marry him.”
More creepiness ensues over the course of the next few days, then Rachel learns that her family is cursed.
What happens in the end? Why is Rachel cursed? And who dies in the finale? Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is Rachel’s Family Curse?
A mysterious man known as the Witness (Zlatko Burić) asked Rachel, “Are you sure he’s the one?” Turns out that question is of grave importance for Rachel: She’s cursed and her life, and the lives of her fiancé’s family, hinge on the answer to that question.
In Episode 4, she visits the Witness and he breaks down her family’s curse for her.
As the Witness explains, Rachel must marry her soulmate by sundown on her wedding day. There are a few other outcomes.
If Nicky isn’t her soulmate, she will die. If Nicky is her soulmate, she will live.If she chooses not to go through with the wedding, she will die and the curse will transfer to Nicky and his family.
The curse dates back many generations to a woman who made a deal with death to bring back the man she loved, who had died. Death agreed to the deal, as long as the woman believed the man was her soulmate. Death then cursed her children to carry the same burden: find their soulmate and marry them or die.
Who Is the Witness?
The Witness, played by Zlatko Buric, sheds some light on Rachel’s family curse for her. He explains that the curse was passed down in his family. One day, a mysterious man walked up to him and warned him about it. Scared that he might die if his bride wasn’t his soulmate, the Witness left her at the altar.
In return, the curse was passed onto the bride’s family and the Witness was cursed to witness the weddings of all the members of her bloodline.
Who Is the Sorry Man?
Rachel and Nicky’s families are connected in an unexpected way, going back to the day of her parents’ wedding, her mother’s death and her own birth (same day!).
In Episode 4, Rachel’s father shows her a twisted home movie that he shot with her mother (Victoria Pedretti) on their wedding day. After getting married, her mother, who was pregnant with Rachel at the time, started bleeding profusely and died. Rachel’s father then tore Rachel out of her mother’s stomach.
(The Witness appeared in the wedding video of Rachel’s parents. When she spoke to him in a bar days before her wedding, Rachel noted that he hadn’t aged a day since.)
Coincidentally enough, Nicky’s brother Jules was near the cabin where Rachel’s mother died. The cabin was near Jules and Nicky’s family home. He watched Rachel’s father tear out his child, apologize repeatedly. This led to the creation of a figure he called the “Sorry Man” (who was actually Rachel’s dad).
In the present day, Rachel’s father (Josh Hamilton) has an intervention with her. Originally not invited to the wedding, he finds Rachel and tells her the truth. He thinks Rachel will die if she goes through with her wedding and wrote the message “don’t marry him” on the wedding invitation she found earlier in the series.
Is There a Way Out of the Curse?
Yes — a potion. Rachel learns through her family tree that one ancestor survived the curse. But it takes an intense potion involving her toe among other ingredients.
This potion will turn her into Nicky’s soulmate. She makes the potion but ends up not taking it, not wanting to change herself, or lose herself, for marriage. Instead, she puts her faith in their connection.
What’s Up with the Cunningham Family?
Look – both sides of this wedding party have secrets. Nicky’s family is acting oddly because it turns out matriarch Victoria (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is dying and they’re keeping it a secret from Nicky and Rachel. This explains their cagey behavior.
What Happens at the Wedding?
In the finale, Rachel is ready to say “I do” to Nicky, but he shocks her by saying no at the altar.
After hearing of his mother’s affair, he insists that marriage has been a “poison” in his family. He feels like he pressured her into getting married when she didn’t want to. He’d rather just stay together.
Rachel rushes away from the altar and the couple locks themselves in a room to hash things out. Rachel questions why Nicky is doing this since he’s aware that she’s cursed and will die. Even though he previously told her he believed her, he now says he doesn’t believe in the curse.
As the clock ticks and sundown approaches, the stakes get higher. Nicky’s family pressures him to marry Rachel since the curse will spread to their family if he doesn’t. He eventually agrees to go through with the wedding, with minutes to spare.
But, plot twist, Rachel says she won’t marry him now because she won’t die for him.
Soon, wedding guests and members of Nicky’s family start bleeding from their orifices, just like Rachel’s mother did right before she died.
Nicky finds Rachel and tells her he now believes the curse is real. Since she previously said her vows, Nicky is able to complete the wedding by saying his vows. They are now officially married.
Who Lives and Who Dies in the Finale?
Many. people seem to be affected by the curse. Rachel runs to the Witness and asks why he didn’t tell her this would happen. He says he did warn her and said it would spread to Nicky’s whole bloodline. In other words, anyone who isn’t married to their soulmate will die.
Rachel feels betrayed then starts bleeding from her nose since she and Nicky aren’t soulmates after all.
Portia and Victoria, not married to their soulmates, die, as do others in the wedding.
Jules, who was in the process of getting a divorce from his wife Nell (Karla Crome), survives, as does his son Jude (Sawyer Fraser).
Nicky is the only other member of the family to survive, implying that he thought he and Rachel were soulmates.
Does Rachel Survive in the End?
Rachel goes outside while she’s bleeding out and dies. When death comes for the Witness, however, Rachel comes back to life and takes his place.
Rachel runs into Jude in the hall and comforts him after the majority of his family just died. She also warns him to be very careful about who he marries one day and says she will witness the marriage.
Afterwards, she finds the Witness’ dead body and a note he wrote in blood that reads: “Your turn!”
Rachel leaves the carnage behind and drives away in the final scene of the series.