Does the final scene of The Decameron depict afterlife? Explained

The Decameron, the latest eight-episode medieval black comedy on Netflix, was released on July 25, 2024. Set in Florence in 1348, the show depicts the Black Death, a plague that wiped out a major portion of Europe’s population from 1346 to 1353.

In the show, some nobles and their servants take shelter in the countryside Villa Santa where they intend to wait out the plague. They were invited there by Visconte Leonardo. However, upon their arrival, things take a strange turn.

By the end of The Decameron season 1, the characters must protect themselves not just from the plague, but also from the threat in the form of human beings. The final scene of the series shows only half of the characters surviving the plague and the human beings and making it out of the villa into safety.

The final scene of the series has an optimistic feel to it, prompting viewers to wonder if it depicts the afterlife. Creator and showrunner Kathleen Jordan did not intend the final scene to be interpreted this way, but she does concede that it would not be a wrong way to read the finale.

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The Decameron final scene was not meant to depict the afterlife

A still from the series (Image via Netflix)

The final scene of the series shows Sirisco, Licisca, Filomena, Misia, Stratilia, and Jacopo surviving the mayhem within the castle and getting out of there alive. They go into the Italian woods where they share some laughter and stories.

The ending of the series is perhaps the most direct reference to its source material, the Italian medieval author Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron. It uses the frame story technique to show how a group of nobles and their servants go to a countryside villa to wait out the plague and how they keep themselves busy by telling each other stories.

The ending of the Netflix series presents a serene and joyful moment after a prolonged episode of chaos, as the villa is attacked by mercenaries and people who claim they are the rightful owners of the place since Leonardo is already dead.

Commenting on the possibility of the final scene of The Decameron depicting the afterlife, showrunner Kathleen Jordan, in a report published on July 25, 2024, said:

“That wasn’t necessarily my full intention, but I kept hearing that as we were making it, that it felt sort of otherworldly and heavenly.”

It should also be noted that two of the surviving characters, Filomena and Licisca, plan to go to Florence to find out the truth about Eduardo. This makes the afterlife-reading a bit difficult since this plan to visit a real-life city with a mission implies that the characters are alive and already thinking of what to do after their idyllic break is over.

However, the sheer utopic joy shown in the final scene of The Decameron makes it equally difficult to dismiss the afterlife-reading. Tudum reports that Tony Hale (who plays Sirisco, Leonardo’s humble servant) is a “fan of the idea.” The afterlife or not, the final scene of the series depicts the show creator’s “hopeful worldview.”

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The Decameron: Plot, cast, and more

The official synopsis of The Decameron reads:

“As the bubonic plague spreads through Italy, a group of nobles and servants retreats to a villa, where their lavish getaway quickly spirals into chaos.”

The Black Death, a bubonic plague, wreaked havoc in Florence in 1348, like in the other cities of Europe. It was spread by fleas carried by rats, which is referenced in the trails of rats shown in the beginning. To survive such a dire condition, a group of nobles and their servants pack things up and go to Villa Santa.

Upon arriving there, they discover that the owner of the castle, Leonardo, is dead. Nevertheless, they soon settle down in their temporary shelter and start passing their time in frivolities. However, things take a grim turn when several people, including some mercenaries, arrive at the castle and start claiming their legal ownership of the same.

The Decameron depicts how experiences of plague vary among different classes of people. By the end of the series, it is mostly people from the lower classes, or people who sympathize with the same, who survive the plague and the violence of the humans.

The cast of the series includes:

• Zosia Mamet as Pampinea
• Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Misia
• Tanya Reynolds as Licisca
• Amar Chadha-Patel as Dioneo
• Leila Farzad as Stratilia
• Lou Gala as Neifile
• Karan Gill as Panfilo
• Tony Hale as Sirisco

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The Decameron is currently streaming on Netflix.