Devil In Ohio Ending Explained: How It Compares To The Book & Did Mae Survive The Cult?

The Devil in Ohio ending is a disquieting close to the Netflix miniseries, and some aspects may need to be explained for the story’s full impact to be clear. Based on the book by Daria Polatin, the eight episodes of the 2022 miniseries followed hospital psychiatrist Suzanne Mathis (Emily Deschanel), a mother of three whose home life is slowly breaking down. Enter a mysterious runaway who arrives at the hospital, Mae (Madeleine Arthur). Mae is quiet and fiercely intelligent and immediately makes a bond with Suzanne. Suzanne brings Mae home and the young woman’s horrifying backstory is unveiled.

Devil in Ohio features a strong cast of actors and an intriguing story about a cult who takes any measure to retrieve what they’ve lost. The tone, setting, and performances combine to create a chilling atmosphere that grows throughout before finally culminating in a thrilling ending. Devil in Ohio uses tropes from similar TV shows, contributing to its lukewarm score of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. It may not be the most original thriller series, but Devil in Ohio offers a satisfying ending that changes how the rest of the show can be understood in retrospect.

What Happens In Devil In Ohio’s Ending

Suzanne Learns That Mae Is Behind Everything

The final episode of Devil in Ohio, “The Dawning,” finds Mae returning to her family’s home in the cult compound at Amontown. Suzanne sneaks into the compound to rescue her foster daughter. Secret cult member Sheriff Wilkins (Bradley Stryker) tells Detective Lopez (Gerardo Celasco) to stay away from the town. Mae’s father, Malachi (Tahmoh Penikett), begins a ritual that involves burning Mae alive. Before he carries out his plan, Suzanne arrives, saves Mae, and burns down Amontown, killing Mae’s birth mother, Abigail (Caroline Cave). Lopez arrives and kills Sheriff Wilkins, ending the cult’s threat.

With Mae saved, and the cult seemingly defeated, Suzanne can finally return to her normal life. However, concerning developments shake Lopez and Suzanne. After Lopez is congratulated for his work ridding the police department of cult members, he returns to Amontown with a warrant, only to find it completely deserted. Suzanne now lives alone with Mae, separated from her daughters and Peter (Sam Jaeger), who is troubled by Suzanne’s near-obsession with the girl.

Suzanne realizes she’s been so distracted by figuring out what happened to Mae that she doesn’t know Mae the person.

In the show’s final scene, Lopez calls Suzanne to tell her he has evidence that Mae is responsible for bringing Suzanne to Amontown and putting her in a position to rescue Mae and defeat the cult. Suzanne realizes she’s been so distracted by figuring out what happened to Mae that she doesn’t know Mae the person at all. Suzanne hangs up the phone, and Mae repeats a line from the first episode, “We deserve this.” The camera then pans to a large cult shrine featuring Suzanne’s picture in the center and Mae’s photo on top of it.

How The Devil In Ohio Book Ending Compares To The Movie

The Novel Lacks The Emotional Impact Of The TV Show

The Devil in Ohio’s book ending is different from the TV show. In the novel, after Suzanne and her daughter Jules rescue Mae from the cult, she finds a new foster home. Suzanne returns to her normal life with Peter and their daughters. This ending, while mostly positive, hints at uncertainty regarding Mae’s new foster family, possibly indicating another cult.

Meanwhile, Jules’ life largely reverts to its pre-Mae state. However, the Devil in Ohio book ending lacks the suspenseful gut-punch ending of the TV show. They both end ambiguously, but the TV series is way grimmer than the book.

Mae Manipulated Suzanne All Throughout Devil In Ohio

The Victim Was The Mastermind All Along

What becomes clear during the Devil in Ohio ending is that Mae has manipulated Suzanne throughout the series. Mae drives a wedge between Suzanne and her family and begins doing so early in the show. Earlier in the season, Jules (Xaria Dotson), Suzanne, and Peter’s middle daughter begin forming a bond with Mae despite her eccentricities. This makes it surprising when Jules posts a photo in the school newspaper of Mae’s pentagram-shaped scar on her back, causing a rift between the family. Mae later reveals she inserted that photo herself, to give Jules a more popular article.

Daria Polatin, who created
Devil in Ohio
, also wrote the novel the series is based on.

​​​The Devil in Ohio ending indicates this was another instance of Mae’s manipulation. The inciting incident that sends Mae back to the cult in the penultimate episode is that she sees white roses at the Fall Dance, a triggering item. Detective Lopez reveals camera footage showing Mae placing those flowers at the dance. Mae wants to return to Amontown, and she specifically wants Lopez and Suzanne to follow, so they can take them out of the picture, making Mae and Suzanne dependent on one another. It’s exactly what Mae wanted the whole time — Suzanne all to herself.

Mae Survived After The Cult Fled

Mae’s Mother Sacrificed Herself To Protect Her Daughter

While Mae’s mother dies in the Devil in Ohio ending, Mae remains alive. With the cult also fleeing from Amontown, it appears Mae has managed to survive the fate her family and cult destined for her. It’s revealed in Devil in Ohio, that Mae’s family’s cult believes that their community is prosperous because of a deal they made long ago with Lucifer.

The deal requires that a woman sacrifice themselves every generation. It’s their mantra’s origin, “The chain shall not be broken.” Mae was next in line to be sacrificed, but because her mother willingly gave her own life to the cult in the finale, Mae is now safe from the cult, who no longer need her.

Mae’s Cult Has Disappeared

Lopez Knows It’s Possible They’re Still Active

When Detective Lopez finally gets a search warrant for Amontown in the Devil in Ohio ending, he returns to find that everyone has disappeared. There are no signs of anyone remaining and Lopez is again at a loss. During the ritual, Abigail sacrifices herself, meaning that despite the chaos of the evening, the cult successfully renewed their vow to Lucifer, as they understood it. The cult could reappear anywhere now, and the cycle of terror and violence could continue, which is precisely why Detective Lopez is so troubled by their disappearance.

Detective Lopez ensures that wherever the cult reappears, they won’t have the aid of his police force.

Some good comes from Lopez and Suzanne’s fight against the cult. For one, they save Mae, who, despite being manipulative and mysterious, was still a young innocent girl being prepped for a murderous sacrifice. The other major victory for Lopez is that he kills Sherriff Wilkins and removes a cult member from the ranks of the police force. Malachi’s cult depends on having friends in influential positions, and Detective Lopez ensures that wherever the cult reappears, they won’t have the aid of his police force.

Suzanne’s Family No Longer Trusts Suzanne Or Mae

Mae Is A Manipulator

There is a short time jump in the Devil in Ohio ending after the night of the sacrifice, and it’s revealed that Suzanne and Mae are now living alone together while Peter and his three daughters live separately. It’s never explicitly relayed why they are living apart. However, Peter mentions that Suzanne promised not to bring Mae around the girls, and implies that their problems are not because of Mae, but because Suzanne ignored her family for her psychiatrist work.

Peter’s problems with the house, her daughters fighting, and other family obligations are missed because Suzanne is preoccupied with her work, specifically Mae. The cult, the danger, and the supernatural occurrences are all things Peter thinks they, as a family, could have dealt with, but it’s Suzanne’s near obsession with her work and willingness to put it in front of her family that drives them away. Everyone else can see Mae as a manipulator, but Suzanne realizes too late that she’s put her attention and focus on someone she doesn’t understand, and her choices may have now trapped her.

The Real Meaning Of Devil In Ohio’s Ending

The Miniseries Is About Motherhood

Devil in Ohio is primarily a story about mothers. There are three major ones in the show and each makes different decisions regarding their daughters that have massive consequences. Suzanne’s mother allowed her husband to abuse Suzanne, which is why she develops such a strong protective instinct over Mae, attempting to protect her at the cost of losing sight of who she is protecting. Mae’s birth mother Abigail also chooses an abuser over her daughter. Abigail would rather sacrifice herself to the cult than leave with Mae, and be the mother her daughter needs.

Suzanne was fixated on Mae, not realizing she couldn’t see the type of person she let into her home.

Then there is the final mother, Suzanne. Though Suzanne thinks she’s doing the opposite of what her mother did by protecting Mae, she’s neglecting her other children. Suzanne is so obsessed with not repeating her mother’s mistakes that she loses sight of everything. Fixations are not good in Devil in Ohio. The cult was fixated on a mythical deal with the devil that obliged them to sacrifice one of their own. Suzanne was fixated on Mae, not realizing she couldn’t see the type of person she let into her home, at the cost of the people she loved.

The Devil In Ohio’s Ending Was One Of Its Most Praised Aspects

The Finale Left Things Open Ended For Viewers

The Devil in Ohio ending explained that Mae was responsible for breaking up Suzanne’s family and luring her to the cult to help destroy it. It was an unexpected ending since it changed the book’s finale and made it more shocking and twisty. However, the ending was what endeared Emily Deschanel to the series, as she said “I’m someone who predicts every twist and turn in every show. I did not expect that. I found it really juicy” (via Netflix). The ending was also praised because it left things open-ended and forced viewers to make their own decisions.

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Is Mae evil or is she good? The series positions that she could be a little of both. She is an innocent victim who becomes a master manipulator, and that makes this ending a lot deeper than many horror thrillers. The ending also creates a reason to rewatch the series. There are moments throughout that hint that Mae realizes she has to do something drastic to save herself and keep Suzanne there to be her new mother. The Devil in Ohio didn’t get great reviews, but the ending was the best part of it

Did The Devil In Ohio Book Or TV Show Have The Better Ending?

The Series Explored Trauma In A Better Manner Than The Book

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For several reasons, the Devil in Ohio series’ ending was much better than the book. The biggest improvement is that the book had the horrors playing out, and then it all finished with a mostly happily-ever-after ending. Mae might be in danger again from a possible new cult, but Suzanne continues with her life like nothing ever happened. That wouldn’t be a satisfying ending for people who watched the Netflix series as a thriller. Nothing Suzanne went through should have resulted in her returning to her old life with no changes.

In a Reddit thread discussing the ending, most viewers understood that Suzanne needed help as much as Mae, with the ending showing that it was all about trauma. “The story really is about Suzanne being messed up and not knowing it,” Redditor MariaqGo520 wrote. “I don’t know that I see Mae as anything but a messed up kid though… which is unavoidable due to her family.“

The book was too cut and dry. Suzanne rescued Mae, and then they moved on with her life. Could this have been possible with the trauma she was going through? The Devil in Ohio ending in the Netflix series explored trauma resulting from the cult storyline, with Redditor MsCandi123 writing, “I liked that it was a more realistic depiction of cults, the after-effects of traumatic abuse, and psychological horror.“