WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Archive 81, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Archive 81 was a cryptic journey as Dan (Mamoudou Athie) tried to restore old video footage from a 1994 fire at the Visser building in New York. As he unlocked the mystery over 25 years later, he became linked to Melody, a young woman investigating a cult there. Shockingly, their fates were intertwined as it turned out the fire was actually due to a portal being opened up. It led to a mind-bending ending that changed Dan's life forever as he tried to bring Melody back home.
The Truth About The Visser's Cult in Archive 81
Dan and his bestie, Mark, realized the cult, led by Samuel, was trying to bring a demon, Kaelego, to life. Melody went back to the building to free the intended sacrifice, Jess, but it was all a trap laid down by Samuel. He used Melody's own abandonment issues searching for her mom, Julia, in the building and ensnared her.
Dan used Jess' footage and saw that as Samuel slit Tamara's throat and offered up Melody, due to her Baldung witch blood, to open a rift to the Otherworld. But when the portal opened, they all got sucked in, which caused the fire and burned the place down. Only Jess survived, fleeing to Haiti to become a nun, but not before leaving the footage behind for Dan to find years later.
Archive 81's Cult Was Linked To The Vos Family
Samuel's cult didn't begin in 1994, though, because from footage Mark got from 1924, it was started with the Vos family. The daughter, Iris, wanted to summon Kaelego so he could recreate the planet and gift her a child. Her brother, Lukas, fled as he hated the mass killings she enacted, but Jonah stayed on as the snuff film was recorded.
Unfortunately, Iris' ritual and the opening of her portal ended with a fire too, as she got sucked into the dark realm. Shockingly, after the Vos mansion burned down, years later the Visser was be built on it with this ritualistic room being the one Samuel used for his shenanigans. Luckily for Dan, both these sets of footage provided the key to recovering Melody.
Dan's Purpose Finally Became Clear in Archive 81
Dan's therapist dad, Steven, worked to expose the shady dealings at the Visser, recovering Melody's footage as he realized from their therapy sessions, she wasn't crazy. Sadly, the Baldung burned Steven's home down as they didn't want anyone using the tapes. Dan survived and as fate brought him into this story, he realizes the tapes actually acted as a conduit to Kaelego's world. It's why he was connected to Melody and dreaming her all this time.
After he and Mark knocked his boss, Virgil (Samuel's brother), out, Julia showed up, confirming she was moonlighting as Bobbi (Virgil's assistant) as she was a Baldung. Her kind wanted the portal to remain closed, but now, she didn't mind using the last of her magic to bring Melody home. And so, with Julia, her tuning fork and the videos' details, they opened the rift for Dan to enter, eager to undo his mistakes his dad made early on by not believing Melody.
Archive 81's Otherworld Returned One Hero But Kept Another
When Dan went in, he found his dead family trying to create a façade of happiness. But he could tell this was Kaelego trying to trick him. Luckily, he broke free and found Melody, but as the church began crumbling when the demon got angry, Samuel surprisingly stole her away. He threw her back into the real world as the rift collapsed, reuniting her with Julia. However, Mark was upset as Dan didn't return, leaving them clueless where he was marooned.
Season 1 ended with Dan in a hospital in New York, staring at MTV reporting Kurt Cobain's death. He looked out the window to see the Twin Towers, confirming he was in 1994. It's not confirmed if he time-jumped out of the Otherworld to Melody's timeline or if this was an alternate reality made by Kaelego's illusions. But what's for certain is Dan needs to find a way home, with Melody now wanting to repay the favor.
To see Dan and Melody swap places in Archive 81, stream all eight episodes on Netflix.