Lord of the Flies Ending Explained: Does Ralph Die?

Netflix’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ breaks down the walls of civil society and throws a group of children on an island where they have no adult supervision. The four-part series unfolds from the perspective of four boys who become the key characters in the way things unravel on the island. From taking control of things to completely losing themselves in the process, the boys go through a disturbing journey that reveals their true nature. The series also keeps several mysteries alive till the very end, with the most pressing one focused on the rescue efforts that never seem to arrive. The shocking end leaves the audience with several questions, especially regarding the fate of the main characters.

Lord of the Flies Plot Synopsis

A plane crash leaves a group of boys stranded on the island. There are no adults around, and evidence suggests that the few of them who were on the flight did not survive the crash. The boys are aged from six to twelve years old, and it is up to the elder ones to make sure that they all survive till rescue comes along. The story begins with a bespectacled boy, whom everyone calls Piggy, meeting Ralph. It is clear that they are aware of the crash, but as they explore the island, the reality of their situation starts to become clear. Piggy finds a conch shell, and Ralph blows on it to catch the attention of anyone else who may have survived. Sure enough, all the boys come out to the beach, including the choir group, led by a boy named Jack.

It is decided that someone should take charge, become Chief, and decide what to do next. With the popular vote, Ralph wins, much to Jack’s ire, and following Piggy’s suggestion, divides the group based on their responsibilities. Jack and his choir group become the hunters, focused on finding food. At the same time, rescue efforts have to be made, and it is decided that a fire should continuously burn on the top of the mountain so that any passing ship may notice it and come to rescue them. Jack volunteers to take responsibility for this as well, even though Ralph wonders if he and his group don’t already have enough on their plate with hunting.

Initially, things are good between the boys, despite Jack’s desire to become Chief. However, things start to fall apart, especially after Jack neglects to keep the signal fire going in favor of hunting a pig, and the group splinters into two. Things become bleaker as Jack and his group delve into violence and chaos, tapping into their primitive nature. Meanwhile, Ralph and his group, including Simon, who was initially part of the choir group, try to stay sane and hopeful, even when everything points otherwise. As violence erupts, it comes down to Jack’s group overtaking Ralph’s by any means possible, leading to bloodshed and a shocking loss of innocence.

Is Piggy Dead?

By the final episode, Jack and his group indulge in the brutal murder of Simon, whom they mistake for the imaginary beast haunting the island. Ralph and Piggy are shaken by it and are constantly in fear for their lives, as well as for the boys who are still with them. Still, they believe that if they stick to their part of the island, then Jack and his group have no reason to attack and harm them. This, of course, turns out to be a huge misconception. Following Simon’s murder, the satiated bloodthirst of Jack’s group worsens their appetite for violence. It also makes them bolder, and one night, they attack Ralph’s camp. Piggy becomes the center of their attack, and at first, he thinks they came for the conch.

He holds it tight, refusing to let it go even as they claw at him. But when they leave, and Piggy and the others have time to breathe again, he realizes that they took his glasses. This was the only way for them to make fire, and clearly, they were not going to politely ask him for it or wait around for him to give it on his own. What bothers Piggy is that those glasses were the only way for him to see. Without them, he was as good as blind. Ralph believes that if they ask Jack, they will return the glasses, because it’s the right thing to do. He and Piggy, accompanied by the twins, go to Jack’s camp, but things take a turn, not unexpectedly.

Killing Simon has made it easier for the group to inflict more violence. Moreover, Ralph, as the Chief of the other group, becomes the main enemy, and soon he finds himself completely surrounded while trying to knock sense into Jack’s group. Meanwhile, Piggy stands in one corner, holding the conch, perhaps with the intention of intervening and hoping to resolve the issue. But he doesn’t see Roger standing on the boulder he is next to. He doesn’t see Roger holding a rock and dropping it on his head, crushing his skull.

The force is deadly, and even as Ralph runs to Piggy and drags him away from the camp and into the woods, he knows there is no way to help his friend. Still, he doesn’t say it to Piggy, who fears that his friend will leave him at any moment. To Ralph’s credit, he doesn’t leave Piggy, even as he is viciously chased by Jack’s group. He makes a shelter for them to spend the night in, even as Piggy gets increasingly cold. He’d already lost a lot of blood by this point. And by the next morning, whatever life force pulled him through the night had dissipated. Piggy is dead, and Ralph honors his friend one last time by digging a grave and giving him a proper burial.

Does Ralph Die?

Once Piggy is killed and the twins are in their clutches, Jack’s group focuses on their final prize: Ralph. Since the beginning, Ralph had tried to be a good leader, finding the balance in the conflicting approaches of Piggy and Jack, trying to keep all the boys together and alive. Jack wanted to be in Ralph’s place; he wanted to be the leader. But at the same time, he also respected Ralph in some ways, and perhaps, even enjoyed being his friend. But then, things fell apart after Jack made the mistake of taking the whole group with him on the hunt, leaving no one behind to tend to the signal fire, losing the chance to attract a passing ship’s attention and getting rescued.

Even after the split, Jack seemed to have a soft spot for Ralph. He agreed to go on the hunt for the beast with him, and he even wanted Ralph to join his group. He also remained in awe of his fearlessness, particularly when it came to heights, and literally followed in his footsteps, trying to be more like him. In the end, even after all that happened, Jack wanted Ralph not only to stay alive but to join him. Even as he and his group chase after him and he ends up finding Ralph, Jack talks about how it could have been perfect for them to stay together and be co-leaders. But by now, Ralph has seen Jack and his group’s cruelty. They have killed Simon and Piggy, and he cannot, in good conscience, ever agree to be a part of something like that ever.

Ralph’s final refusal tips Jack to the deep end. He might not want to kill Ralph himself, but when Roger suggests the same, he doesn’t stop them either. When Ralph proves to be exceptionally good at hiding, it is decided to smoke him out. For that, the group lights a fire in the area where they believe Ralph to be. He cannot hide for too long when there are flames and smoke all around him. And sure enough, the fire gets to him. He comes out of his hiding place and is soon spotted by the group, which runs after him.

Ralph runs with all his strength, even though he has a wound on his leg from the previous day. He runs towards the beach, as Jack and the group run after him, with the clear intention of killing him. He saw what happened to Simon, and he knows that this frenzy of the group is worse than it was two nights ago. They might have killed Simon by mistake, believing him to be the beast haunting the woods. But there is no mistake here. They have nothing but blood on their mind, and Ralph knows, sooner or later, he will get caught. Fortunately, luck is on his side.

How are the Boys Rescued?

When Jack and the boys set the forest on fire to smoke out Ralph, they don’t realize that they are doing exactly what they were tasked to do in the beginning. By this time, all hopes of rescue have been lost as the boys have descended into their own understanding of a violent order. The signal fire on the top of the mountain has not been lit for a while, and even Ralph isn’t in the state of mind to realize that the fire around him could actually be good for him. The scale of the fire catches the attention of a British naval ship, and an officer is sent to investigate it. Meanwhile, Ralph comes out of the fire, scared that he will burn to death, only to be chased by Jack and his frenzied group.

He runs towards the beach and would have been caught, but he is stopped in his tracks when he sees the officer and the boat. This is what he and the boys had dreamed of since the beginning, but even as it is in front of his eyes, he cannot fathom how rescue has miraculously found its way to them. The officer explains how the giant fire and the smoke caught their eye. He asks Ralph about who else, if any adults, particularly, are on the island with them, and how they have managed to stay alive all this time. Meanwhile, Jack and the other boys come close enough to see Ralph talking to the officer. The presence of an adult somehow snaps the frenzy out of them, as if they suddenly remember that they are kids, not some violent mob out for blood.

Do All the Boys Leave the Island?

For Ralph, the officer is a godsend. He notices the sudden shift in the group and how every single one of them has gone quiet in front of one officer. If they had truly lost their minds, it wouldn’t have been difficult for them to attack the officer, accompanied by another, either. But despite all that has happened, they are still kids, and the adult in front of them is in the natural position of authority, clearly trumping Jack. Either the officer doesn’t realize the extent of the sight in front of him, or he refuses to see it because he knows what it is. In any case, he chides the boys for being unruly, even though they are educated British boys. He wonders if they were “playing war” and having boundless fun without any adult supervision.

When he asks who the leader is, Ralph looks back at Jack for a moment, but when Jack doesn’t step up, Ralph takes responsibility once again. He hopes that in doing so, he will also reclaim the leadership of the group, and perhaps then, they won’t want to kill him anymore. The officer doesn’t understand this and chides Ralph for not even knowing how many boys there are on the island and having no sense of structure to anything. Poor Ralph breaks down in tears and says that things were going fine in the beginning, but then it all fell apart. He doesn’t get the chance to finish the story as the officer tells the boys to get on the boat. It is finally time to leave the island, but not everyone is happy.

Jack is clearly shocked when he sees the officer, and like the rest, he is immediately reminded of the life before the island, which they seemed to have forgotten about with each day they spent there while stranded. The presence of the adult also strips him of all his power, since he is not the one in command anymore. He knows that whatever power he had enjoyed is gone, and now it’s time to return home. For a minute, he stays rooted on the spot, even as the other boys shed their arms and move on, ready to return home, happily or not. Eventually, however, he, too, walks forward, leaving the island behind. Though all that transpired there is going with him too. The ones not leaving the island are the boy with the birthmark on his face, Simon, Piggy, and the innocence of boyhood.

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