Does Anya Die or is She Cured in The Midnight Club? [Spoiler]

Created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong and based on Christopher Pike’s eponymous 1994 novel, The Midnight Club’ is not entirely a horror series, though it has been packaged as such. It’s not necessarily a thriller either, though there are elements of mystery in it. The Netflix show is a character drama that revolves around eight terminally ill teenagers. It candidly explores their hopes, dreams, pain, grief, and attempts to reconcile with reality. The horror and the mystery aspects of the show provide structure to the narrative, but ‘The Midnight Club’ is ultimately a very human story.

Portrayed by Ruth Codd, Anya is one of the main characters of the show. She is a member of the titular club and probably has been at the Brightcliffe Hospice the longest along with Sandra. Anya is an amputee, having lost one of her legs to cancer, and uses a wheelchair. If you are wondering whether Anya dies or is cured at the end of the first season of ‘The Midnight Club,’ we got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Anya’s Journey at Brightcliffe

While all eight characters in the series are complex and have individual arcs that run through the series, Anya stands apart from the rest for multiple reasons. She has been at Brightcliffe for about six months and has seen the arrivals and deaths of several other residents. The experience has hardened her and made her more cynical. This is why we see her being nearly antagonistic toward Ilonka after the latter arrives at the facility. But it becomes quickly apparent that she cares about the other residents. Her behavior is the result of that care. She may be rough around the edges, but that is part of her coping mechanism.

In the episode ‘The Two Danas,’ Anya tells a story at the Midnight Club that partially reflects her own life. We learn in the episode ‘See You Later’ that Anya came to the US from Ireland after being offered a chance to train at a prominent ballet school. Anya’s parents gave up their entire lives back in their home country to come along with her. However, Anya rebelled against the demanding life of the ballerina, skipping training, going to parties, and refusing to listen to her parents. One night, while trying to look for her, Anya’s parents were killed after their car hit black ice.

Afterward, Anya started doing heroin and grew distant from her best friend, Rhett, who tried to get her into rehab multiple times without much success. When Rhett told her that she would die if she didn’t get clean, Anya threw the ballerina figurine he gave her, breaking one of its legs. Rhett left her for good after that, and Anya was diagnosed with cancer in the same leg.

Toward the end of the episode ‘Witch,’ Anya undergoes an ancient Greek ritual on Ilonka’s instance, as the latter believes it will cure them. The following episode, titled ‘Anya,’ starts by depicting what appears to be the future. We are led to believe that Anya is the only one among the residents for whom the ritual was successful. However, it is later shown that this was all a dream. As Anya is on the verge of depth, she has been placed in an isolation room.

Anya dies in the episode named after her, leaving Ilonka with all her belongings. Rhett comes to Brightcliff in the season finale and notices that the ballerina figurine has been fixed. Ilonka is in the room with him and realizes the implications. It has been a pact among the members of The Midnight Club to send a message from beyond the world of the living. As neither Anya nor anyone else repaired the figurine when she was alive, it stands to reason that Anya did it from the other side, proving to her friends that there is an afterlife.

Read More: The Midnight Club Ending, Explained: Is Anya Giving a Sign? What Happened to Shasta?