High Tides Season 3 Ending Explained: Does Daan Leave Knokke?

Originally titled ‘Knokke Off,’ the Dutch teen drama show ‘High Tides’ enters a new era with its season three, one where the trio of protagonists is pushed to the edge of adulthood. Alexander Vandael begins to step into his role as the heir of the Vandael Group. However, the more he tries to mould himself as his father’s protege, the more his family’s checkered past threatens to consume him. Similarly, after last season’s events, Daan and his mother, Melissa, have no choice but to do the Vandaels’ bidding to keep their own secrets safe.

However, when Louise returns to the town after her mental health treatments, she inadvertently unspools a thread that might just unravel every secret that Patrick Vandael is clutching onto. With a new officer in town who seems intent on unearthing Claudia’s case and an old rival’s hawk-eyed focus on the Vandael Group’s acquisition, a power shift seems imminent in Knokke. SPOILERS AHEAD!

High Tides Season 3 Recap

Months after the incident with Thomas, Daan and Melissa’s fates have become intertwined with the Vandael family. As a result, the former finds himself living with the family, perpetually glued to Alex’s side, while his mother works for Patrick in a more unconventional sense. She has implanted herself in the life of Anton Vermeer, an old rival of the Knokke-based family. Given the latter’s recent financial deterioration, Vermeer has returned to town with the explicit intention of carrying out a hostile acquisition of their business. Nonetheless, Patrick has a plan to salvage the family name, which involves the development of a local Golf Course. On the other hand, Louise, who has been admitted to a psych ward for treatment of her bipolar disorder, progresses enough in her recovery to allow for her discharge.

However, when she decides to integrate back into Knokke’s socialite circles, it initially proves to be too much for her. The fact that Juliette, Anton’s daughter and Louise’s old best friend, seems to now be dating Alex certainly doesn’t help matters. As a result, Louise ends up seeking out Daan, convincing him to go on a car ride with her. However, on the drive, Daan’s trauma regarding Thomas is triggered, and he ends up driving the car into a cluster of beach cabins. Worse yet, afterward, he flees from the scene, trying to shift the blame entirely on Louise. This proves to be a significant problem for the young woman, whose mother becomes suspicious of her daughter’s mental health progress. Still, Daan refuses to come clean about the incident. Inevitably, the truth comes out when Inspector Germonprez finds CCTV footage of the incident.

This puts Daan directly under the scrutiny of law enforcement, something that Patrick doesn’t want at any cost. Germonprez poses a particular problem for him since he seems to believe Melissa’s earlier report, attaching the Vandael family to her sister, Claudia’s death. Although this would have been a positive for the Parotis previously, now that they’re embroiled in Thomas’ murder, it’s in their best interest to keep the Vandaels’ secrets. However, Daan eventually ends up spilling the truth about the incident to Louise when the duo and their friends go away on holiday. Around the same time, Alex discovers that Juliette has been using him to spy on his father’s business affairs and share information with her own father.

As a result, Anton manages to foil the Vandaels’ Gold Course project by having Angelique, his newly appointed attorney, buy up a patch of land in the area. This move worsens the company’s finances and leaves it with no choice but to sell. When Patrick learns about Alex’s inadvertent contribution to his failure, as well as Daan’s confession, he realizes he has been backed into an impossible corner. For the same reason, he tries to run away from the town with his wife. Nonetheless, a car accident ends up sealing Patrick’s demise. In the aftermath, Alex inherits the Vandael Group’s entire assets and mandates, leaving the company’s future in his hands. Louise struggles to find her place among her peers, starting to realize the disconnect that has always existed between them and her.

High Tides Season 3 Ending: Does Daan Leave Knokke?

Daan and Melissa arrive at Knokke due to the latter’s intentions of investigating the Vandael family about their possible connection to her sister, Claudia’s disappearance. Since then, some new justification or another has kept the duo in the town. Even so, Daan has always made clear his desire to leave the status-obsessed town. Even when he manages to find some semblance of camaraderie, friendship, or love, mostly through Louise and Alex, these relationships manage to unravel spectacularly by the end. Therefore, he remains steadfast in his desire to return to Amsterdam. Yet, this time around, it’s Melissa’s involvement with the Vandael as well as Anton Vermeer that keeps them tied to the place.

Last season, the mother ended up being responsible for the death of Thomas, who is Jacqueline Vandael’s nurse. Since Patrick helps her hide the body, he has leverage over her, which he continues to exploit. Therefore, his unexpected death loosens the noose from around the Paroti family’s demises. In fact, they end up collaborating with Eleonore, Patrick’s widow, to put the entire matter to rest once and for all. Eleonore was romantically involved with Claudia, and the revelation of their affair had led to the latter’s accidental death at the hands of Alex. Yet despite everything, Eleonore never stopped loving Claudia. For the same reason, she wants to help her family and finally be free of the shackles the Vandaels have put on her.

Once Alex and Daan return from the holiday, the Vandaels and the Parotis both agree to talk to Germonprez. They use Patrick as the scapegoat for the murder of both Claudia and Thomas. However, they also plant another seed. In their confessions, they all talk about the same thing. The control and influence Jacqueline Vandael had on her son. They paint her out to be the mastermind, which isn’t far from the truth. Nonetheless, it isn’t the actual truth either. In the end, the deceased Patrick and Jacqueline, who is near death, become the scapegoats of every secret. Thus, once the weight of the past stops anchoring Daan to Knokke, he can finally leave the town. Even though Melissa decides to stay behind with Anton, her son carves out his own path, starting with college, likely back in Amsterdam.

Do Louise and Alex End Up Together?

Throughout the show, the relationship between Louise, Alex, and Daan has significantly informed the story’s narrative. Louise’s connection to both individuals remains complicated and nuanced, yet equally destructive. Although she dates both characters at one point or another in the story, her relationships with both crash and burn, often leaving multiple people injured in their wake. When she finally accepts the fact that she requires professional help to deal with her bipolar disorder, the treatment and therapy process finally helps her realize the toxicity in these relationships.

Louise was wild and untethered when she was with Alex. Inversely, she was harsh and narcissistic with Daan. Following her release from the psych ward, she begins to realize that the social life of Knokke itself is harmful to her. The rich heirs in the town have a knack for cruelty and champagne problems, both of which are only aggravated by Louise’s condition. Therefore, after her holiday trip with the gang, where she also finds out about Daan and Alex’s involvement in covering up Thomas’ murder, she realizes she needs a new beginning.

Thus, Louise decides to find this beginning through traveling the world, immersing herself in new experiences, and indulging in self-discovery. As the story ends, Louise is seen embarking on the first of these adventures. Alex comes to see her off at the airport, and before parting ways, the two share a kiss. Yet, despite its intimacy, the kiss doesn’t carry any promises of the future with it. Instead, it becomes a symbol of an acknowledgment and appreciation of the duo’s varied past.

Does Alex Sell the Vandael Group to Anton?

Anton’s persistent pursuit of the Vandael Group remains a narrative center of this season’s storyline. His arrival in town itself is a representation of the fall that the prestigious Knokke family has suffered. Even before Patrick’s death, there isn’t much that the Vandael family can do to protect its company. After the Golf Course project falls through, the Group simply has no means of continuing to exist. Therefore, when Alex inherits the business from both his father and his grandmother, he has no real choice in the matter. Still, he can choose how his family’s legacy goes out. Fortunately, for him, he has the right people around who are willing to help him in this quest. Louise, whose mother bought the plot that halted the Golf Course’s development, is already rooting for Alex.

On the other hand, Juliette is also willing to throw her hat in the ring alongside Alex’s. From the beginning, the young woman has been truly in love with the latter. Nonetheless, she has had to spy on him because of her father, whose approval she has always craved. Yet, Anton’s misogynistic beliefs prevent him from ever actually seeing his daughter as a valid heir. Eventually, with Louise’s help, Juliette realizes that she doesn’t need to look to him for validation. Thus, the two help Alex acquire the last plot of land before Angelique can finalize the deal. Yet, they only disclose this information after Anton has bought the Vandael Group. Consequently, now, despite winning, the latter finds himself in a disadvantaged position.

Does Jacqueline Die? Why Did She Choose Euthanasia?

After the Vandaels and the Parotis make their statements to Inspecteur Germonprez, the police arrive at Jacqueline’s house to make arrests. However, by then, the matriarch had already passed away, choosing to die via euthanasia. As it turns out, the entire plan of pinning the blame for every crime on Patrick and Jacqueline had been the latter’s idea. By then, she had already been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. With every passing day, her condition was only worsening. Previously, she has been powering through because she wanted to pull her family out of their misery and restore the Vandael name. However, after her son’s death, she realizes there’s only one way to ensure her family’s well-being.

The Vandaels are too saddled by their past to be able to have a viable future of any kind. Alex doesn’t simply have to reckon with his own shortcomings but the mistakes and missteps of his grandmother and father as well. For the same reason, they need to bury their past if they want to move forward. In order to do that, someone has to take the fall. In the end, Jacqueline decides to become that person, believing that if she’s destined for death, she might as well do something good for her loved ones in the process. Consequently, she goes through with the euthanasia process on the same day as her family’s confessions to the police. Ultimately, Jacqueline dies, but on her terms, and despite her flaws, she tries to give her family a brighter future.