The Medium Ending Explained

Horror fans who have explored their way through to the ending of the Xbox Series X/S console exclusive The Medium may be a little unclear what exactly happens to main characters like Marianne and Thomas after the game’s cliffhanger ending. Here’s what happened, and what it might mean for a potential sequel. 

[WARNING: Spoilers for The Medium below]

Having explored the Niwa Resort hotel after receiving a mysterious phone call, befriending the spirit Sadness, and evading a monster referred to as The Maw, protagonist Marianne makes her way to “The Red House,” a burnt-out house in the woods outside the Niwa Resort. It’s a place immediately familiar to her – her childhood home. 

It’s there she learns that Thomas, the man who called Marianne at the beginning of the game and urged her to come to Niwa, is Marianne’s father. Sadness’ real name is Lilianne, Marianne’s sister. Thomas was a key figure behind the Niwa Resort in The Medium, and like Marienne and Lilianne, possessed supernatural abilities which allowed him to slip into the spirit world. 

What Happens At The End Of The Medium

Those abilities attracted unwanted attention when Thomas used his powers to kill his mentor, Richard, after Richard did unspeakable things to Lilianne, with the game implying she was assaulted in some way. Via a spiritual memory, Marianne relives the destruction of her home. Henry, an agent from the Polish government who had been investigating The Medium’s Thomas, arrives and threatens Thomas unless he surrenders and tells Henry more about his powers. Henry sets fire to the house with Thomas’s family still inside in order to coerce Thomas to cooperate. 

Ever since Lilianne’s abuse at the hands of Richard, a spiritual monster had taken root inside her. As their home burned down around them, Lilianne, in an act of desperation, agrees to let the monster out into the world, as long as it would protect both her and Marianne from the flames. The monster, known as The Maw, was unleashed upon the world, infecting various members of the Niwa resort and causing the event known as the Niwa Massacre. 

Marianne’s mother died in the flames, while Marianne herself is put in a coma. Thomas makes the decision to leave Marianne at the hospital and go into hiding, believing Marianne would be safer and happier. He takes Lilianne, believing her to be dangerous, and lives with her in an abandoned Nazi bunker underneath their old home. 

The finale of The Medium finds Marianne recounting the events of her life and the game to Thomas’s spiritual doppelganger. He reveals Lilianne is alive as The Maw appears. He says he will delay the monster, but she must go to Lilianne as she’s the only one who can put an end to the nightmare. Marianne finds Lilianne on the pier of a nearby lake, an image from a recurring dream ending with a man pointing a gun at a young girl and pulling the trigger. Lilianne explains she and the Maw are linked, and it can’t be defeated while she still lives. However, the creature prevents Lilianne from taking her own life. Lilianne takes out a gun, hands it to Marianne, and asks her to kill her so the creature won’t be allowed to hurt anyone else. 

It’s a decision Marianne refuses to make. As the Maw appears, Marianne says there is another way and holds the gun to her own head. She says The Maw needs her, a medium, as a suitable vessel to reach the outside world. Lilianne pleads for her to not take her own life. The game cuts to black as a single gunshot rings out, with Marianne reciting the words from her dream at the beginning of the game “It all starts with a dead girl.” After the credits roll, spirit Thomas is shown leaving the Niwa Resort.

Did Marianne kill herself, Lilianne, or neither? That’s up for players to decide. The fact Thomas is seen leaving the resort implies developer Bloober Team might have ideas for The Medium sequel. Might Thomas be the main character of a Medium sequel, or perhaps Marianne could survive the final encounter after all? Bloober Team isn’t talking, so players will simply have to wait and see what happens next. 

About The Author

Cameron Koch
(102 Articles Published)

Cameron Koch is a Denver, CO based writer who’s writing on gaming has appeared on sites like Game Informer, Gamepedia, and now Screen Rant. On the rare occasion he’s separated from a keyboard or controller, he enjoys fencing (the sword-fighting kind) and obsessing over the latest kaiju film.

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