Renegade Nell ending explained: Stars break down "devastating" finale

When a mysterious spirit named Billy appears to Nell, she realises her destiny is bigger than she ever could have imagined.

The new adventure introduces us to an incredible array of theatrical characters (we need to see more of Joely Richardson's Eularia Moggerhanger pronto), with Nell and her beloved sisters ultimately getting some form of a happy ending.

However, not everything is that simple. Here's what you need to know about what went down in the finale episode of Renegade Nell - and how it sets up potential future seasons.

Renegade Nell ending explained: What happened to Nell and Billy?

The final episode of Renegade Nell sees the Earl of Poynton (Adrian Lester) feeding off of the darkness inside Thomas (Jake Dunn) after he killed his father earlier in the series.

Poynton casts a spell to give himself immeasurable power, as he holds the queen hostage in support of the Jacobite rebellion.

Despite Thomas having killed her father, Nell makes the ultimate sacrifice, telling Billy (Nick Mohammed), the sprite who had been protecting her all along, to leave her in favour of fending off the spell from inside Thomas.

The pair have an emotional goodbye, before Billy leaves Nell and successfully fends off the spell.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com about those emotional scenes, Billy actor Nick Mohammed said: "I was devastated."

Nell actress Harland added: "I was devastated, as well. I mean, even more devastated that you go into Jake Dunn! It was really, really heartbreaking - and actually filming it was so emotional, because it was towards the end of the shoot and we'd been filming for such a long time.

"So even the crew, they were so invested in this story, and particularly in the relationship between Nell and Billy. We all loved it so much, and so it was really, really emotional to film - and then seeing it back, I always think it looks like a horror film."

What happened to the Earl of Poynton?

It seems the Earl of Poynton is dead and gone forever - or is he? As we go into the final episode of Renegade Nell, things are in chaos. The villainous Earl of Poynton (Adrian Lester) has been appointed captain of the queen's bodyguard and is planning to overthrow her, with Nell vowing to stop it.

Meanwhile, Isembard Tully/Charles Devereux (Frank Dillane) is once again on the run after being sentenced to hang for his crimes.

Nell plans to intercept the queen's carriage, but instead finds Charles in a decoy carriage. The gang set their course for Broadwater to rescue the queen - but it appears it's already too late, with Poynton holding her hostage.

He orders to join him on a journey to the Jacobites in Scotland, and says she'll be executed once King James has taken the throne.

Sofia (Alice Kremelberg) realises that her brother Thomas has been branded with Poynton's pendant, a way of controlling him. When she attempts to snatch it off, Roxy (Bo Bragason) gets a sense that something's wrong. She and Rasselas (Enyi Okoronkwo) decide to follow Nell.

Sofia confronts Poynton, who says that he's able to use Thomas's soul to become immeasurably powerful now that it's been warped by committing patricide (after killing his own father earlier in the season).

However, he says the process would be risky for him - but suggests that Sofia would be strong enough, allowing her to easily defeat Nell. Poynton brushes off her question about what would happen to Thomas, saying he's already lost.

Sofia finally sees through Poynton, though, knocking him out. He quickly takes revenge, however, casting the spell to make him powerful and causing the pendant to burn through Thomas's skin.

He almost suffocates Sofia to death with his magic, boasting that she is now no match for him. He soon hears of Nell's arrival.

Nell and Billy fight their way through the house, while Roxy and Rasselas find a tormented Thomas. Haunted by guilt, Thomas tells Rasselas his real name - Amadin.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com about that powerful moment, actor Enyi Okoronkwo said: "Those scenes are really terrifying. You see them in the schedule and you look at that day and you are a bit worried, and then you have to always remember that you're collaborating and you're collaborating with wonderful people...

"You have to go to emotional places, there's personal weight, there's historical weight, and it just feels very held by everybody on set. It was a nice relief, it was so much easier than I thought it would be."

Roxy senses that Nell isn't safe and the pair go to find her. Nell finds the queen - or does she? Elsewhere, Charles and George, who decided to come along and help, also appear to find the queen in a different part of the manor. So, which one is real?

It soon becomes clear that Nell's queen knows about Billy, asking her how she captured the spirit. The queen begins to sound strange, and it's revealed she's being possessed by the Earl of Poynton.

The Earl of Poynton has Nell in his grasp (quite literally) as he begins to choke her to death, until Roxy and Rasselas find Thomas. Roxy disrupts the pendant's link with Thomas, severing Poynton's connection with the queen.

This version of the queen, who was just an illusion conjured by Poynton, disappears.

As Nell threatens Poynton, he flees, and Sofia regains her power. She's still not as powerful as Poynton, though, who manages to strip the light form the sky, plunging them all into darkness. A brutal fight between Poynton, Sofia and Nell breaks out, with Nell and Sofia reluctantly joining forces.

Sofia discovers Thomas close to death as Ponyton feeds off of the darkness inside him. Roxy, George and Charles help the queen to escape, with Nell and Sofia remaining to fight off Poynton - to the death, if need be.

Making the ultimate sacrifice with Thomas close to death, Nell tells Billy to leave her and go into Thomas, fighting the spell from within. The pair say an emotional goodbye.

Billy manages to fend off the spell and bring Thomas back, with Poynton losing his power and being left a mere mortal. As he sets his sights on Nell, he's taken by surprise by Sofia, who stabs him in the back.

Of course, it wasn't out of the good of her own heart, as she wants Nell to tell the queen that she and Thomas were deceived by Poynton - but turned against him when the time was right.

Astonished at her absolute audacity, Nell tells Sofia that she and Thomas should leave and never come back.

The queen summons Nell and the gang to the palace, pardoning her and offering her a position as captain of the bodyguard - to which Nell quickly says no. She simply asks for her dad's pub, the Talbot, back, with Nell, Roxy, George and Amadin having a good old happy ending.

What could happen next?

A season 2 of Renegade Nell has not officially been confirmed - but director Ben Taylor confirmed that a potential second instalment is being written.

We'd expect the story to pick up with Nell, Roxy and George after their happy ending. However, considering some of our baddies got away, we wouldn't rule out an appearance from Sofia and Thomas.

Plus, is the villainous Earl of Poynton definitely gone? Only time will tell.

Renegade Nell is available to stream on Disney Plus now. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.

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