Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Revival season 1, episode 8.As Syfy’sRevivalseason 1 nears its end, the comic book adaptation’s creators have shared some insights into how the show will solve Em’s (Romy Weltman) murder and other lingering mysteries. Almost all thereviews forRevivalhave highlighted the show’s twisty mystery, but it’s been hard to tell how everything will play out.Revival’s creators, however, have hinted at what’s in store for the season 1 finale.
During a group interview withScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier and the cast and crew ofRevivalat San Diego Comic-Con, co-creators Luke Boyce and Aaron B. Koontz spoke about what’s in store for the final three episodes of the Syfy show.Koontz first mentioned thatRevivalseason 1’s finale is building up to some huge reveals about Em’s murder.
Joe Deckelmeier:
I want to talk about that, because episode 8 is kind of like a turning point in this show. There’s martial law, there’s cult chaos, there’s family secrets. How do you map out a season like that to build towards the pressure cooker that we’re leading to in the finale?
Aaron B. Koontz:
It was very difficult, because we had a lot that we wanted to do, and the comics are 47 issues, so there was a lot there to kind of pack in at the same time. But also streamlining this just to really be about the Cypress family, and to really be about the murder mystery. We’re big believers in answering a question with a question, but at a certain point, the mystery box, that J.J. Abrams mystery box of it all, I think you have to eventually see what’s in the box, I will say. So, I can say leading into the finale, we are going to give some pretty big answers that are there, and so that was always something that you want to work backwards from. You know where those climaxes are going to be, you know “the montage” that may or may not be toward the end of our episode, and you want to work backwards of, “How do we get the characters to those positions and earn that? How do we earn the emotion of those moments?” And that was something that was very specifically constructed in that working backwards, and finding those moments of 6, 8, 10, where that all kind of breaks down.
As Koontz noted,Revivalseason 1 is finally reaching its endgame, and the show is getting ready to deliver more answers than questions. Episodes 8, 9, and 10 will give viewers a chance to “see what’s in the mystery box.” Both Boyce and Koontz also noted that the last three episodes ofRevivalseason 1 are going to redefine a lot of the show’s earlier moments, relationships, and events.
Now that we’re heading towards the end of season 1, what can you tease about where the show is going, what we can expect next, especially for a show that’s still building out its world?
Luke Boyce:
Yeah, we’ve got a lot of surprises in store still. I don’t think people are fully prepared for where we’re going to go, and we’re excited about it. Next week is pretty much a flashback episode, a departure episode. It’s going to really explore the Black Bear case, and just how that kind of played out, and what that means to Dana and to the whole family. So, we’re excited about that. We’re excited about 9 and 10, which are crazy, and I think people are going to love them.
Yeah, they’re so fast paced. Again, I think we thought about all this with the audience in mind. For example, Aaron in episode 4 is shot and he dies, so that was something where I’m just going to feel like Aaron’s going to be, I believe this guy’s Em’s killer, maybe, or he’s part of the plan from the get-go. So, I have to give the audience something early, otherwise I’ll be frustrated if I wait 10 episodes to hear that. So it’s like, “What can we give the audience by still pulling back, and asking new questions without giving other ones away?” So it was really fun to kind of do that. And then episode 8 is a flashback episode that also allows us to understand things that have come before it. So, it’s going to recontextualize scenes that you didn’t realize had an entire other meaning, and other things that were going on, and characters' relationships that you had no idea were intersecting. But that will give us the context of that to then understand how it ties back into Em’s murder, and our A-story, and what happened with Revival Day, because they’re all centrally linked, and that was a fun thing to lay out.
Perhaps most interesting is the fact thatLuke Boyce confirmedRevivalepisode 8 will be a flashback episode to provide context about the Black Bear case and more. Aaron B. Koontz also hinted thatRevivalepisodes 8, 9, and 10 are going to tie the entire show together, including Revival Day and Em’s murder and how it all affects thecast ofRevival.
What Revival’s Plans For Its Mysteries Mean For The Syfy Show
Revival’s Last Three Episodes Are Primed To Be Absolutely Exhilarating
Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce’s comments aboutRevivalseason 1’s final three episodes provided a treasure trove of information.Revivalepisode 8, for example, will be a flashback episode to give more context on the Black Bear case.Boyce also noted that episodes 9 and 10 are “crazy” and fast-paced, which indicates thatRevivalseason 1 is going to end on an exciting note.
Koontz in particular also gave a fascinating look into the creative process behindRevival.As Koontz noted, the entirety ofRevivalseason 1 has been crafted with the audience’s perspective in mind. He and Boyce have also been trying to structure the entire season around how to reveal new information in the most satisfying way, which is just further proof that the season finale could be a big hit.
Our Take On Revival’s Mysteries & The Plan For The Final Three Episodes
For weeks now,Revivalhas felt like everything is coming to a head, from Marshal Law in Wausau to plot twists likeDana (Melanie Scrofani) being shot inRevivalepisode 4. These comments from Luke Boyce and Aaron B. Koontz seem to confirm that feeling.It’s clear thatRevivalseason 1 is going to end in a whirlwind of reveals and plot twists, and I couldn’t be more excited for it.
Revival Release Schedule
Episode Title
Release Date (Thursdays @ 10 p.m. ET on Syfy, One Week Later on Peacock)
A Rose and a Thorn
Rend the Veil
August 14
I haven’t read the comicsRevivalis based on, so I’m really looking forward to these mysteries being resolved.I have no idea who killed Em and I don’t know what’s going on with Revival Day, but I’m very confident that Koontz and Boyce can stick the landing. If the ending ofRevivalseason 1 is as good as I hope it’ll be, Syfy may have created one of the best mystery thrillers of 2025.
