The Netflix original horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen finally arrived and invited the world to the creepy and literally cursed wedding of Rachel Harkin and Nicky Cunningham. Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco star as the bride and groom who are forced to outrun a potentially fatal walk down the aisle. But what exactly is the “something bad” that’s going to happen?
Let’s not spoil the surprise for those who are still binge-watching the series, but the horror series delves into the concept of soulmates and how someone can know whether they are marrying the right person. Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen centers on an eerie generational curse that Rachel tries her hardest to break. Does she do it? Here’s what happens in the end.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead from Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on Netflix!
How did the curse begin in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen?
After having immediate feelings of unease when she and Nicky arrive at Somerhouse, Rachel finally learns the truth about the curse that’s hanging over her head in episode 4. Not only does she learn about the curse, but she also discovers her true origin story and what happened to her mother. Oddly enough, her story connects to Nicky’s family in a way she wouldn’t expect.
Rachel’s mother, Alexandra (Victoria Pedretti), died after marrying her father, Jay, while in a cabin on the same property of Somerhouse. A young Jules was hiding under the bed and watched Alexandra die and Jay tear Rachel, with whom Alexandra was pregnant, out of her woman. Jay’s profuse apologies led to Jules’ creation of the Sorry Man monster and urban legend.
Alexandra was the latest victim of the curse that his plagued the Harkin line. Rachel learns from The Witness (Zlatko Burić) that his great-great-great-grandparents weren’t able to marry when one died. The woman begged Death to bring her soulmate back, and Death agreed so long as she believed he was her one true soulmate. She did, but Death granting her wish came with a cost.
Every child born from their union would be cursed to marry their soulmate or they will die. When it was The Witness’ turn to marry Marianne, he left her at the altar in fear that she wasn’t his soulmate. He ended up becoming the witness to all future weddings in the Harkin bloodline as punishment after Marianne ended up marrying Thomas Harkin, and the curse transferred to his bloodline.
Rachel realizes that she has three options with bad outcomes. One, she marries Nicky and she lives because they are actual soulmates. Two, she marries Nicky and she dies because they aren’t soulmates. And three, she leaves him at the altar and the curse transfers to the Cunningham bloodline. She becomes determined to find a way to stop the curse, but…
Why does Rachel become the new Witness of the curse?
Despite her best efforts to contact her ancestors to find out how they evaded the curse and throw together ingredients for a ritual to turn herself into Nicky’s soulmate, Rachel ends up becoming the new Witness of the curse. Wait, what? How does that work, and does that mean she survived? Well, it’s very complicated and involves a lot of blood and very bad things.
Rachel decides not to drink the potion, even after cutting off her pinky toe, choosing to believe that Nicky’s her soulmate and accepting her fate. However, after saying her vows, Nicky hesitates during the ring portion of the ceremony. He doesn’t want to get married but wants to stay together. She quickly realizes that he doesn’t believe in the curse and doesn’t understand the stakes.
When Rachel and Nicky don’t get married before sundown, the curse immediately transfers to his family, taking out his mother Victoria (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and sister Portia (Gus Birney), who aren’t married to their soulmates. A shocking number of their wedding guests are also hit by the curse, turning Somerhouse into the bloody mess we saw in the first episode’s opening tease.
However, in a desperate attempt to stop the curse, Jules insists on completing Rachel and Nicky’s wedding, and since The Witness already signed the papers, they are now married. Even though it’s past sundown, the curse hits Rachel, revealing that Nicky isn’t her soulmate, and she dies. In the morning, Death kills The Witness, which brings Rachel back to life as the new Witness.
Since the curse transferred to a new bloodline before it also killed Rachel, there needs to be a new Witness that’s connected to the curse’s transfer. Unfortunately for Rachel, that’s her. She’s now immortal and will bear witness to every wedding in Nicky’s family, which she warns Jude about before leaving Somerhouse for good… or at least for now. She gets to live, but at a significant cost.
