Néro the Assassin Ending Explained: Why Does Perla Sacrifice Herself?

Netflix’s French action-drama series ‘Néro the Assassin‘ or ‘Néro’ tells a story of courage, magic, faith, and family. Set in the sixteenth-century Southern French town of Lamartine, the series follows Néro, an assassin, as he is drawn into a conflict. While working for a prominent local figure named Rochemort, Néro’s life is upended by his estranged 14-year-old daughter, Perla, who is believed to be “the last descendant of the Devil.” As evil forces seek to capture Perla due to her “corrupted blood,” Néro faces a dilemma between survival and love. Having always lived as a lone and free assassin, the responsibility of caring for a wanted daughter completely upends his existence.

The protagonist and his daughter journey through drought-stricken Southern France, encountering various dangerous individuals and groups who are grappling with their own crises. The series unfolds an intense narrative of a man’s arduous journey through treacherous landscapes, incorporating supernatural elements along the way. As the season comes to a close, Perla and Néro find themselves facing existential threats in the town of Ségur. As various forces converge to capture the power vacuum in Ségur, the fates of the main characters hang in the balance. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Néro the Assassin Plot Synopsis

The narrative introduces Néro, an assassin working for Rochemort, the deputy consul of Lamartine, during an ongoing drought in sixteenth-century France. He slays the fiancée of Hortense, the daughter of the deputy consul, so that she can be married off to the prince of Ségur. The head consul of Lamartine is killed by Touissaint, another assassin working for Rochemort, with the help of the One-Eyed Witch. As the deputy is elevated to the position of consul, he reveals that the witch wants Néro as payment for her witchcraft. She intends to sacrifice the protagonist, believing him to be the “last descendant of the Devil.” However, when she finds out that Néro secretly has a daughter, she stops the sacrifice and orders Rochemort’s men to look for her instead.

Néro seeks the help of Horace, a religious man running an orphanage, where Perla, the daughter, is being cared for. The main character, despite being controlled by a magical necklace tied to his neck by the witch, escapes Lamartine with his daughter and the religious man. However, the escape involves him hijacking the royal carriage transporting Hortense to Ségur. With the kidnapped princess, the convoy heads towards its destination, but is stopped by soldiers. To distract the soldiers, Néro stabs his own daughter, though it doesn’t kill her. The soldiers and the convoy cross paths with the Penitents, a group of religious extremists, who capture them. One of the Penitents cuts off Hortense’s hair as a means of penance.

The group escapes the Penitents’ grasp by distracting them. Rochemort heads to Ségur to finalize the marriage alliance with the prince and demands some trade deals and mining rights. The Archbishop of Ségur holds sway over the prince and controls decisions. Horace faces challenges with his thoughts about Perla due to his religious beliefs and proposes that she should be taken to Ségur, so that the Archbishop can decide her fate. When it is revealed that Horace wants to take Perla to Ségur to get her killed, Néro abandons him and escapes with his daughter and Hortense. At Ségur, Rochemort is put on trial as the Penitents’ army marches towards the town. The prince of Ségur rescues Perla and Hortense, but they leave Néro in the middle of nowhere due to his earlier attempt to escape the outlaws without them.

Néro, tied up and close to death, is approached by the One-Eyed Witch, who reveals that Perla isn’t the Devil’s descendant, but the only hope for the world to be saved. She also reveals that Perla is her own descendant and removes Néro’s necklace, healing his wounds. A male witch, sent by the Catholic Church, hunts for Perla. The One-Eyed Witch says that the Devil is a fiction invented by the Church to target its enemies. The male witch is killed by the protagonist and the One-Eyed Witch, who then head to Ségur along with Horace to save Perla. Néro has a conversation with Perla and tries to convince her to escape Ségur.

Just as the prince of Ségur and Hortense are about to be married, the Archbishop reveals to the crowds that Perla is the last descendant of the Devil. The One-Eyed Witch comes to Ségur to help Néro through her magic, as Hortense and Rochemort wait for the fall of the Archbishop at the hands of the invading Penitents. To everyone’s shock, the Archbishop is revealed to be the one orchestrating the actions of the Penitents and their leader, “Brother Penance.” The witch tells Perla that she is the only one who can save the world. The Penitents kill the magical woman, as she helps Néro and the others escape the castle. As Perla realizes that she might possess witchcraft abilities, she must make a choice.

Néro the Assassin Ending: Why Does Perla Stab Herself? Is the Drought Over?

As the Penitents and the Archbishop take complete control of Ségur, the town descends into chaos and killing. Néro, Hortense, and the others realize that they are all in danger. Faced by overwhelming odds, they take some loyal soldiers of Ségur into confidence and plan a revolt against the authority of the Penitents. Perla senses that all of them are in danger, and that she should probably take inspiration from the words of the One-Eyed Witch, who handed her a dagger before dying. Innocent civilians are rounded up by the Penitents and ordered to hunt down Perla, the Devil’s descendant. As Brother Penance, the leader of the Penitents’ cult, sacrifices Horace by beheading him, Perla is spotted by one of the cultists.

Perla is chased by the cultists through the alleys of Ségur and is rescued by Néro. Due to Horace’s confession that Perla is not the spawn of the Devil, she realizes that she might have a role to play in saving the world. The loyal soldiers of Ségur propose to go ahead with a popular revolt, but the castle is occupied by the Archbishop, who reprimands Brother Penance for letting Perla escape. Rochemort is captured by Néro’s friend Lothar, a Lamartine soldier, and he says that he knows a secret passage that can help them reach the Archbishop and Brother Penance and kill them. Hortense proclaims herself as the princess of Ségur and agrees to be the face of the revolt against the Archbishop. The revolt begins, resulting in chaos and violence throughout the town.

Realizing that they cannot assassinate the Archbishop and Brother Penance, Néro asks Hortense to escape the city with Perla and Rochemort. As the Penitents run wild on the streets in the pursuit of Perla, Néro realizes that he must do something wild to save his daughter and give Hortense enough time to escape. He attacks Brother Penance and unmasks him in front of his followers, as Perla tries to escape. The Penitents capture Néro, following which Brother Penance orders Néro’s execution. Perla continues to run and takes refuge in a tall watchtower-like structure, which enables her to see what’s happening to her father. When she sees her father being hanged upside-down, she remembers the words of the One-Eyed Witch, who had told her that she is the only one who can save everyone.

It is at this moment that Perla makes the ultimate sacrifice. She takes out the witch’s dagger and stabs herself, falling off the structure. She does this despite Néro spotting her and begging her not to sacrifice herself. As soon as Perla’s body hits the ground, a magical event unfolds. The sunny skies turn dark, and clouds begin to converge on Ségur. There is a pleasant rain that falls on everyone, quenching their thirst and bringing an end to the period of drought. Perla’s sacrifice enables Néro to escape, as Brother Penance and the others get distracted by the rain. The gentle rain cools down the Earth again, and life begins to grow, even as Perla lies dead on the ground.

Is Perla Dead or Alive? Is She a Witch?

After sacrificing herself for the sake of the world and the life of her father, Perla falls to the ground, lying dead in the arms of Néro. Her last wish for the world is conveyed to the viewers through a voice-over. She says that despite not growing up with a family, these days with Néro have given her a sense of purpose, and that she experienced the meaning of family for the first time. She says that she would like to be remembered as Perla, the daughter of an assassin and a sex worker. As Néro continues to cry, looking at the face of his dead kid, something unexpected happens. He is struck by a wooden log with brute force by a masked individual. The attacker carries Perla’s body and walks away from Ségur. It is at this moment that a shocking revelation is made.

Perla is shown to be alive as she opens her eyes. She is carried out of the city by the stranger, while she looks at the attacked Néro. Despite sacrificing herself for the greater good, fate intervenes and enables Perla to continue her life. The series concludes with a single line, marking the end of the voice-over. Perla says, “She was the last witch.” This indicates that the One-Eyed Witch pursued Perla from the beginning because she possesses the ability of witchcraft.

Perla’s actions during the revolt and her magical powers are also revealed when she cuts herself, and her blood changes the nature of the ground. One of the most significant pieces of evidence in favor of proving that Perla is a witch is the fact that she ended the drought in the country by sacrificing herself. Thus, Perla, despite being seen as a weak person, becomes the most essential character in the season, saving the lives of thousands.

Why Does Brother Penance Kill the Archbishop?

As the drought ends as a result of Perla’s sacrifice, Brother Penance and his loyal army of cultists become calm and enjoy the rain after suffering from the drought for a long time. The Archbishop is shocked to see the rain calming everyone and begins to wonder what happened. Brother Penance approaches the Archbishop and tells him that God has pardoned them, as the drought is over. The cult leader recognizes that his penance has finally been answered. This angers the Archbishop, who reprimands Brother Penance for speaking in such a manner. He claims that the rain occurred due to the child’s sacrifice and not as a result of God’s intervention. When Brother Penance counters the Archbishop, saying that it was the cult’s penance that caused the rain, the religious man slaps him.

The Archbishop calls Brother Penance a “leper” and an idiot who knows nothing. The cult leader says that he has always dedicated his life to God and realizes that the religious man has been controlling him and his men for the sake of his own power ambitions. It is at this point that Brother Penance makes a bold decision. He mercilessly pushes the Archbishop from the top of the castle, which causes the religious man’s instant death as he hits the ground with a thud. Although the Archbishop was initially successful in controlling the behavior and minds of the cultists, he met justice when his own followers turned against him. The killing of the Archbishop, despite being carried out by a dangerous cult leader, balances the scales of morality and justice.

Is Néro Dead or Alive? Who Attacked Him?

As Néro looks at the face of a wounded Perla, he believes that she is dead. When he is mourning her ordeal, he is suddenly struck violently with a wooden log by an unknown masked individual. The stranger takes away Perla, leaving Néro alone. Though the narrative doesn’t explicitly reveal Néro’s fate after the incident, it can be presumed that he probably survived the attack. One of the essential clues here is the fact that the attacker just wanted to incapacitate Néro for a short while and not take his life. If the attacker had intended, killing Néro would have been an easy act. However, Néro is only struck with a log, and not with weapons. This makes it most likely that Néro survived the attack and would probably be escorted to safety by the people of Ségur.

Now that Ségur has been liberated from the clutches of the Archbishop, it can be presumed that the prince will be the ruler of the city again, and he will take care of Néro’s recovery. The likelihood of Néro dying is minimal, as there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. Néro will most likely receive care in the Ségur castle and continue to be an assassin, either in the service of the prince or return to Lamartine to reunite with Hortense. As for the identity of the attacker, there are no revelations in the narrative that confirm it. It can be presumed that the attacker is probably a witch trying to rescue Perla and induct her into the community of witches. Since Perla is an essential figure in the world, it is definitely possible that other magical beings know about her powers.

It is also possible that the masked individual works for different political forces in the country who want to use her abilities to achieve their own ambitions. Since Perla’s identity is probably secretly known to important individuals, they may have hired the masked person to abduct her from Ségur. But, in conclusion, it can be said that the masked person is most likely a witch trying to save Perla from the dangers of the world. Perla will presumably become more potent as she discovers the full extent of her magic.

Read More: Is Netflix’s Néro the Assassin Based on a True Story?