The ending of "The Humans" (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Hey guys!

I just saw this great show tonight and would like to discuss what the f*#k happened in those last few moments. (I know there is a thread for this show, but I wouldn't like to post a major spoiler in a thread for people deciding whether or not to see a show.)

So... what happened?

My guest and I, over dinner, came to the conclusion that Erik (played wonderfully by Mr. Birney) ultimately died. Throughout the play he is stumbling and even clutches his head in obvious pain at one point. He isn't sleeping according to their mother and had just sold their house earlier than expected (medical costs). Also, his daughter calls out to him to come upstairs, but she never sees him. And he doesn't respond. We think that he ultimately "followed the tunnel" and died.

I know some people posted that they weren't sure what to think of those last few moments, so I'd like to hear what others think. Any more thoughts?

I enjoyed this show very much and loved the performances (with a special shout out to the director as well as Cassie Beck!)

Quite possibly.

I do have to admit, the whole "supernatural" side of this show came upon the audience very quickly. The shadow with the phone and then the Asian lady passing by...

It all was so strange, but very interesting. It reminded me of Annie Baker's "John".

Updated On: 10/11/15 at 12:03 AM

Kad said: "I thought the ending sequence of this play was very out of sync with the rest of the work."

I agree. It wasn't bad, but I'm not sure it was warranted. Would you mind sharing your interpretation?

We saw this on Saturday and the first thing I did when we got to the hotel room was to google "The Humans" and "Ending" and found this thread.

We were sitting in Row L, all the way on the left end of the row, so had limited view of the left side of the stage (couldn't see the windows or most of the staircase). We could see what seemed to be an Asian woman with a grocery cart go by the doorway at the end, but hard to be sure.

We thought is was odd that all show long, folks upstairs couldn't be heard by folks downstairs, but at the end, Eric and Bridget were talking from different floors without any difficulty.

We loved the show until those last few minutes. Ending dropped it from an A to a B.

No, most of the time the only eavesdropping was when characters were on the stairs or same level

Conversations were often held about people on the other floor who had no idea of the discussions.

She's implied to be Asian since they're in Chinatown, her hair, the way she's dressed, etc. I don't believe you ever see her face and I assume she's one of the female understudies.

Kad said: "I thought the ending sequence of this play was very out of sync with the rest of the work.

After seeing the play tonight, I couldn't agree more with this statement.

Yes. The door slowly closes as if by itself at the end.

And all those pots and pans falling all by themselves earlier. If there's supposed to be a ghost or spirit here it isn't set up at all.

No. He doesn't die. The whole point is with the elderly lady doing laundry. All the things that go bump in the night are not half as scary as facing tomorrow. Real life has skeletons in closets and ghosts of memory. The supernatural elements exist only as a counterpoint to reality. Take away that and you get a great play, not a masterpiece.

I was very unsettled by the ending, but maybe that was the whole point. All the stuff that happens to us in life - is it self-inflicted, or perpetrated by forces beyond our control?

It's been awhile since I saw it but I'm with those who saw it as a man who realized he effed up and now his daughters won't look at him the same way. The play hinted at moments where you realize that there's probably more between the parents than financial strain and caring for an elderly parent but looking back the girls would tease and make fun of their mother and were pretty precious with the father so when you find out about the father's betrayal it's huge. The lights going out and the quirks of apt living in Manhattan is what it is- including the old lady by the door who we heard about during the course of the show.

I agree that the Dad dies.The play has this mystical, esoteric feel to it throughout the play. It starts off with Mr. Birney standing on the top of the stairs and waiting in the darkness while a very loud booming noise can be heard foreshadowing the supernatural in the play.

We overhear Momo saying "You can't come back here! You can't come back from here!" It's as if she feels that he's going to die and she is behaving very upset by this notion.

The last scene he is seen crying and very emotional knowing that he is going to die and then walks into the tunnel of death as the door slowly closes behind him.

Never realised this was such a sticking point for others, so this was my interpretation.

The whole play was about trauma and the different effects it has on different people.

Now it was obviously 2 years since I saw it so I am a bit sketchy on details but from memory the daughter had an injury from being in the tower when the plane hit. She also was left with IBS and an impaired ability to have a successful relationship. That was all the result of her trauma.

The Father had had an affair and whatever else had happened I can't remember and that was the result of his trauma. Then there were the effects of the trauma from the affair on his wife and other family members etc

When the noise happens at the end he is triggered back to the sound of the plane hitting the tower and the fear his daughter is inside. He immediately collapses in fear that the building is going to collapse around him.

The woman walking past is just a woman who lives in the building walking past the door. The atmosphere is meant to trigger the audience into feeling the same sense of unease and anxiety that the character is feeling at that point in time as he is having his flashback.

The slamming door is meant to scare the audience so they experience what he had just experienced so they get a better understanding of what it was like for him when his PTSD kicked in.