WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Third Day Episode 6, "Last Day -- The Dark," now airing on HBO.
To the very end, HBO's The Third Day kept fans guessing what would happen as Helen (Naomie Harris) came to Osea Island for her estranged husband, Sam (Jude Law). It turns out she really wanted money he stole from her, which leads to a wild finale where he tries to redeem himself by helping her escape with their daughters, Lu and Ellie, so they could start a new life without him.
However, the final scene shows Helen possibly enduring hypothermia from swimming across the channel and pulling her girls via raft to the mainland. As Ellie embraces Lu, with the sun hitting them in a small hut, it does seem like Helen actually dies but while fans think this tragedy might be a bit too morbid, it actually fits the tone of the series and Helen's character.
This series is about parents paying for their mistakes and in Sam's case, he stays on Osea to face Jess and their newborn kid, Epona, as he knows he's been a manipulator, cheater and womanizer. In Helen's case, she has to pay for what she put the girls through as she could have come to the island without them. She dragged them along as she didn't want her mother corrupting them with religious beliefs but bringing them to a place Sam went missing from is just a poor excuse to endanger the kids.
Helen doesn't think this through and just wants the cash back, which Sam took preventing their ability to move from London. It's pretty selfish on her part, but we learn this is in her nature. She once told their son, Nathan, she wishes he wasn't born as he was a difficult child to raise, only to then turn to "stone" when he died. Ellie points out how cold she was to her in the wake of this and that Helen only treated Lu with warmth as Lu was born much later and didn't remind the mom of her failures and guilt of losing Nathan.
Also, Helen tries to absolve herself of error when she derides Sam for losing the boy as he was on a call with another woman. We're not forgiving Sam, but Helen never accepts she has a role to play in their flailing marriage. She simply loves blaming people and Ellie feels like she got unwarranted blame as well for Nathan's passing. Now, we understand Helen wants the cash as she's trying to protect the girls' future, but as she and Sam keep bickering it's clear she just wants to beat him at their domestic game. She should have been trying to leave the island knowing a coup is going on because life matters more than money, but she just has to rub it in how weak Sam is as a man. It's why when Ellie joins this argument, she berates her mom and not Sam, and also why she betrays them to Jess' crew. Jess has been more motherly and caring, and even after she goes psycho and starts killing people, Ellie can tell Helen is as neglectful.
When they do escape, Ellie can't help but look at Helen clutching the bag with the money as she trembles. She should be hugging her girls, and at this point Ellie takes pity and forgives her. She hugs Lu instead and they embrace Helen to transfer warmth to her, which feels metaphorical. Ellie can tell she'll have to be Lu's mother moving forward because Helen is broken by greed, money-wise and emotionally. More so, Ellie has seen toxic parenting from Sam and Jess, and realizes Helen's a similar poison that she won't mind losing.
HBO's The Third Day stars Jude Law, Naomie Harris, Katherine Waterston, Nico Parker, Charlotte Gairdner-Mihell, Paddy Considine and Emily Watson.