Devil in Ohio is a suspense thriller based on the book of the same name by Daria Polatin. It is directed by John Fawcett, Steven A. Adelson, Leslie Hope, and Brad Anderson. There are 8 episodes in total with a runtime of about 40-50 minutes.
The synopsis of the show reads, “Determined to protect a young patient who escaped a mysterious cult, a psychiatrist takes the girl in, putting her own family — and life — in danger.” Starring Emily Deschanel as Dr Suzanne Mathis, Sam Jaeger as Peter Mathis, Gerardo Celasco as Detective Lopez, Madeleine Arthur as Mae, Xaria Dotson as Jules Mathis, Alisha Newton as Helen, Naomi Tan as Dani, Djouliet Amara as Tatiana and Jason Sakaki as Isaac.
Devil in Ohio Ending Explained
In the last 2 episodes, the night of the Harvest Dance brings a full moon and chaos as Suzanne desperately tries to keep Mae safe at her school prom. She is running for the prom queen and eventually wins it but on the stage, she is given white roses instead of red carnations. Alex realizes the cult’s powerful influence as the Police department head makes him close the case.
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Looking at the white roses, Mae falls into her traumatic trance and soon disappears from the venue, leaving Jules worried for her life. And in the start of the last episode 8, we see Suzanne following Mae to the Amon county compound, where the Dodd family and their followers prepare for a deadly ritual.
Mae’s mother, Abigail, tells Mae that she always believed she would return and that their people will be saved as long as she is willing. Suzanne also reaches the county after leaving a voicemail to detective Lopez, so he could bring in the help. The sheriff of the county is aware of Suzanne’s intentions and eventually finds her sneaking around.
But while trying to catch her, she sprays at him, they get into a brief scuffle and inadvertently start a fire around the cult’s church. She also spots a black cloak in an empty room and dons it to become part of the group without any suspicions. On the other hand, Peter arrives at the school and takes the girls to their home and notices the cult’s mark on the door, thus they turn back and go to the apartment he was working at.
The ceremony for Mae also begins and she is wearing a white dress and the feathered crow hat. Malachi Dodd speaks to the congregation, talking about Lucifer and suffering, just then the warning bells go off, as the church is on fire. The cult members run to save their church first, leaving Mae and her mother on the platform.
This is the right moment for Suzanne as she tries to get to Mae by climbing the platform, but is haunted by her childhood trauma. While Mae tells Abigail that she does not want to die asks her mother to join her. Abigail feels the outside world is evil and corrupted and she would never leave the cult. The wooden platform is set on fire by Noah, so Mae and Suzanne jump down to save themselves.
Suzanne is grabbed by Noah as he tries to kill her but Mae grabs a shovel and knocks Noah to the ground. She also begs her mother to get down from the platform, but she chooses to sacrifice herself for Lucifer and decides to stay on the burning platform to die. When the cult members return and see that Abigail is sacrificing herself in the flames. Malachi Dodd turns the situation by telling them that this is a genuine sacrifice and they are saved.
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Meanwhile, detective Lopez arrives and while confronting the sheriff, he ends up shooting him dead. Suzanne and Mae meet up with Lopez and are rescued, marking the end of their troubles. Cut to Suzanne talking about her life after the incident to her therapist and she has decided to make some changes and take a break from her job and is focusing on working on herself.
The family is however separated temporarily, with the three daughters living with their dad and Mae living with Suzanne. Detective Lopez is also promoted to Lieutenant as his superiors, who might be associated with the cult are removed. When he goes back to Amon County, it is spookily empty hinting that the members have left the place.
However, in the end, twisting information is revealed by him to Suzanne, telling her that the CCTV footage shows Mae bringing the white roses herself and then replacing them with the red carnations, she even drove to the cult willingly. This is a shocking revelation and would mean it was all planned by Mae as she expected Suzzane to come after and save her.
She realises that she had been manipulated and tricked by Mae who wanted to stay with her and that’s exactly what she got. Followed by a shot of the ritual that Mae had set up in the woods, which has evolved even more as her and Suzanne’s picture is placed in the middle of it. Mae might be out of the cult but the ideology still lives in her mind and she might go to any extent to get what she wants.
Devil in Ohio is currently streaming on Netflix.
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