Monster: The Ed Gein Story ending explained – Does Ed die?

Series star Charlie Hunnam has said, "This is going to be the really human, tender, unflinching, no-holds-barred exploration of who Ed was and what he did. But who he was being at the center of it, rather than what he did.”

We see how Gein's crimes have influenced Hollywood throughout the season, with the likes of Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) all using his story as inspiration for certain characters.

But in the finale, we also see how Gein's prolific, gruesome crimes have had an impact on serial killers and crime as we know it. What exactly unfolds in the final episode of the crime drama Monster: The Ed Gein Story? Read on to find out.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story ending explained

The final episode starts with us being transported to Lake Sammamish in Washington, where two girls are kidnapped and held captive by a faceless man. He sexually assaults and kills them both, returning to the scene of the crime some time after to visit their corpses.

We then go to Salem, Oregon, where the FBI's behavioural analysis team is investigating this very criminal and trying to get intel that will help them nab him. They visit Jerry Brudos in prison, who informs them of his own gruesome crimes and mentions Ed Gein as being his inspiration.

With Gein still alive, they decide to visit him to see if this serial killer, who has influenced so many, can impart any wisdom for them to find this notorious unknown murderer. He gives them some intel on the kinds of saws he used and says that if they want to find their guy, they're going to have to look for someone who is buying a very particular kind of saw and blade.

At the same time, we see how mass murderer Richard Speck navigates his time in prison, having sex with inmates in return for money or drugs. His inspiration for his crimes is none other than Gein.

Meanwhile, Gein is struggling in Central State Hospital, with there being cutbacks to the staffing, and now reckoning with the fact that this is a punishment for the crimes he once committed. We see how he gets letters from Speck, who is vulgar in his descriptions of his crimes and seems to want to bond over their shared crimes.

Gein, a fan of crime novels and magazines, reaches out to a sheriff who comes to visit him so that he can help him with a case. He tells the deputy that a man named Ted actually sent a letter to Speck, and Gein informs the officer of this. The next day, Gein sees on the news that the murderer has finally been caught, and it is none other than Ted Bundy.

Happy that he was able to help catch the killer, Gein then goes to sleep, but in his slumber, he has a dream of being wheeled through the hallways of his hospital to a crowd of people, including nurses, doctors and serial killers who have long adored him, including Charles Manson, Brudos, Speck and Ed Kemper.

When he wakes up, he talks to the nurse about Alfred Hitchcock, who has recently died and remarks that Anthony Perkins looked nothing like him, also adding that he never made a penny from Psycho.

But the nurse has worse news for him – he's actually got lung cancer and it's terminal. As the episode progresses, we see how Gein struggles with his illness but is paid a visit by Adeline (Suzanna Son). Gein confronts her about her damning reports against him, but she admits that she struggles with mental illness, also saying that she has bouts of mania just like Gein. They admit that they were the same after all.

Does Ed die at the end of Monster: The Ed Gein Story?

Yes, Ed Gein's death is depicted in Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

In the show, Gein is increasingly tired as time goes on, and one day watching TV starts having hallucinations as if he's in an MTV music video of his own. Being wheeled once again through the hallways of his hospital, he's confronted again by nurses, doctors and serial killers who are happy and thankful to see him.

All dancing and effectively cheering him on, he comes to the staircase where he sees his mother, Augusta, waiting for him at the top. Able to walk up to her, she finally tells him how proud she is of him and that he made something of himself, being the influence for movies and serial killers.

"You changed the whole world," she tells him. He then has a flashback of the pair of them running through their home laughing, as well as Augusta brushing his hair while he lies on her lap.

Once she says that she could never be prouder of him, she says for him to go and rest now. We then see Gein take what appears to be his last breath in bed, shedding a tear as he does so.

The next scene pans to the cemetery where Gein is buried, with kids defacing his gravestone and dressed for Halloween. One teenager notices someone watching them, and we see that it's Anthony Perkins, with him then also being chased by Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs and then Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The very final scene of the series is a flashback to Gein and his mother sitting on their porch, with Augusta saying to him: "Only a mother could love you." It's different in tone than previous times she's said it, with her smiling as she does so, pointing at the fact that this could be a representation of Gein's version of heaven, rather than reality.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is now streaming on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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