Netflix’s Below Ending Explained: Does the Giant Squid Survive and What Do the Final Icebergs Mean?

Netflix’s six-part thriller Below turns the quiet fishing community of Snook’s Arm, Newfoundland, into the setting of a mystery that stretches back several decades. Created by Jesse McKeown, the series stars Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney, a widowed father whose family has spent generations making a living from the sea. When an enormous iceberg appears near the town’s harbor, a series of unexplained incidents brings Calvin into contact with marine biologist Dr. Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis). What begins as an investigation into a mysterious underwater creature gradually exposes the circumstances surrounding Calvin’s father’s disappearance and a much larger conspiracy threatening the community.

The final episode brings these two mysteries together, revealing why the creature has remained close to Snook’s Arm and what the influential Crocker family stands to gain from the town’s proposed relocation. Calvin ultimately finds a way to protect his hometown without destroying the enormous squid, although the outcome is hardly a straightforward victory. The discovery of additional icebergs in the closing scene suggests that the problems facing the community are far from over.

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What Is the Giant Iceberg in Below?

The iceberg that appears outside Snook’s Arm is initially treated as an unusual natural occurrence, particularly because Calvin has already been collecting iceberg ice to support his struggling business. However, its arrival coincides with disturbing activity in the surrounding waters, including the disappearance of fishing vessels and unusual symptoms among residents who have come into contact with contaminated ice. Fonda’s investigation reveals that the substance covering the formation is connected to an enormous, previously unidentified cephalopod living beneath the surface. Her early theory is that the creature has produced the gelatinous material as a way of protecting its territory.

The truth becomes clear when Fonda examines samples containing developing eggs. The iceberg is not simply an obstacle that the creature happens to be protecting, but the location of its nest. The giant squid is female, and her behavior throughout the series has been driven largely by an instinct to protect her offspring. This discovery changes the meaning of several earlier incidents, particularly those involving people who approached or disturbed the formation.

Fonda also establishes that the creature belongs to a species adapted to the extremely cold waters of the Deep Arctic. Rising ocean temperatures and changing conditions in its original habitat have pushed it southward, eventually bringing it into the waters surrounding Newfoundland. Unfortunately, Snook’s Arm is not a suitable environment for the squid’s reproductive cycle because the water is too warm for its eggs to develop successfully. The creature has found a temporary refuge, but it cannot provide the conditions necessary for her young to survive.

How Does Calvin Save Snook’s Arm?

By the finale, the military has decided that the creature presents an unacceptable risk to the community. An evacuation begins, with the authorities preparing an airstrike that could also cause extensive damage to the harbor. Calvin recognizes that such an operation would destroy the very infrastructure his family and neighbors depend upon for their livelihoods. Having already lost his childhood home during a previous resettlement, he is unwilling to abandon another community without attempting to protect it.

Instead of leaving aboard the evacuation helicopter, Calvin chooses to remain in Snook’s Arm and develop an alternative solution. His decision prompts Wade (Charlie Heaton), Mary (Ruby Stokes), Jay (Rohan Campbell), and other family members to stay behind and help. Calvin realizes that the squid’s attachment to the harbor is directly connected to her eggs, meaning she has little reason to remain if the nest can be moved elsewhere. His experience harvesting icebergs gives him an advantage that the military’s resources cannot provide.

The Penneys work together to break the formation into manageable sections and construct a large net capable of securing the remaining nest. Mary helps weaken the ice from the shoreline, while Calvin and Wade use their boats to move the structure away from the harbor. Their efforts succeed, allowing the creature to follow her eggs into deeper waters without posing an immediate danger to the town. Although Jim Crocker continues pressuring the military to proceed with the operation, the lieutenant refuses to authorize an unnecessary strike.

Calvin’s final encounter with the squid brings an unexpectedly quiet resolution to their long history. As he releases the nest, the creature moves alongside his boat, giving him an opportunity to see her without the fear that has shaped his memories since childhood. He finally understands that both of them have spent their lives trying to protect their families while circumstances beyond their control threaten their homes. The creature responsible for so much of his suffering is no longer simply something he needs to overcome.

Does the Giant Squid Survive? What Happens to Her Eggs?

Calvin successfully protects the giant squid from the military operation, and the creature is still alive when he releases her nest into deeper water. However, this does not mean that she will survive indefinitely or that her reproductive efforts will succeed. Fonda explains that many cephalopods reproduce only once during their lifetimes, with females eventually exhausting their remaining energy while caring for their eggs. The squid’s future is therefore closely connected to a reproductive process that is already approaching its natural conclusion.

The more unfortunate revelation concerns her offspring. Despite the effort to relocate the nest, Fonda confirms that the eggs cannot survive because the surrounding water is too warm. The series does not offer a successful hatching or suggest that Calvin’s intervention has solved the ecological problem responsible for the creature’s arrival. Her eventual passing is strongly implied through Fonda’s explanation of the species’ life cycle, even though the finale focuses more on her release than on explicitly showing her final moments.

This outcome makes Calvin’s decision particularly meaningful. He cannot restore the creature’s original habitat or guarantee the survival of her offspring, but he can prevent an unnecessary confrontation and allow her to return to the open sea. His actions represent a significant change from the man who spent much of his life associating the ocean with loss. By helping the creature rather than treating her as an enemy, Calvin finally finds some measure of peace with the events of his childhood.

Why Do the Crockers Want Snook’s Arm?

The giant squid is not the only threat to Snook’s Arm, and Calvin’s investigation into his family’s past reveals how closely the town’s economic troubles are connected to the Crocker business empire. The family controls important parts of the local economy while presenting its support for resettlement as a practical response to declining employment opportunities. Residents are offered financial compensation to leave, an arrangement that initially appears attractive to those struggling to make ends meet. However, the Crockers have a much more profitable reason for wanting control of the land.

Calvin uncovers evidence involving valuable copper and cobalt deposits, exposing the economic interests behind the proposed relocation. The discovery also forces him to reconsider the earlier resettlement of Little Pot Rock, where his family lost their home in 1986. What he once regarded as an unavoidable hardship now appears connected to a wider pattern of decisions that benefited powerful business interests at the expense of ordinary residents. The Crockers have been able to influence the town’s future partly because the people living there do not know the true financial value of their property.

Jim Crocker sees the military operation as an opportunity to accelerate his plans. If the harbor is rendered unusable, the economic argument for remaining in Snook’s Arm becomes considerably weaker, potentially making residents more willing to accept relocation. Calvin’s success in moving the squid’s nest therefore undermines the Crockers as much as it protects the community. With the harbor intact, the townspeople retain a stronger position from which to resist the proposed deal.

The ending does not suggest that the Crockers have abandoned their ambitions. Their initial effort has been disrupted, but they are already working toward another vote, and their interest in the mineral deposits remains unchanged. The crucial difference is that the residents now understand why their land is valuable. Calvin has not permanently secured Snook’s Arm’s future, but he has prevented the community from being pressured into a decision without knowing what is really at stake.

Do Calvin and Fonda Get Together? What Happens to Wade?

Alongside the central mystery, Below follows the difficult relationship between Calvin and his youngest son, Wade. Calvin has spent years discouraging Wade from working on fishing boats because he fears that his son could experience the same fate as Leo Penney. His protective instincts have created resentment between them, leaving Wade desperate to demonstrate that he is capable of taking responsibility for himself. Their experiences during the crisis finally give Calvin an opportunity to recognize how much his fears have affected their relationship.

By the finale, Calvin acknowledges Wade’s abilities and begins treating him as someone who can make his own decisions. Their reconciliation becomes especially clear when they return to the water together aboard the High Hopes, with Wade taking control of the boat. It is a modest moment compared with the extraordinary events that preceded it, but it represents an important change in their family. Calvin no longer feels compelled to keep his son away from the ocean simply because of what happened to his father.

There is also a suggestion that Calvin may have found an unexpected romantic connection with Fonda. After the immediate crisis has passed, the two share a friendly conversation in which Calvin asks whether she will be around later and offers to show her the town. Fonda responds positively, leaving open the possibility that their relationship could develop beyond the professional partnership that brought them together. The series stops short of confirming a romance, although their shared experiences have clearly brought them closer.

Why Are There More Icebergs at the End of Below?

The final scene initially seems to offer Calvin and Wade the peaceful future they have been working toward. With their relationship repaired and the town temporarily safe, father and son return to the water to continue the family’s livelihood. However, their journey takes an unsettling turn when they discover an extraordinary number of icebergs stretching across the horizon. Calvin’s expression changes as he realizes that the unusual formation he encountered earlier may have been part of something much larger.

The obvious possibility is that other giant cephalopods have also migrated away from their original habitats, potentially bringing additional nests into the waters surrounding Snook’s Arm. After Fonda’s discovery about the first iceberg, the sight of so many similar structures naturally raises questions about what might be concealed beneath them. However, the finale does not confirm that every iceberg contains eggs or that an entire population of giant squid is approaching the town. The image remains deliberately ambiguous rather than establishing another immediate encounter with the creatures.

There is also a broader meaning behind the closing shot. Earlier in the series, Calvin welcomes the prospect of more icebergs because collecting their ice has become one of the few remaining ways he can support his family. By the end, the same sight carries a very different significance, reflecting the environmental changes that have disrupted both the town’s economy and the creature’s natural habitat. What once represented a business opportunity now reminds him that the conditions around Snook’s Arm are changing in ways he cannot control.

The ending therefore offers two different outcomes for Calvin. On a personal level, he has saved his community, repaired his relationship with Wade, and finally moved beyond the fear surrounding his father’s disappearance. Yet Snook’s Arm still faces pressure from the Crockers, while the arrival of more icebergs raises questions that no single family can resolve. The final image suggests that Calvin has learned how to confront the problems directly in front of him, even if the larger changes taking place beyond the harbor remain impossible to predict.