Expats ending explained: What happens to Margaret, Hilary and Mercy?

The final episode was more sad in tone, marking a general sense of life grinding down the women at the centre of the story.

But then, their eventual reclamation is marked by a change in pace for the series, as we see that Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue) and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) all come to something of a resolute (happy is too far of a stretch here) ending themselves.

The finale, entitled Home, is an exploration of just that - as we see the three women struggle with their sense of where 'home' actually is.

We see Hilary venture back to the US, Mercy have a slice of home (aka her mother) visit her in Hong Kong and Margaret reckon with the very real prospect of moving back to the US, even though Gus is still missing.

But what do our three protagonists decide on in the end? Read on for a full breakdown of the Expats season finale.

Expats ending explained: What happens to Margaret?

Much of the finale isn't centred on Margaret's story, but the episode does start with Margaret cleaning the apartment she's kept a secret from her family.

The finale saw Margaret having to come to terms with the loss of Gus after not being found, and eventually saw her face the reality of moving back home to the US.

It's a prospect that was floated in the first episode of the series, when Clarke's parents visited and said how much they miss them in America.

Well, the final episode not only sees Margaret and her family preparing for their major move back, but also sees Margaret coming face-to-face once again with Mercy, the woman who she blamed for her son Gus's disappearance.

They meet over lunch in a restaurant and it's there, amid quick scenes interspersed with the faces of all three women, that we realise Mercy and Margaret are finally talking after all this time.

It's a cathartic conversation for both women as they discuss the events of the past year, both still visibly emotional at what happened.

The same kind of conversation is had between Margaret and Hilary, with Margaret apologising for accusing David and explaining that she only did so because she was desperate to find answers anywhere.

She then explains how much the pain of Gus disappearing has consumed her life but that she keeps going in order to find him, and also to be there for her remaining son and daughter.

Eventually, the last scenes of the finale revolve around Margaret's final morning in her Hong Kong home with her family.

The apartment is all packed away, everything is empty and they hurriedly make their way to the airport.

As they work their way through, we also hear Margaret telling Hilary that she has "no home without Gus", and see that she is trailing behind her family in the airport, looking confused and upset.

At the check-in desk, Clarke notices that Margaret doesn't look alright, and she tells her husband that she can't do it. Clarke leads her out of the queue and says that it's OK, whispering to her: "Bring him home."

Margaret tries explaining that she can't leave Gus in Hong Kong, but their daughter Daisy quickly tells her that she hates her. "You're the worst mother in the whole world," she says.

Philip hugs his mother, being pulled away by Clarke, who isn't angry at the decision and tells his children that they'll see Margaret soon.

Margaret then turns to Essie but doesn't say anything. Essie tearfully responds: "I understand. You take care."

Margaret then watches her family walk towards their gate, and the final shot of the series is of Margaret walking by herself through a busy intersection in Hong Kong.

What happens to Mercy?

Much of this final episode deals with Mercy's decisions, and a culmination of sorts. We see that her and Charly are in an official relationship, and that they're both attending the sit-in protests, but it's obvious Mercy hasn't told Charly about her pregnancy.

Despite that, things seem to be looking up for Mercy as she makes her way to work, but then her bubble is burst when her employer says that they received a complaint about Mercy, accusing her of stealing money from a client. Because of that, Mercy is let go from her job.

When arriving back at her flat with Charly, she's surprised to see David there waiting for her. He explains he's been trying to get hold of her, and we learn in their conversation that Mercy is four or five months pregnant.

David offers to pay for an expensive private medical appointment and says he has a right to make a decision about their child - but then, when Mercy challenges him, he gets angry and just hands her a cheque instead.

When going back up to her flat, Charly is getting ready, and Mercy tells her that she's pregnant with David's baby - to Charly's shock.

Charly gets angry when Mercy tries to explain that this is all part of her family curse, telling Mercy that she's actually very lucky as an American expat in Hong Kong compared to others.

Eventually, we see that Mercy is having separate conversations with both Margaret and Hilary, telling them about her pregnancy and about how sorry she is for the harm she's caused in their lives.

Mercy tells Margaret that she feels as though she owes her so much, and that she feels as though she should give her something, eventually tearfully telling Margaret that she's expecting a girl - and is terrified at the prospect already.

At the same time, we see that Mercy's mum has come to visit her in Hong Kong and is shocked to see her daughter pregnant, but quickly goes into overdrive talking about plans for when the baby arrives.

She explains that she'll book them both a ticket back home. Mercy is clearly very angry as she sits on her bed later on, but her mum comes in to hug her, telling her not to be upset, and in that embrace, Mercy completely breaks down sobbing. Her mum brings her some soup and she eventually calms down enough to eat it.

What happens to Hilary?

Like with Mercy, a lot of the finale is centred on Hilary's story as she travels back to America to see her ailing father in hospital.

Once there, she is shocked to see her father's secret family by his bedside, two siblings that were previously kept a secret from her as her father had an affair when travelling to India for work.

At a gathering, Hilary gets to know her half-siblings more, and she learns that he was much more honest and open with them, telling them that he felt "out of control" in America compared to India.

The next day, as her dad is getting prepared for surgery, he is surprised to see Hilary visiting him. In their conversation, he tells Hilary of the benefits of having a big family, and doesn't seem to regret his decisions about his secret family, prompting talk of Hilary having one of her own one day.

Hilary lies and says she's pregnant with a boy, a piece of news that her father thanks her for before his surgery, saying it's given him strength.

But as he's being wheeled out, Hilary tells her father that her baby will grow up knowing everything about him: "Like how you fractured mum's jaw on Mother's Day, how you threw her down the stairs, how none of her rings fit because you broke every single one of her fingers," she says tearfully.

She explains that despite what his other family may think, she'll never forgive or forget what he's done to her and her mother.

The next we see of Hilary is when she arrives back in Hong Kong and David's waiting for her at the gate, but there she freaks out and admits she thinks she's killed him.

She later explains in the car that she thought it was her final words to him that killed him, something she gets upset about - and tells David she's tired of being angry.

She asks David how Mercy is, and it leads to the pair having an honest conversation about their own thinking towards having kids together. It's then that David reveals that Mercy asked him for Hilary's number so that they can meet without David there.

In the supposed three-way conversation, Hilary admits to phoning Mercy's work and complaining about her, which led to her being fired. The pair have a frank conversation about the mistakes they've made and Hilary seems resolute that they've resolved their differences.

We later see Hilary cheerfully buying a large rug in a store on a busy main street, navigating the crowds of people as she's making her way home.

Expats is available on Prime Video. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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