The Hulu and Disney+ series “The Clearing,” which is based on JP Pomare’s 2019 novel “In the Clearing,” primarily centres on two women: Freya Heywood (Teresa Palmer) and Adrienne Beaufort / Maitreya (Miranda Otto). Freya was a member of the Kindred, a cult founded by Adrienne, when she was a little girl. In order to protect her son, Freya reluctantly joins her abusers as a collaborator as an adult while dealing with the anguish of her past. In rural Victoria, Australia, Freya begins to wonder if Kindred is somehow connected to the disappearance of a local girl. Here is our prediction for the Kindred’s future in case the events of “The Clearing” finale have left you wondering. Spoilers follow.
What Will Happen to the Kindred?
A young girl named Sara is abducted in one of the opening scenes of the series. Although Kindred members are involved in it, Adrienne and Dr. Latham (Guy Pearce), the organization’s leaders, didn’t approve of it. When they learn what happened, they realise it might attract the attention of the law. At their headquarters on a property known as Blackmarsh, the Kindred rears a number of kids, but they are either the offspring of Kindred members or belong to persons who are unlikely to inquire about them. Over the following couple of decades, this kidnapping ultimately leads to the Kindred’s destruction.
Freya, who used to go by the name Amy when she was a member of the cult, reluctantly takes part in the abduction. The sect changes Sara’s name to Asha, but she rejects to join their ranks. Freya is eventually informed that Henrik, a cult member, returned Sara to her parents, but she subsequently finds out that this is a deception. She is captured by the police after escaping the cult. Adrienne escapes to France but is returned to Australia as a result. Ultimately, though, the case against her is ruled a mistrial, and Henrik is imprisoned in connection with Sara’s passing.
It becomes clear as the story goes on that Freya is Henrik and Hannah’s biological child. Due to her trauma, Freya has forgotten a lot about her history. But in the series conclusion, she recalls that Adrienne made Freya punish the other girl by repeatedly submerging her head in water after they failed to persuade Sara. During this, Sara passed away, and Adrienne forced Freya to confess in front of a camera, which the Kindred then used as leverage against Henrik.
Henrik, who was freed after 22 years, exposes the truth to Joe and Colin, two police investigators who have been looking into the cult for more than 20 years, after Billy, Freya’s son, goes missing. To create a new headquarters on a small island and properly restart the Kindred, Adrienne and the Kindred have sold all of their property in the interim. Adrienne understands she won’t be able to flee justice this time when the police show up for her. Adrienne has always been motivated by money, despite the fact that she has spent decades teaching about mysticism and faith. When the police show up, she makes an attempt to flee before realising the futility of the action. She effectively loses the final bit of glitz she has been using so efficiently all these years when her wig blows off as a chopper touches down.
We can infer that Adrienne’s incarceration for Sara’s killing marks the end of the Kindred as well. Even if they wanted to, none of her followers have the charisma or ability to command the group. Dr. Latham, who co-founded the Kindred with Adrienne, has been her biggest supporter, and his thoughts and views serve as the organization’s guiding principles. However, his final conversation with Adrienne reveals the real Adrienne to him, leaving him disappointed. He will probably live the rest of his life in solitude since he will probably never be able to accept that his life was wasted on believing a phoney.
The biological brother of Freya, Anton, may attempt to maintain the Kindred. He has been Adrienne’s most ardent supporter in terms of adherence. That loyalty is unlikely to be affected even by the knowledge that Adrienne is not his biological mother. But whether he will be effective in leading the cult is a different matter.
The cult would terminate in a perfect world if it disintegrated in the upcoming months. The Family, a real-life Australian new-age cult that is the inspiration for The Kindred, is said to have survived long after the passing of its founder, Anne Hamilton-Byrne. The Kindred will therefore continue to exist even after Adrienne’s incarceration if the world of “The Clearing” is as flawed as ours, and the fight over Adrienne’s $80 million inheritance will probably be at its centre.
