Following the success of Mike Flanagan’s previousHauntingseries,The Haunting of Bly Manorpremiered on Netflix in 2020. The series starred a number of previous Flanagan collaborators, including Henry Thomas, Carla Gugino, Victoria Pedretti, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who appeared in the 2018 seriesThe Haunting of Hill House. Both feature a haunted estate that traps those who die on the premises and chronicle a harrowing tale of family and the toll of grief.
While both series intertwine tales of ghosts, family, and grief,The Haunting of Bly Manoraccomplishes this primarily with its exploration of found family. The resident employees at Bly who devotedly care for the children lead the series, and it is their stories that provideThe Haunting of Bly Manorwith a bittersweet ending that is equally heartwarming and gut-wrenching. Its ending blends the lives of these caregivers with the ghosts on the estate and their relationship with one another.
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What is Bly Manor?
Flanagan’s Netflix series is adapted from the work of Henry James, primarilyThe Turn of the Screw. However,The Haunting of Bly Manorisn’t a faithful adaptation of the work, but an expansion of it. As an estate, Bly is haunted bythe ghosts who reside on the premises. The souls of those who die on the Bly estate become confined there, left wandering the estate with no means of escape. For brief moments of time, the ghosts are able to inhabit a living body, but if invited, are able to take permanent residence. A living individual may invite the ghost into their body by uttering the words, “It’s you. It’s me. It’s us.” Once inhabited by the ghost, the living person doesn’t feel the pain inflicted upon them, nor do they have any memory of it. Ghosts that remain on the Bly estate for too long suffer beyond their inability to leave, as their faces and sense of self wither away.
Who are the Wingraves?
The Haunting of Bly Manorintroduced five Wingraves who preside over the Bly estate. Dominic (Matthew Holness) andCharlotte Wingrave (Alex Essoe)are the parents of Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora (Amelie Bea Smith). Dominic and Charlotte are only seen in flashbacks, as the pair died in an undisclosed accident off of the Bly estate, disabling their ghosts from lingering on the property. Dominic’s brother Henry (Henry Thomas) visits the family often and is revealed as Charlotte’s lover andpotential father to Flora. In the wake of their deaths, Henry becomes responsible for the children, and his inability to confront the property and the children lead him to hire Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) to care for them.
Who is the Lady in the Lake?
The Lady in the Lake is the most feared figure inThe Haunting of Bly Manor,as she always appears suddenly and often drags the living off toward the lake. Episode 8 revealed the Lady in the Lake asViola Willoughby (Kate Siegel)who grew ill several centuries prior to the Wingraves' Bly residence and was killed by her sister. Viola’s spirit, trapped inside a chest filled with gifts for her daughter, later kills her sister in retaliation. Afraid of the chest’s curses, Viola’s husband disposes of it in the lake, confining her there. She then wanders the Bly property in search of her daughter, harming those that cross her path.
How Does the Series End?
In order to protect Flora who Viola has taken as her daughter, Dani invites Viola to enter her body. Freeing the souls there, Henry returns to Bly to care for Miles and Flora, while Dani and Jamie (Amelia Eve)begin a life together in America. However, years later, Dani is haunted by Viola’s reflection and frequently finds herself on the brink of harming Jamie without realizing it. Dani ultimately decides to return to Bly and give herself to the lake in order to protect Jamie, taking Viola’s place as the Lady in the Lake.
In the end, the series returns tothe narration that initially frames the storyof Dani who was hired as the Wingrave children’s au pair, and the circumstances of the Bly estate in which they reside. The woman telling the story (Carla Gugino) is revealed to be an older Jamie and the wedding she’s attending is Flora’s. Several of the others from Bly, including Miles, Owen (Rahul Kohli), and Henry are seen at Flora’s wedding, though neither child has any memory of what Jamie has recited in the story, failing to realize it as their own. After the festivities, Jamie retires for the night. She keeps the front door ajar and checks the reflections in the mirrors and water pools she has drawn. Given Dani’s past sightings of Viola,Jamie hopes to catch a glimpse of Daniwho may be haunting her in a tender way. Just before the series cuts to black, a hand appears on Jamie’s shoulder as she drifts off to sleep.
This hand is suggested to belong to Dani who continues to watch over and adore Jamie. Even though Jamie isn’t awake to see Dani, her persistence in pooling water in the sink and tub with the mere hope of seeing Dani, attests to the strength of their love. As the Lady in the Lake, Dani protects those from encounteringa dangerous spirit haunting the groundsbut also frees herself of her own torment. Her fear of harming Jamie, any harm coming to the children, and the past haunting of her fiancé whose death inspired her initial trip to London, have all been remedied in her sacrifice. Unconsumed by guilt or vengeance as Viola had been, Dani offers Bly a breath of fresh air where those who visit are no longer in danger, and Dani is consumed by love from those who keep her memory alive.
