‘The Survivors' Twist Ending Explained—Who Killed Bronte And Gabby?

Forbes

10-06-2025

Shannon Berry as Bronte in "The Survivors."
Courtesy of Netflix
Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Survivors on Netflix.
Netflix's new Australian mystery thriller The Survivors is climbing up the platform's streaming charts. Read on to dive into the wild ending of the six-episode limited series, including the answers to who killed Bronte and Gabriel, and whether the killer was finally brought to justice.
The Survivors takes place in Evelyn Bay, Tasmania, Australia – a town still haunted by a tragedy that happened more than 15 years prior. Toby Gilroy and Finn Elliott died during a storm after taking their boat to rescue Finn's younger brother, Kieran Elliot, who was at the towering caves that border the bay.
Kieran's mom, Verity, blames him for his brother's death and believes he was careless for going to the caves and calling Finn for help. What Kieran has failed to tell his mother is that he wasn't the one who summoned Finn; it was Olivia Birch, who was with him that night.
Kieran departs Evelyn Bay for Sydney, taking his father's advice that if he didn't leave his hometown, his mother would "destroy" him. Years later, he returns with his partner, Mia Chang, and their daughter. Mia also grew up in Evelyn Bay and suffered an immense loss on the day Finn died in the storm. She lost her best friend, Gabby, and there are still many unanswered questions swirling about her whereabouts, including whether she's alive or dead.
Unfortunately for Mia and Gabby's loved ones, Evelyn Bay has only really cared about investigating the deaths of Toby and Finn, refusing to find out what happened to Gabby. Bronte, a photographer in town working on a project about the accidents, takes it upon herself to look into Gabby's disappearance further.
'In 2025, you cannot make a show about a young woman being murdered without trying to understand the context of that, the preconditions of that,' Showrunner Tony Ayres told Netflix's Tudum, adding that it's 'the kind of society we live in, which valorizes male deaths, but ignores female deaths.'
Gabby wanted to go to the caves to see Kieran on the day of the storm. Kieran's friend, Sean Gilroy, who knew the caves well, brought her there and led Gabby into the deepest and darkest part. The two carved their names into the side of the caverns. Sean kissed Gabby, but she resisted the kiss, and he became agitated.
'I want to go home now,' Gabby said to Sean. The caves were rapidly overflowing with water, and there was no way she would be able to navigate an exit without him. But it turns out Sean abandoned Gabby and left her there.
Sean later told Kieran that instead of helping Gabby get to safety, he left her to die alone in the caves to drown. 'I felt stupid, so I bolted," Sean admitted to his friend.
'All I could think of was … when you found out she'd dogged me … you'd laugh yourselves sick," Sean also told Kieran, explaining his fear of how his friends would react to his rejection.
Sean's father, Julian, also knows what his son did that night, and he tries to cover it up – even after seeing how her disappearance impacted her family. Julian was the one who threw Gabby's backpack into the bay to make it look like she drowned in the sea and not in the caves.
After learning what happened to Gabby, Kieran feels a sense of guilt for helping perpetuate the toxic environment where his friend could do something so horrible to cover up the truth. Mia reminds him, 'What Sean did was because of Sean" and asks him to forgive himself. 'You have to forgive yourself, Kieran. For everything.'
Sean killed Bronte in The Survivors after she pieced together that he had killed Gabby. Bronte traveled to Evelyn Bay to investigate Gabby's disappearance. When she went to the caves where Gabby died, she discovered the rock Gabby and Sean had carved their names into and began taking photos.
'Most people have forgotten about Gabby,' Bronte says to Sean. 'All the memorial stuff is all about the men. Why isn't she included?'
However, Sean, not ready to take responsibility for his actions 15 years later, isn't going to let this information come to light. Sean attacks Bronte and beats her to death on the beach. He drags her body into the ocean and runs when he sees Kieran's dad, Brian Elliott, walking toward them. Sadly, Brian is unable to save Bronte despite performing CPR.
"The Survivors" on Netflix.
Aedan O'Donnell/Netflix
In the final episode of The Survivors, Sean tries to kill Kieran inside the caves after telling his friends all of his secrets. Kieran manages to survive, and Sean is finally held accountable and arrested for the deaths of Gabby Birch and Bronte Laidler.
Gabby's mother, Trish, can finally receive the closure she needs after 15 years. In the final scene, the families of the victims gather together to remember their loved ones and throw flowers into the sea.
While the ending of The Survivors isn't necessarily a happy one, Ayres told Netflix that it plants a 'seed of hope.' He continued, 'If we keep working together and if we drop our barriers and shields and all the things that keep us apart, then we might get to a better place.'
The Survivors is streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.