Unchosen ending explained: Breaking down the finale's big twist

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for all episodes of Unchosen.

Netflix's Unchosen is six episodes of utterly gripping television, one of those rare shows you can't stop watching, yet don't want to come to an end.

Taking inspiration from former members once part of cults found in the UK - it's thought there are well over 2000 cults operating - it's also a series to really make you think deeply about the power of religion and coercion.

When viewers meet Rosie in episode 1, she is an unhappily married member of The Fellowship of the Divine.

Wife of Adam, grappling with his sexuality yet determined to work his way up in the cult rankings at any cost, Rosie has few rights or freedoms, reduced only to "nurturer" for children and fellow members.

After her daughter Grace nearly drowns and is saved by the mysterious Sam, Rosie is pulled to the stranger and towards the idea that life could be different.

Despite Sam's criminal past, viewers were rooting for Rosie to have a happy relationship away from the cult - sadly, Sam was definitely not the person to give her that, even if he did at least provide an outlet for forbidden sexual exploration.

So what becomes of Rosie and Adam, and what were Sam's motivations all along?

What happens to Rosie?

Fed up of her violent marriage and subjugated life, Rosie decides to try and escape the cult. She tells Adam about her sexual relationship with Sam, who has the gall to be appalled despite also exploring his own sexual identity with the escaped convict.

Divorce is banned in the cult and members are prevented from leaving unless they escape. This means Adam would ordinarily have forcibly made sure Rosie stayed with The Fellowship on hearing her plans to make a swift exit.

But when he finds out Sam has threatened to kill Grace, Adam wants to keep his wife and daughter safe, and agrees to help them leave. It becomes evident Adam is having a crisis of confidence about the way he's treated his family as a result of indoctrination from the cult.

Sam, earlier in the series made a member of The Fellowship himself, is enraged to find out Rosie is leaving - Adam is forced to step in to attack Sam when he tries to block her escape.

Fighting Adam off, Sam has an opportunity to catch Rosie and Grace as they make their bid for freedom through the woods.

In a horrifying moment of pure anger, Sam tries to drown Rosie when he gets his hands on her. When he loosens his grip for a second, Rosie steals the moment to get away from him and finally get herself and Grace out of danger.

That's where Rosie's journey comes to an end for viewers, and although she's managed to escape, her future is uncertain. As a woman whose lived a controlled life, who will be unsure of herself in a world she doesn't properly understand, she's about to embark on a huge challenge - there's also a lot of trauma for her to unpack.

What happens to Adam?

Unlike Rosie, Adam is still part of the cult at the end of the series. While he has done some terrible things to Rosie, he does manage a couple of small moments of redemption.

Agreeing to help her escape was a big moment for him as someone so dedicated to life in The Fellowship and its teachings. He let Rosie and Grace leave knowing he'd never see his daughter again, but at least he understood she needed a better life than the one he and the cult could offer.

While his actions remain inexcusable, viewers might have some empathy for Adam as a man indoctrinated into believing his sexuality as a gay man was wrong, and having that exploited and manipulated by Sam.

Series creator Julie Gearey has her own thoughts on what might happen to Adam in the future. "I would hope that he could find the strength to leave [the cult], but I think he’s still got a journey ahead of him," she tells Tudum.

"It’s so deeply ingrained in him, this life and this world. Unlike Rosie, who needs the change and who’s seen the chance to change," she adds, also suggesting Adam still has work to do in the cult in the form of mainge sure justice is served to Sam.

What is Sam's motivation and what happens to him?

The huge twist at the end of Unchosen is that Sam becomes the cult leader. Nobody would have seen that coming at the beginning, when he was just a mysterious man in the woods with a hint of a criminal past.

Sam's character was written to be incredibly complicated, and while it was hoped when he was introduced that he'd be redeemable, some viewers wondered if he was actually evil.

The answer is that he sits in a grey area that presents a lot of questions about morality, good and wickedness.

Sam had escaped prison after murdering his girlfriend as a teen - that is obviously a very bad thing. Although he cared for Rosie and felt a genuine spark of chemistry with her, he was using and manipulating both her and Adam for his own gain.

Trying to drown Rosie was yet another bad thing, but he did have a moment of letting her go and trying to be better.

"Something manages to get through the red mist," Fra Fee, who plays Sam says. He ponders whether taking Sam taking his hands off Rosie leaving her to run is a "recognition of his actions when he was 16 that caused his life to be taken away."

Julie Gearey also says she wrote Sam to have "elements of sociopathy," saying, "The Sam at the beginning of the show would’ve just drowned her, but he’s been through this experience, and he does want to be a better version of himself. There is some light within him."

Ending the show as leader of a rapt audience of followers, bowing to his majesty, is quite a moment for Sam.

But the adoration isn't real, and there's always the chance he'll be caught and returned to prison - he'll never truly feel the peace he craves.

Unchosen is currently streaming on Netflix.