Swamp Thing series finale: Leaving the swamp too soon

Autonomy and obscurity are the central themes of the Swamp Thing series finale. And the “loose ends” in the final episode give us a lifetime of fanfiction ideas.

After a season of surprise, horror, and a ton of romance, DC Universe’s Swamp Thing has come to a close. The comic-inspired series died prematurely. Even after fitting multiple episodes worth of content and character development into the series finale, “Loose Ends” managed to excede our expectations by delivering some new interpretations of classic arcs. The Swamp Thing finale wrapped the series with a perpetual loose end, but it the storytelling devoted itself to the characters and the fandom the series built along the way.

We’ve been waiting for these big reveals all season, and we wish the narrative could continue.  At least we can find solace in how the series carefully wraps each character’s arc with a new-found sense of self-determination. No character ended their arc with an absolute resolution, but they all concluded their journey in Marais with a literal or metaphorical transformation that gave them autonomy.

As tragic as Maria’s final predicament is, her forced institutionalization comments on the patriarchy both in Marais and in real life — something Swamp Thing subtly critiques throughout its single season. Even in the earliest episodes, the show makes a point to include unwarranted (and frankly unhelpful) comments from Abby’s colleagues to note the misogynist working environment women in STEM face. For Maria, her tragic tale places her in a psychiatric facility.

Even after Avery’s abuse, Maria is anything but powerless. We don’t see the outcome of her perceived powers, but we can assume her growing connection with Shawna means she’s still impacted by the Rot. The rest of her character trajectory relies on imagination, but we’d like to think that she’s harnessed mystic powers from the Rot, which she’ll use to seek revenge on Avery.

Throughout the season, the women of Marias have become the most powerful characters, and we’re glad that they all survived the brief saga. And yes, we do firmly believe that Lucilia is still alive and well. Because if we’ve learned anything from the show and comic books in general, it’s this: If there isn’t a body, then you can assume that character is still alive. (And we’re using Avery’s brief venture with the Rot after Lucilia and Maria ambushed him as proof of this theory.)

Then, there’s Jason Woodrue, who took an even more villainous metamorphic journey. Beyond his physical transformation into the monster from Caroline’s dreams, Floronic Man, the series finale illustrates the monster Woodrue has become well before he visibly changes into a foliage-covered foe.

There’s something truly creepy but enduring about Woodrue’s descent into becoming a monster. He represses all his scientific research and knowhow for a feeble attempt to help his wife. Cooking a plant-man’s organs isn’t exactly a scientific experiment, but this shows how desperate Woodrue has become. His judgment is so misguided that he tries to pass this off as some form of viable medical cure.

The filet o’ Green serves to exaggerate how much Woodrue disavows science during his villainous transformation. Instead of taking Caroline to a hospital to help counter her symptomatic overdose, he holds her hostage and experiments on her. In fact, this kidnapping horror story only shows how wicked Woodrue is. Because even in his attempts to help his wife, he hurts and threatens her wellbeing. Starting from a man defined by science and reason, this character development in the finale shows how much Woodrue has changed even before he visually turned into Floronic Man.

Despite our various lingering questions, “Loose Ends” still gives us closure through Floronic Man’s long-foreshadowed reveal and through every character’s departure. Still, Alec Holland has the most momentous conclusion.

The show’s take on Alec Holland’s death deviates a bit from Alan Moore’s Burial arc in Saga of the Swamp Thing. While Alec didn’t get a physical burial, in a way, he put himself to rest.  Telling Swampy to live his life as he wishes isn’t just Alec’s way of acknowledging his own death. It’s his way of saying goodbye to Swampy and trusting his consciousness will live on through the Green.

Autonomy and ambiguity are strong in “Loose Ends.” Just as love and horror have flourished throughout the season, Swampy and Abby’s love is the focal point of the episode. Swamp Thing’s fight sequence toward the end of the episode is understandable an entertaining moment. The series didn’t end with Swampy making a house for Abby and himself, but the finale still paid homage to Abby and Swampy’s romance.

By reiterating “another thing we have in common,” which Alec said in the first episode, the finale draws a parallel to Alec and Abby’s heart-to-heart in his lab. However, this was never really a love story about Alec and Abby. It was always Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane’s love story. Unlike Dan Cassidy/Blue Devil, who escaped Marais to start his own journey only after saying goodbye to his friend Liz, Abby and Swampy got a different form of closure.

Rather than parting ways, Abby and Swampy got to start their life together. Though most of the other characters started their unique transformation by themselves, Swampy and Abby started their vague journeys together. And that somehow makes their relationship even more powerful. While Swampy buried his humanity with Alec Holland, he’s still connected to humanity thanks to Abby Arcane. They’re forever connected to each other’s worlds, and there’s something especially beautiful about that concept.

Though we wanted more — and the cast and crew deserved to enact various other Swamp Thing stories — the series finale reads like a bittersweet farewell to the show. Nearly all of the cast members were present in the finale. While we would have loved to see Susie and Harlan have cameos in the final episode, their arcs just act as another loose end in the namesake finale. Perhaps, we’ll just have to give all the characters and stray queries closure in our own fan theories.

Throughout its short lifespan as a DC Universe series, it’s remarkable how much the cast members embody their characters in every performance, as well as the rebellious spirit of the swamp. To the entire cast and crew, thank you for bringing Swamp Thing and the Green to life.