The Rig: Ending Explained – What Happened To Baz and More

This The Rig ending explained article contains major spoilers for Season One.

The world of TV is already off to a flying start in 2023. Between Netflix’s unique heist series Kaleidoscope and HBO’s upcoming adaption of video game series The Last of Us, TV fans have some great stuff to enjoy this month. However, The Rig, a new Amazon Prime series, is proving to be a surprise hit with viewers.

The Rig follows a group of men and women who live and work on an oil rig in the North Sea.

After the crew inexplicably lose contact with the mainland and a mysterious fog engulfs the Kinloch Bravo platform, things take a disturbing turn for the worst. Before long, the crew are fighting for survival against an ancient supernatural force that tests the limits of their psychological resilience.

The Rig consists of six episodes. Subscribers can binge them all on Amazon Prime right now.

The series tells a compelling mystery inspired by tales from creator David Macpherson’s father (who was a former oil rig worker). What’s more, it features a great and highly recognisable cast from two hit shows.

The Rig‘s cast includes Iain Glen, Owen Teale, and Mark Addy. Game of Thrones fans will know them as Jorah Mormont, Allisen Thorne, and King Robert Baratheon, respectively.

They are joined by Martin Compston, Mark Bonnar, and Rochenda Sandall. They are known for their roles as DI Steve Arnott, DCC Mike Dryden, and Lisa McQueen in Line of Duty.

The Rig‘s ending is packed full of twists. But it is likely to leave you with more than a few questions.

Thankfully, this article is here to help you to wrap your head around things. So, let’s get on with The Rig ending explained…

The Rig: Ending Explained

If you enjoyed The Rig, you’ll be glad that the season finale leaves things open-ended for a possible second season.

In the last episode, the mysterious David Coake triggers an emergency evacuation and the crew scramble to reason with the deadly supernatural entity.

But what exactly happened in The Rig‘s ending?

Did Baz die at the end of The Rig Season One?

At the start of the season, oil rig worker Baz is excited to get back to the mainland and join his friends for a stag do in Prague. But after the fog rolls in and Baz has a terrible fall from the top of a comms tower, he is forever changed.

Afterwards, Baz begins to communicate with the supernatural entity – dubbed “the Ancestor” – by way of visions and intuitive feelings. He begs the others to listen and to help him in talking to the Ancestor.

Unfortunately, they don’t until it’s too late. By which point, it has already triggered a tsunami that ultimately wipes out the Kinloch Bravo and is headed for the mainland.

After the team fail to reason with the Ancestor in time, Baz decides to stay on the platform and join it. In the end, we see him walk into the bioluminescent spores with his hands up before he is engulfed by them.

While the immediate aftermath shows the oil platform being destroyed by a tsunami, it’s fairly safe to assume Baz may not have died at the end of The Rig season one.

Right before the huge wave hits, we see the Ancestor cover Baz in spores like a blanket. We already know the spores have regenerative properties that saved Baz from death after his fall. So, it’s likely they will once again protect him from drowning.

As the only one willing to listen to the Ancestor, it makes sense that it would save Baz to act as a communication facilitator in the future. But we’ll have to wait for season two to find out more.

Where is the helicopter headed?

After the tsunami destroys the Kinloch Bravo, the crew assume that both rescue helicopters are headed back home. However, David Coake explains that the chopper isn’t going back. “I told you. You wanted to go home? You should’ve listened to me,” he says.

Rose then asks where the helicopter is going. But she doesn’t get an answer from Coake before the credits roll.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for a second season to find out where the helicopter is going. However, we can deduce that if it isn’t headed back to the mainland, it will likely be going to a Pictor Energy base made for VIPs like Coake.

This is the result of Coake failing in his mission to kill the Ancestor due to the Kinloch Bravo’s crew disobeying his orders.

Does Kacey die?

Throughout the show’s six episodes, we see that medic Cat is desperate to get home to her wife Kacey. Before the end, we learn that Cat is actually carrying the pair’s first child.

However, The Rig‘s ending implies that Kacey meets a particularly grim fate – along with many others living along the UK coast.

After the two helicopters escape, the tsunami crashes through the Kinloch Bravo oil rig and destroys it. But it doesn’t stop there.

Right before the credits, Kacey is sat in her home as it begins to violently shake. Outside the window, the gigantic wave is barreling towards the shoreline.

Kacey then approaches the window as the tsunami gets closer until she is entirely blanketed in the wave’s shadow.

We don’t explicitly see her die as a result of the oncoming wave. But it’s basically a given that she will be killed as soon as it makes landfall.

Tsunamis are deadly natural disasters. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people. So, it’s safe to say that Kacey won’t stand any chance being as close to the coastline as she is.

Why did Coake risk everyone’s lives and what is Project Cirein?

The Ancestor was certainly a mystery to those on the Kinloch Bravo when the fog first rolled in. However, David Coake – an executive from Pictor Energy – already knew about it.

It emerges that the Ancestor is an entity that has existed on planet Earth for hundreds of millions of years. It’s also revealed that Pictor Energy knew it was hibernating within the oil wells.

Although the mystery around Project Cirein isn’t explained at the conclusion of The Rig season one, it’s clear that it is centred around Coake’s plot to kill the Ancestor before it spreads to land.

From what Coake says, it’s apparent that he chose to risk the lives of the Kinloch Bravo’s crew as a necessary sacrifice to save those on-land and preserve Pictor Energy’s reputation. It’s logical to assume that this is the true purpose of Project Cirein.

What did you think to the ending of The Rig? Are you hoping for a second season? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other Film & TV articles…