American Primeval Ending, Explained: Is Isaac Dead?

In Netflix’s ‘American Primeval,’ the audience is transported to the 19th-century American West, where the lives of several people cross paths as each tries to find a new life for themselves. The story begins with Sara Rowell and her son Devin, who have left their past following a tragic event that haunts them such that there is no way but forward for them, even though the path is strewn with all sorts of trouble. They want to go to Crooks Springs to meet Devin’s father, but the journey is so challenging that no one is ready to take them along. They join a party of Mormons led by Jacob Pratt, who is newly wedded to Abish. Despite their initial hesitation, they let Sara and Devin tag along.

Things take a bad turn for them when they and a camp they’d joined is slaughtered by a gang of hooded men. Jacob is separated from Abish while the rest of their people are killed. Sara and Devin run for their lives and are saved by Isaac, a solitary man who had refused to guide them to Crooks Springs earlier. He decides to take them back to Fort Bridger, and they are tagged along by a Native American girl named Two Moons. Meanwhile, a gang of bounty hunters sets out to catch Sara for a crime she committed in Philadelphia, as the conflict between the US Army, the Mormon militia, and the Shoshones comes to a head.

How Does Isaac Die?

When Isaac Reed is introduced to Sara and Devin, the man refuses to indulge with them and their journey because he thinks it is too difficult a path, the harsh weather being the least of their problems. However, when the time comes, he takes on the responsibility and leads the way, even when he himself comes close to dying several times. In between this, he also develops a connection with the duo and Two Moons and comes to think of them as his family. Even Sara starts to believe that she and Devin may have a better future with Isaac than Devin’s father in Crooks Springs, the man who left them all those years ago and never looked back.

The only problem is that Isaac has been through too much heartbreak to continue forming connections that will bring him more pain in the future. Despite his affection for the trio, he cannot take them on because he is still reeling from the death of his wife and children, who were murdered when Isaac was trying to find a path that would lead them to a new, safe life. He is not ready to leave them behind, so he tells Sara to take the children to Crooks Springs and do what’s best for them. As he leaves, he sees something in the snow that alerts him to danger. He sees a doll that was last seen in the possession of bounty hunter Virgil and his group.

The previous night, Virgil had captured Sara to claim the massive bounty on her head. However, Isaac attacked and killed him and his group. The only survivor was Virgil’s brother, Lucas. He had always displayed kindness towards people, including Sara. But when he sees his brother stabbed to death by Sara and Isaac, his head is filled with revenge, and he catches up with Sara and her group when they are only half a mile from Crooks Springs. The moment Isaac realizes that Sara and the kids are still in danger, he rushes back to save them. He arrives there just in time to attack Lucas, who has Sara at gunpoint.

The man’s sudden arrival catches Lucas off guard, and he fires a shot, which hits Issac in the chest. However, he doesn’t pay attention to it until he kills Lucas and ensures that Sara and the kids are safe. Seeing that he has been fatally shot and there is no time to get help, Sara sits by Isaac, telling him that he is not alone in his final moments. He thanks her not just for being there for him but also for taking him on the journey that changed him for the better. In his final moments, he thinks about being reunited with his family and crosses over to the other side. When he dies, Sara, Devin, and Two Moons give him a proper Shoshone funeral so he can pass on in peace.

Why Don’t Sara and Devin Go to Crooks Springs? What Happens to Them and Two Moons?

The whole point of the dangerous journey that Sara and Devin make in the six episodes of ‘American Primeval’ is to reach Crooks Springs. They started from Philadelphia, where Sara and Devin were wanted for the murder of a man who had been abusive towards them. Sara was ready to let herself be hanged for the crime, but before that, she wanted to ensure her son’s safety. The only person she could trust with Devin was his father, who lived in Crooks Springs, or at least, that’s what she had heard. The last time she saw him was when Devin was very young. His father left to make a life for himself, and apparently, he did. He made his fortune in gold, and though he never reached out to Sara again, she believed that he would be happy to see his son and would take him in, given the circumstances.

Because there was never a better option, Sara believed that Crooks Springs was the only place where they could be safe. But then, she went through a trying journey where she not only faced all sorts of dangers but also braved them with Isaac’s help. They became so close that she even started to wonder if they’d be better off with Isaac than Devin’s father, who didn’t even know that Sara and Devin were on their way to him. This isn’t the first time that the idea of not going to Crooks Springs has been broached. Despite going forward with his mother’s plan, Devin repeatedly mentions his desire not to see his so-called father and go to California instead. Sara, however, is scared that she will not be able to protect her son on her own. By the end of the journey, her thoughts have changed.

Isaac leaves Sara, Devin, and Two Moons about half a mile from Crooks Springs. He believes there will be no dangers now, but he turns out to be wrong, and while he succeeds in saving Sara and the kids, he dies in the process. Saying goodbye to Issac gives Sara a sense of clarity she didn’t have previously. It makes her see the truth that Devin’s father might not accept them, and even if he does, it might not be the best thing for Devin. In the end, she realizes that it is better for them to be with each other on their own rather than place their faith in someone who doesn’t even care if they are alive or dead. Sara realizes that the real family is the one she has found along the way, with Isaac and Two Moons, and that is what she should hold on to rather than depend on yet another man. So, after Isaac’s funeral, she decides to heed her son’s advice and turns away from Crooks Springs. She, Devin and Two Moons start their journey to California, where they plan to settle down and start a new life.

What Happens to the Shoshone? Do They Die?

Almost all the conflicts in ‘American Primeval’ arise from land. The United States Army wants to highlight the fact that the government has the hold of the entire country. The Mormon militia wants to claim the territory for itself. The Shoshone want to stay on the lands that they have lived on forever rather than being pushed around and driven out over and over again. The desire to keep their hold on things leads to all sorts of violence, a glimpse of which we get in the first episode when a group of travelers, which includes Jacob and Abish Pratt, is attacked by a bunch of hooded people. The attack happens in a way that makes it look like the Native Americans orchestrated it, but in truth, the hooded men turn out to be some key figures from the Mormon militia.

The Mormons know that if their involvement in the attack comes to light, it will give the US Army the excuse they need to bring reinforcements and curb the Mormon militia and their quest to carve land for themselves. This leads them to another bloodbath to ensure that every person who was there on the day of the massacre is killed. When they find Jacob Pratt, they also discover that his wife, Abish, is alive. What’s worse is that when she is found by the US Army and brought to the Mormon camp, she identifies Brother Wolsey as one of the attackers. Captain Dellinger uses her testimony to get back up from the army, but he is betrayed by one of his men who informs the Mormons about it.

Meanwhile, Abish is shocked to discover that her own people were behind the massacre, which leads her to realize that the Shoshone are the ones who desire peace and are the only ones who deserve to be on the land that has always belonged to them in the first place. Instead of staying at the army’s camp, she decides to go back to them. That same night, the Mormons attack and kill everyone in Dellinger’s camp. When they discover that Abish is not one of the victims, they realize that she is with the Shoshone, more notably with Red Feather. Still, they need her dead and use her as an excuse to kill the Shoshone as well. Instead of running away, the tribe decides to hold their ground and fight. But as Abish predicted before, it only ends in bloodshed for all of them. By the time the dust settles, both sides have incurred such heavy losses that there seem to be no winners.

Is Red Feather Dead?

One of the most transforming journeys in the show is of Abish and Jacob, who go on very different paths and come out as very different people. In the beginning, they are revealed to be a newly married couple, and it turns out that Abish is not very happy with the union because Jacob was supposed to marry her sister, who died shortly before the wedding, which led Abish to step in. When they are attacked on their journey, Jacob has his scalp sliced off, and he falls unconscious. Abish, on the other hand, is taken away by the Paiute but is later found by Red Feather and his renegade group. She would have died there, too, but Red Feather sees something in her that keeps him from slitting her throat. First, Abish spends some time with Red Feather’s group, and later, they meet up with the others, who are more peaceful.

With them, Abish comes to appreciate their way of life and realizes how they have been turned into villains by the people who have taken away everything from them. She becomes so connected to them that even when she is freed from Red Feather’s captivity, she comes right back. The Shoshone, too, see her as one of their own and decide to fight the Mormon militia rather than give her up to be killed by them. After killing everyone in Captain Edmund Dellinger’s camp, the Mormons turn their sights toward the Shoshone, and a fight erupts. Both sides inflict damage and have damage inflicted on them. In the heat of the battle, Red Feather comes face to face with Brother Wolsey and kills him by splitting his head with an axe. However, he also takes a bullet in the process. When his son sees his fall, he runs over to him, and with more bullets flying around, Red Feather dies in his boy’s embrace. By the time the dust settles, most of his people are dead, and the same goes for the Mormons as well.

Do Abish and Jacob Die?

After the attack in the first episode, Jacob becomes obsessed with finding Abish, but because he doesn’t allow himself to rest and heal his wounds, he starts losing his mind. By the end, he has nothing but rage and revenge in his eyes, and when the Mormons tell him that his wife is with the Shoshone, he joins them. What Jacob doesn’t know is that Abish has joined the Shoshone and is prepared to fight and die beside them. She has war paint on her face and looks like any other Shoshone. This is why when Jacob comes across her, he sees a Shoshone woman and shoots her right in the chest. It takes him a minute to realize that the woman he shot is not a Native American, and he is even more horrified when he realizes that it is Abish.

Abish is shocked to see Jacob. Even though she knew he was alive, she didn’t expect to see him with the enemy. However, she cannot express her shock because she is already dying, and there is no way to help her. A shocked Jacob holds her in his arms, horrified by what he has done. He watches Abish die in his arms, and what makes it worse is that he is the one who shot her, not someone else. The quest of reuniting with her had consumed him so much that by the time he did come face to face with her he wasn’t himself anymore. With her dead, he has no motive to live anymore. Moreover, he wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt of having killed her, so he turns his gun to himself and shoots himself in the face, bringing his tragic tale to an end.

What Happens to Jim Bridger? Why do the Mormons Burn Down Fort Bridger?

Before they move on to their own journeys, all the main characters of ‘American Primeval’ collide with each other at Fort Bridger. It is a rest stop for them before they move on to the next phase of their travel, but that’s not the only significance of the place. Due to the fort’s strategic placement, it is coveted by the US Army as well as the Mormon militia. When the latter sees that the army is sending more of its troops to Fort Bridger and Jim Bridger is welcoming them with open arms, they decide to have the place under their control. They try to buy off Jim, and when that doesn’t work, they try to scare and intimidate him. The man, however, refuses to budge. In the end, however, the conflict between the two factions increases to the point where he knows that if he continues to stay in the middle of it, he and his fort will become collateral.

When the Mormons give him the right amount of money, he feels motivated to sell the place to him. At first, it is expected that the Mormons will station their troops there to control the area. However, it turns out that Brigham Young has other plans. As long as there is a fort, there will be the possibility for it to be taken over by the enemy, which would make it easier for them to continue fighting. So, instead of taking over the place, he decides to burn the whole thing down, making it more difficult for the US Army to find the right spot to place their men. His strategic move is informed by the desire to keep the entire area out of the reach of the army by not giving them any favorable place to set up camp. Jim Bridger understands this, which is why, as the place he built from the group up is burned down, he walks away without even giving it a second glance. He has the money, which means he has the opportunity to start his life elsewhere, and considering the growing hostility in the place, he finds it better to leave the fort and start fresh entirely.