Julie And The Phantoms Season 1 Ending Explained

The Netflix original series Julie And The Phantoms ended with a major cliffhanger, leaving fans eager for season 2. Based on the Brazilian series Julie e os Fantasmas, the season 1 finale of Julie And The Phantoms ended with Luke, Reggie, and Alex coming back to life, and evil magician Caleb Covington possessing Nick’s body to seek revenge. Julie And The Phantoms might have been set in a supernatural world, but the show remained grounded by dealing with heavy themes such as grief as the character processed deaths: both the ones they loved and their own.

Julie And The Phantoms follows Julie, played by newcomer Madison Reyes, as she works through the grief surrounding her mother’s death and returns to making music. She’s helped by the ghost musicians of the band Sunset Curve, who died in 1995 after eating contaminated hot dogs. As Julie processes the death of her mother, the ghosts must accept their own untimely deaths and grieve the lives they left behind. After learning that the ghosts are visible as long as they perform with Julie, they form the band “Julie And The Phantoms” while all four deal with their grief.

Season 1 ends with a major cliffhanger, despite the fact that Netflix still hasn’t renewed Julie And The Phantoms for season 2. After the boys fail to complete their unfinished business, they’re ready to succumb to Caleb’s curse and vanish from existence — when suddenly, Julie reaches out to embrace them and Luke, Reggie, and Alex become solid for the first time. Meanwhile, after the Phantoms foil his plan for stealing their souls, Caleb Covington takes over Nick’s body and goes to see Julie. But what exactly does that ending mean for Julie And The Phantoms?

Were The Phantoms Brought Back To Life?

After the Phantoms unknowingly make a deal with the devil, it’s a race against time as the boys try to complete their unfinished business. To avoid vanishing from existence, they must complete that unfinished business to cross over into the afterlife. In the last few minutes of Julie And The Phantoms, Julie embraces Luke, Reggie, and Alex as they prepare to disappear — but everyone is shocked when the boys suddenly become solid. As they begin glowing, the stamps dissolve and float away, symbolizing that Caleb’s curse has been broken.

Although the show ends on a cliffhanger, bringing the boys back to life — or at least giving them physical bodies — is a great resolution to their season 1 arcs: coming to terms with their deaths and new reality as a ghost. Each “Phantom” had to accept his fate individually, and they were only free when they could let go of their lives as living people and be saved by the power of love. While the season 1 finale of the Netflix series is deliberately ambiguous about their fate, turning them back into living people would be a great set up for season 2. Even if the ghosts weren’t turned back into living people — what would Julie And The Phantoms be without the titular Phantoms — the fact that they are now solid is an exciting possibility for season 2.

Why The Orpheum Wasn’t Their Unfinished Business

One of the biggest reveals in the season 1 finale of Julie And The Phantoms is that Sunset Curve’s final performance at the Orpheum wasn’t their unfinished business. They try to hide that from Julie by teleporting back to the garage to wait for death, but she discovers them first. Since they weren’t able to cross over, it raises the question of what their unfinished business is. As Willie explains to the boys earlier in the show, their unfinished business must have to do with all three Phantoms since they died at the same time. But what is it?

The likeliest explanation is that the unfinished business has to do with the fourth, surviving member of Sunset Curve. Trevor Wilson, also known as Bobby, avoided death in the Netflix series by staying behind to flirt with the cute girl at the merchandise table instead of eating contaminated hot dogs. When his band-mates died, Trevor stole Luke’s songs and became a wildly famous musician without crediting them. Although they tried, the Phantoms couldn’t confront Trevor when they were dead — and he didn’t know that they had returned as ghosts. In the season 1 finale of Julie And The Phantoms, Trevor sees their performance at the Orpheum and finally recognizes them. If the Phantoms are actually brought back to life — or at least if they have solid bodies — they can finally confront Trevor and complete their unfinished business.

Caleb Covington’s Plan For Revenge

Ghostly magician Caleb Covington spends Julie And The Phantoms trying to force the Phantoms to work for him in his nightclub. Caleb marks them with his stamp and owns their souls, forcing the Phantoms to choose between working for him or disappearing from existence. When they foil his plan in the season 1 finale through the power of love, Caleb shows up at Julie’s house and finds Nick, the sweet high school boy with a crush on Julie. He grabs Nick’s head and takes over his body, and season 1 ends with Caleb plotting revenge on the Phantoms for escaping his clutches. While it’s unclear if Nick is dead or able to fight back, for the first time on Julie And The Phantoms Julie and Caleb Covington are finally face to face, and she has no idea.

The twist raises questions about Caleb’s intentions and his plan for season 2. Caleb is unambiguously evil, with his nightclub staffed with unwilling ghost servants who have sold him their souls, but he’s interested in the power that Phantoms have allowing them to be seen by living people. Caleb’s plan for revenge involves gaining Julie’s trust, but only season 2 of the Netflix show Julie And The Phantoms can show us what will happen when there’s an evil ghost in her midst. Caleb is consumed with gaining power and growing his influence, and his character is unable to accept that the Phantoms have broken his curse — making him even more resolved to force them into his service at the end of season 1.

The Real Meaning Of Julie And The Phantoms

Julie And The Phantoms might be a musical comedy, but it’s ultimately a show about grief and the power of love. Throughout season 1, Julie has to come to terms with her mother’s death and start making music again. The Phantoms have to come to terms with the fact that their lives were cut short, and 25 years have passed since they were last on earth. Like Julie, they’ve lost their parents and are trying to navigate a world on their own. By the end of Julie And The Phantoms, Julie has accepted her mother’s death and the Phantoms have accepted theirs when they choose to give up their existence for Julie — and that is what finally sets them free and breaks the curse. Although Luke, Reggie, and Alex are disappointed when they can’t cross over, giving them living bodies parallels the Phantoms’ arc to Julie’s as the four of them can finally move forward in their lives and afterlives.

What The Ending Of Julie And The Phantoms Means For Season 2

Although Julie And The Phantoms hasn’t been renewed by Netflix for season 2 yet, the season 1 finale sets up several new mysteries. With the possibility that Alex, Reggie, and Luke are now inhabiting human bodies, the show can explore the boys returning to whatever remains of their old lives. Most of Luke’s storyline has revolved around finding closure with his parents, and season 2 could show a reunion with his family. Now that Julie has accepted her mother’s death, she and her family are able to move forward. Alex will continue exploring his relationship with Willie, although one is still a ghost whose soul belongs to an evil magician.

Season 1 of the Netflix original series Julie And The Phantoms sets up a supernatural world full of mysteries, and only begins starting to solve them. As the first high-profile project from Netflix’s deal with executive-producer Kenny Ortega, it’s likely that the show will be renewed for season 2. The end of season 1 might resolve Julie’s journey with her grief, but the cliffhanger involving the Phantoms’ mysterious transformation hints at the possibilities for the show’s next chapter. The series succinctly sets up a rich fantasy world full of quirky characters, but the ending proves that ultimately the themes of Julie And The Phantoms are rooted in accepting grief and the power of love.

Next: How Umbrella Academy Teased Season 2’s Cliffhanger In Episode 4

About The Author