Ending explained The Devils Joe Abercrombie

The Devils Ending Explained: Climax, Character Fates, and Unanswered Questions

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

The Climax: The Battle at the Plague Pit

The central confrontation unfolds in the abandoned Abbey of Saint Demetrius (Chapter 50, “The Angel of Troy”). Brother Eduardo Diaz, Princess Alexia, Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi, Jakob of Thorn, Vigga Ullasdóttir, Sunny, and Baptiste are cornered by Sabbas, the self‑styled Angel of Troy, and his hunters. Sabbas reveals his wings and challenges Jakob to a duel; Jakob is impaled but survives. Balthazar, drawing on the forbidden power of the plague pit, raises the dead buried beneath the church. The corpse‑puppets devour Sabbas and his followers. The church collapses, leaving only Alex, Baptiste, Balthazar, Diaz, and Jakob among the ruins.

Major Character Outcomes

  • Princess Alexia (Alex) is crowned Empress of Troy in Chapter 52. Duke Michael and the Grand Patriarch publicly acclaim her as the rightful heir. Despite the crowd’s adoration, Alex feels an impostor, aware that luck and her companions’ sacrifices got her there.
  • Brother Eduardo Diaz survives and serves as a priest. He confesses his attraction to Vigga and their four‑time sexual encounter (Chapter 51) but remains in the Church. In the final chapter (71), he and Alex discuss whether saints or devils saved her; Diaz suggests Saint Beatrix may have used devils as tools.
  • Balthazar is captured by Cardinal Zizka in Chapter 71 after his failed attempt to break the binding. He is manacled with rune‑forged fetters and thrown into a cage with Baron Rikard, Sunny, and Vigga. He privately vows to find a way free by enlisting Lady Severa’s help.
  • Jakob of Thorn survives the duel with Sabbas and later argues with Cardinal Zizka about idealism versus pragmatism. Zizka accuses him of being an incurable romantic. Jakob returns to the Holy City with Zizka, but the future of his mission is uncertain.
  • Vigga kills Baptiste under the wolf’s influence (Chapter 71). Deeply guilty, she willingly lies in a cage, saying “I should be caged, best for everyone.”
  • Sunny refuses a final kiss from Alex and urges her to save herself. She is last seen in the cage but then vanishes from the narrative, leaving her fate ambiguous.
  • Baron Rikard is captured and caged alongside Balthazar.
  • Baptiste is killed by Vigga.

Resolved and Unresolved Threads

Resolved:

  • Alexia’s succession to the Serpent Throne is publicly confirmed, ending the immediate political crisis in Troy.
  • The immediate threat from Sabbas is eliminated.
  • The true nature of Pope Benedicta’s binding (explicitly linked to the Second Coming) is accepted by the group.

Unresolved:

  • The elven threat remains. In Chapter 67, Jakob and Duke Michael discuss elves as a looming danger that will crash on Troy.
  • Lady Severa’s secret (revealed to Balthazar alone) is left unexplored. Balthazar intends to use it to escape.
  • The fate of the imprisoned characters (Balthazar, Baron Rikard, Sunny, Vigga) is open‑ended.
  • Cardinal Zizka’s schemes are only partially revealed. She summons Mother Beckert and Caruso in Chapter 72, setting up a sequel.
  • The nature of Pope Benedicta (real divine child or a Church fabrication) is debated but never definitively answered.
  • Diaz’s faith remains conflicted; he calls the ending “about the size of it” when describing devils as tools of a saint.

Theme Resolution

  • Religious Hypocrisy and Moral Compromise: The Church uses devils (a werewolf, necromancer, cursed knight, enemy of God) to achieve its ends. Diaz and Alex openly acknowledge this hypocrisy without resolving it.
  • Identity and Deception: Alex’s rise from street thief to empress hinges on her willingness to play the role. She never fully reconciles her two selves.
  • Survival and Pragmatism: Every major character makes morally grey choices to survive. Baptiste’s death is a pragmatic loss; Balthazar’s survival through submission.
  • Redemption and Guilt: Jakob’s guilt over his past makes him unable to find redemption; Vigga’s guilt drives her to self‑incarceration; Diaz’s guilt over Vigga remains unspoken.
  • Power and Corruption: Cardinal Zizka embodies the Church’s corrupt pragmatism. Lady Severa’s experiments (hybrid beasts, soul research) show how power corrupts knowledge.

Epilogue

Chapter 73 is a bibliographic page (“By Joe Abercrombie”) listing the author’s works. There is no narrative epilogue. The book ends with Chapter 72, which introduces Mother Beckert—a principled, uncompromising figure—and the mysterious Caruso, both summoned by Cardinal Zizka. This clearly sets the stage for a sequel without resolving the main characters’ fates.

Reasonable Interpretations

  • The line “she’s not holding your leash” (Zizka to Balthazar, Chapter 71) implies that even if Pope Benedicta is the Second Coming, the Church will continue to operate on expediency.
  • Alex’s coronation may be a hollow victory: she is a puppet of forces she cannot control.
  • The repeated motif of “enemies of God are everywhere” (Chapter 25) suggests that moral absolutes are impossible in this world.

6 Reader Questions and Answers

1. Is Pope Benedicta really the Second Coming of the Saviour? The text leaves the answer ambiguous. Balthazar becomes convinced after a Duke of Hell fails to break her binding, but Zizka’s actions suggest the Church will exploit the claim regardless. No definitive proof is given.

2. What happens to Balthazar after he is caged? He is held in the hold of a ship by Cardinal Zizka, wearing rune‑forged fetters that block his magic. He vows to break the binding by using Lady Severa’s secret, but his escape is not shown.

3. Does Alex truly become Empress? Yes. Duke Michael and the Grand Patriarch publicly acclaim her in Chapter 52. However, she feels like an impostor, and Zizka’s later manipulation implies the throne’s power is limited.

4. Why does Vigga kill Baptiste? Under the influence of the nearly full moon, Vigga loses control of her werewolf instincts. Chapter 71 shows her consumed by guilt afterward, saying “I should be caged.”

5. What is Lady Severa’s secret? In Chapter 53, Lady Severa discusses Empress Eudoxia’s experiments in hybrid beasts and soul research. Balthazar discovers that Severa herself may have transferred her soul into a new body—a secret he plans to use to win her aid. The full nature of her secret is not revealed.

6. Will there be a sequel? The final narrative chapter (72) introduces Mother Beckert and Caruso, both summoned by Cardinal Zizka. This open thread, combined with unresolved elven threat and imprisoned characters, strongly suggests a sequel is planned, though none has been announced.