The Eternaut Ending Explained: The Apocalypse's Cause & Who The "Real Enemy" Is (original) (raw)

Published May 1, 2025, 9:11 PM EDT

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Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Eternaut.Netflix's The Eternaut ends with a confusing cliffhanger that not only teases one of the biggest potential reveals in the series but also hints at how the overarching story will unfold in the next installment. Based on Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López's comic book of the same name, The Eternaut initially comes off as a typical Netflix post-apocalyptic show where an unexplained event kills nearly the entire human population in the world. With what follows, the surviving humans face the terrors of paranoia and the pain of grief as they watch the world around them crumble.

However, almost midway through its runtime, The Eternaut takes an intriguing turn when it hints at the possibility of an alien invasion. While most alien invasion movies and shows walk through all-out wars between humans and extraterrestrial threats, The Eternaut intentionally keeps viewers in the dark about the identity of the "real enemy" to make them feel as clueless as the main characters. Only a few minutes before its final credits start rolling, The Eternaut season 1 gives a glimpse of the overarching threat and hints at the story that lies ahead.

What Controls The Giant Bugs & The Humans In The Eternaut's Ending?

A Human-Like Alien Creature Manipulates Both Beings

In its early arcs, The Eternaut makes it hard not to believe that the central alien invasion is led by several giant beetle-like creatures that work in unison to end humanity and take over Earth. However, the show soon surprises the viewer by featuring a scene in which a human walks through a tunnel filled with the giant bugs. Instead of attacking the human, the beetles surprisingly move out of his way, hinting that he, too, may somehow be connected to the aliens.

...Juan finally sees the forest for the trees when he realizes that most people at Campo de Mayo are being controlled by an eerie alien threat.

Things get even stranger when Juan and the crew arrive at Campo de Mayo base and notice how many men in the military are acting oddly detached and recruiting younger folks and training them. Despite growing increasingly suspicious, Juan buries his doubts and complies with the military and their mission of sending an encouraging radio signal to the city before everything starts making sense. In The Eternaut season 1's final moments, Juan finally sees the forest for the trees when he realizes that most people at Campo de Mayo are being controlled by an eerie alien threat.

Related

The Eternaut Cast & Character Guide

Netflix's adaptation of The Eternaut, an Argentinian graphic novel, features a star-studded cast of actors who bring life to the post-apocalypse.

The final arc even gives a glimpse of the alien being, who seems to have several fingers and uses some unnerving form of music to establish control over humans and the bugs. Although the show does not reveal how many aliens have arrived on Earth, it confirms that the bugs were merely weapons used by the main human-like alien being. The alien's purpose is also not revealed in The Eternaut season 1, but it seems possible that it either needs humanity's help to ward off a greater threat or is trying to invade the entire planet.

Juan's Mysterious Visions & Déjà Vu In The Eternaut Explained

Juan Seems To Be Stuck In A Time Loop

Juan screaming in The Eternaut

Almost throughout The Eternaut season 1's runtime, Juan gets strange visions that make him feel like he has lived through the present moment before. The series initially establishes that Juan's PTSD is making him experience the strange phenomenon. However, the ending moments of the Netflix sci-fi TV show hint that there is more to his visions than meets the eye. Before the finale reveals the alien's creepy hand, Juan experiences déjà vu and claims he has seen the exact same sequence of events play out before.

The show does not delve too deep into explaining what is happening to Juan, but his experience can be seen as a visual representation of the repetitive cycles of PSTD one faces after seeing immense tragedy and loss during times of war. Apart from being an effective metaphor, Juan's déjà vu also hints that, as the show's title suggests, he is eternally drifting through space and time while struggling to figure out how he can save his family.

His visions could be similar to what Amy Adams' Dr. Louise experiences in Denis Villeneuve's Arrivalafter coming in contact with an alien species. Just like Louise, Juan seems to be seeing visions of the past, present, and future simultaneously, leading him to believe he has been through the present before. He might eventually use the same ability to save his family and understand the true motives of the overarching alien threat.

What Is Up With Juan's Daughter, Clara, In The Eternaut's Closing Scene?

Clara, Too, Seemingly Joins The Alien's Army

Mora Fisz as Clara Salvo in The Eternaut

Image via Netflix

Juan gets another vision in The Eternaut's closing scene in which his daughter, Clara, stands in line with a group of humans at the military camp and aims her weapon at a target. This seems to establish that she, too, will eventually fall prey to the alien's mind control and become a part of its human army. However, since Juan has already foreseen his daughter's potential future, he might try to race against time and prevent the alien from controlling her.

Many previous moments in the show hinted that, deep down, Clara was always under the alien's control. For instance, after she returned home to her parents, she had little to no memories of how she made her way back and what happened to her friends. Yet, much later, she claimed that her two friends were waiting for her and that she had promised them she would return to help them. Clara's behavior almost seems similar to Lucas', where she partially seems to be under the alien's spell while still retaining some of her own autonomy as a human.

The Alien Invasion's Stages In The Eternaut Explained: What Caused The Apocalypse

The Invasion Was A Well-Orchestrated Attack

Instead of directly confronting humanity, the overarching alien species in The Eternaut seems to begin the invasion by first shifting the Earth's magnetic poles, which leads to the emission of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Most humans perish after coming in contact with these particles, putting humanity in a disadvantaged position from the beginning. Soon, humans lose access to almost all technology and all modern pieces of transportation also stop functioning.

With most communication and transportation infrastructure down, humans lose their ability to work in a union, which triggers divides and leads to widespread paranoia and distrust. After creating effective divisions, the aliens start the first phase of the invasion by attacking survivors with giant beetles. After breaking humanity's will to fight back and resist, the alien species adopts mind control to manipulate the masses and make them subservient to their will.

How The Eternaut Season 1's Ending Sets Up Season 2

The Eternaut Season 1 Leaves Many Questions Answered

The Eternaut season 1 takes the massive risk of ending on a highly ambiguous note, where it is hard to foresee where it is going. This benefits the series because it establishes that it is unlike most other predictable alien invasion movies and shows. At the same time, it also potentially harms the show because most viewers unfamiliar with its source material would want to have a semblance of understanding of its storyline before anticipating its next installment.

The original The Eternaut was first published as a comic strip in the anthology magazine Hora Cero Semanal between 1957 and 1959.

While only time will tell whether The Eternaut's season 2 will see the light of day, the show's cliffhanger ending perfectly sets the stage for the next installment. After season 1, it seems like the series still has a lot to explore and answer, especially when it comes to Juan's visions and the alien's motives. Argentine actor Ricardo Darín, who plays Juan in The Eternaut season 1, has also hinted (via Forbes) that the show will "aim higher" in season 2 if Netflix ends up renewing it, which raises even more curiosity surrounding what lies ahead in the show.

The Eternaut

8_/10_

Release Date

April 30, 2025

Survivors navigate a ravaged Buenos Aires after an alien attack in this adaptation of the famous 1950s Argentine comic strip.

Network

Netflix

Cast

Dante Mastropierro, Jorge Sesán, Ricardo Darín, Carla Peterson, César Troncoso, Andrea Pietra, Ariel Staltari, Marcelo Subiotto, Orianna Cárdenas, Andrea Strenitz, Daniela Pal, Cecilia Cambiaso, Maria Bruno, Alejandro Russek, Augusto Scalise, Natalia Giardinieri, Mora Fisz, Guillermo Jacubowicz, Aron Park, Ricardo Merkin, Claudia Schijman, Byron Barbieri, Gabriel Fernández, Charly Velasco, Pablo Cura

Directors

Bruno Stagnaro

Writers

Ariel Staltari, Bruno Stagnaro, Gabriel Stagnaro

Main Genre

Drama

Creator(s)

Bruno Stagnaro

Producers

Hugo Sigman, Leticia Cristi, Matías Mosteirín

Seasons

1