Bloodline series finale: Series boss talks controversial John – Nolan ending

Was the Bloodline series finale really one with a proper ending (or at least one that satisfied viewers)? Well, it’s certainly one that’s generated a lot of discussion and even frustration in certain parts of the internet. One of the big reasons why is by virtue of what was actually seen on the show and what wasn’t — resolution to the conversation between the characters of John and Nolan.

It’s hard to know if Kyle Chandler’s character told Danny’s son the truth about what happened to his dad. We know that John wanted to tell someone (as we saw with his conversation with Aguirre that ended up going no where), but Nolan may have been the only person John could’ve gotten some relief from. After three seasons of wondering if the Rayburn family secrets were going to come out, we were left still wondering after the series finale credits rolled. While we did see (spoilers ahead) Kevin go to jail, he didn’t end up there because of killing Marco or his part in Danny’s death. Meg is off somewhere pretending she was never born a Rayburn and that leaves John sitting with a tremendous amount of guilt but no culpability. So was this really an ending?

In discussing this key scene more in-depth to The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creator Todd A. Kessler made it clear that everything that was in this final scene was there by design:

“The intention of that ending is to really have the audience pick up where that leaves off. It’s not meant to be coy. But we’re not answering it.”

Is this a cop-out ending? Some may feel that way, but personally it’s not something that we’re really angry about given that there are so many ways that conversation could go. There’s a real chance that John doesn’t tell him the truth (which is probably what happened), and if that was presented on the show, it’d be rather unsatisfying since many of us wanted to see the Rayburn family get caught. However, there is at least a possibility that the truth came out, and this may be enough to satisfy some out there wanting that element of closure.

The thing here to remember is that even if Netflix hadn’t abruptly canceled the show, there is still a reasonably good chance that there wouldn’t be all that much in the way of resolution here. This is a moment that may have been kicked down the road for whenever the show did end up deciding to wrap things up. No matter when the ending was, ambiguity is a big part of the story that Kessler and company wanted to tell. It was about what happened to this family, and the truth of the matter here is that there would be little resolution no matter when the show concluded.

What did you think about the Bloodline series finale ending? Be sure to share now in the comments below!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you do want to see some further coverage on the series right now. (Photo: Netflix.)