The 2025 Hulu original drama series, Washington Black, concludes with a poignant episode that recaps the stories of each of the main characters, though with a special focus on the protagonist. After traveling to London to participate in the Royal Science League's World Science Exposition, Wash discovers a number of characters from his past and sets out to reconnect with them. The ending of Washington Black differs significantly from its original source, Esi Edugyan's novel of the same name, and in this article, we analyze the final episode and the possibility of a return season.
Back in Halifax, Tanna convinced her father to let Wash help with the invention of the aquarium and its application in the field of marine biology, and in return, she asked him to recognize his contributions on the big stage. Despite being an extraordinarily talented scientist and inventor, Wash would not have been selected for the Royal Science League solely because of his skin color, so he would not have been able to fulfill his teenage dream directly. But being recognized on the stage of the World Science Fair would be no less, and people would finally recognize his intelligence. This is precisely why Tanna asked her father to help Wash, and Mr. Goff also accepted the proposal, although it was later revealed that he must have already decided not to do so at that point.
Stars: Sterling K. Brown, Tom Ellis, Rupert Graves
Goff was truly desperate to be accepted into the RSL once again, having been expelled from the organization previously, and so he was willing to accept any situation that would help him. He is much more tolerant and friendly toward Wash than he was toward other white men of the time, and Goff also finds the young man's interest in science quite innocently fascinating. However, Goff is still a man of his time, which means he doesn't genuinely believe in racial equality, despite what he may claim, and this becomes evident later in London.
He always hides behind the claim that no one will accept a Black scientist or inventor, when in reality, deep down in his prejudices, he doesn't want to accept someone of color in such a high position either. It's logical to assume that Goff also secretly takes responsibility for the "mistake" of having a romantic relationship with a Black woman, and therefore, technically, must have found nothing wrong with the RSL's racist decision to blacklist him at the beginning of the series.
Thus, when Goff wins the gold medal at the World Science Exhibition in London, he takes full credit for the invention of the aquarium and makes no mention at all of Wash's contributions. When confronted by Tanna and Wash, he claims that this is not the appropriate place to bring up the matter, as the racist and classist members of the RSL will surely not accept it without objection. In reality, Goff fears the consequences of going against convention, and in the process, he not only takes full credit for someone else's scientific invention but also indirectly participates in racism. Although Tanna had already suspected her father's intentions several times, she had not expected him to stoop to such low standards. After making her love for Wash public, Tanna decides to break up with her father because of his racist and cowardly nature. It's immediately clear that she wasn't wrong, as Goff literally storms off to celebrate her victory with the other RSL members, abandoning his daughter and demonstrating his priorities.
Before the science exhibition, Wash meets Peter, James Wilde's secret lover, in London, who is now one of the competition's judges. It is Peter who informs Wash that the Faith plantation, where he worked during his childhood, has been closed and sold, meaning everyone who was a slave there has moved away, and many of them are now in London as well. Wash goes to Wilde's London mansion to inquire, and there he finds Gaius, the plantation's former caretaker. It is Gaius who finally reveals to Wash that Christopher "Titch" Wilde, the man with whom he had so many adventures during his childhood and adolescence, is still alive.
Although Wash had sincerely loved and revered Titch for most of his life, his experience changed completely when they separated, somewhat forcibly, after the young man's abandonment in the Arctic. Thus, when Wash travels to Morocco in search of his former mentor, he carries a deep sense of intrigue and resentment, and the reunion is not happy, but rather a confrontation. It is discovered that Titch is still alive, living in the deserts of Morocco, conducting scientific research and trying to build a flying machine capable of taking off into space and reaching the Moon. While the old man tries to welcome Wash, expressing his joy at seeing him again, the protagonist is not in that mood.
Wash directly asks what he had come to find out: why had Titch abandoned him in the snowy fields of the Arctic, knowing full well that the boy always wanted to be with him and accompany him on new scientific expeditions? He also asks why the man chose him as an apprentice, separating him from his mother and causing a series of unnecessary tragedies. But Titch doesn't have a straightforward answer. The truth is, Titch had always been concerned only with his scientific inventions and theories, and had never been particularly fond of Wash. He had made him his apprentice because he was far more interested in science than anyone else on the plantation, and he had kept him as a companion because of his skill with illustrations.
Titch himself once admitted that Wash brought a knack for depicting things beautifully through his illustrations, something he completely lacked. Although it seemed to Wash that the man genuinely cared about him and wanted to save him from slavery, this was not the case. Just as everyone had warned the boy, Titch was ultimately just another rich white man who pretended to care about Black people, but only cared about his own interests and motives, and his abolitionist ideas were just part of a hobby he never took seriously. Thus, at a time when his father had hurt him terribly and his life seemed to be falling apart, Titch didn't even hesitate to abandon Wash, for no valid reason, simply because he felt like it. In the ending of Washington Black, Titch appears alive and continues to investigate his spaceship.
During this interaction in Morocco, Titch also takes the opportunity to ask Wash something he'd longed to ask, after discovering that Wash had been at his father's camp when James took his last breath. Titch wants to know what his father's last words were, and it turns out that James had actually spoken his final words to his son to Wish, perhaps hoping the boy would be a kind of vehicle for those words to reach Titch someday in the future. The underlying theme of paternal acceptance exists throughout Washington Black, but it's most evident in this case.
Titch had always desired his father's approval and attention, to the point of building his entire personality, profession, and interests around impressing him. It was only to gain James's approval that Titch became a scientist and worked hard to improve his father's idea for the "Cloud Cutter," which he even managed to turn into a flying machine. He was therefore devastated when James behaved so harshly toward him in the Arctic, after having made the long journey to reach the northernmost tip of the world and reunite with his father. This personal disappointment affected him so much that he left the place that same night, leaving Wash behind.
There were two main reasons behind James's hostile behavior at this time: the first was the disappointment he felt at being found by a relative after having spread the false news of his death. James clearly wanted to get away from his family and live in the Arctic, conducting his research and, even more importantly, spending the rest of his life with his lover, Peter, knowing that their homosexual relationship would be frowned upon and persecuted elsewhere. Thus, one reason that dissuaded Titch from staying there for long might have been his own emotional desire to be safe with his partner. But there was definitely another, more significant reason behind his behavior, evident in his final words, which Wash reveals to Titch at that moment.
James always knew that his son had dedicated his entire life to impressing him and had chosen the same profession as him without really having the interest or skills to be a scientist. James didn't want Titch to waste his life pursuing such a trivial goal, as he truly loved his son and wanted to see him succeed in all aspects of life, even though he never expressed it. Titch could never feel his father's love, and so he kept seeking his approval, while James tried to dissuade him with the harshest words. However, in his final words to Titch, James revealed his love and advised him to do something of his own, without being distracted by what the world expects of him. While these words are very meaningful to Titch, he discovers them too late, and by then he has developed a genuine interest in creating outlandish scientific inventions.
During the ending of Washington Black, Wash discovers from Gaius, or specifically from the plantation's ledger, that Big Kit was actually his biological mother, although she had kept it from him. Originally named Nawi, Kit was actually a warrior from the Kingdom of Dahomey before being sold into slavery on the Barbados plantation. Nawi served as a royal guard in her homeland, and according to tradition, these female soldiers weren't allowed to have children, not even lovers. But Nawi had decided to secretly defy these patriarchal rules—or at least, she didn't stop at falling in love with a man from the kingdom. She continued a secret affair with him, but all hell broke loose when she became pregnant.
The king discovered her pregnancy, and since she openly refused to have an abortion, Nawi was sold to slave traders by her own king, the man she had served her entire life. So, when Nawi arrived in Barbados and assumed the new identity of Katherine, or Big Kit, she was pregnant with Wash. But after giving birth, she decided to hide the child from the child to protect him from danger. Kit believed that if Wash had known she was his real mother, he would have developed a strong and tenacious bond with her, which could have gotten him into trouble with his masters. On a plantation where almost no slave child survived past adolescence, Kit didn't want to take this risk, so he kept Wash in the dark about his true ancestry. He also feared that people from his homeland would come looking for his son and take him away, so he treated Wash as a mere child in his care.
Wash learns all this as he grows up, long after Kit's passing, but still decides to visit Dahomey to pay tribute to his mother's spirit and her sacrifices. He meets Esi, Kit's former best friend, who welcomes him and Tanna and takes on the responsibility of overseeing the latter's birth. Eventually, Wash is reunited with his mother, albeit in his imagination, as Kit's spirit visits him and explains why she made certain choices in the past. Although a literal reunion doesn't occur, Wash feels no remorse or discontent toward his mother, understanding that she kept her identity a secret only for him. The identity of Wash's biological father is never revealed, nor are any clues given.
As Tanna gives birth, following the traditions of the Fon people in Dahomey, a group of women hold her in a natural pool, as they consider water to be the most sacred element of nature. She struggles with the pain and strain of childbirth, but suddenly sees another woman floating on the surface of the water beside her, giving Tanna immense strength and confidence to face the arduous process of childbirth. This woman, an imaginary figure, is actually her mother, with whom she had always longed to reconnect spiritually after her death many years ago.
Tanna's most vivid memory of her mother is from her childhood, when they both used to float in the water to relax and feel at one with nature. Therefore, just as Wash has a vision of Kit visiting him, Tanna also sees her mother's spirit beside her in the water, confirming that she has successfully reconnected with her Black heritage and the culture of her people. The longing to be with their respective parents and their roots, in the process, is also fulfilled at this moment for Wash and Tanna.
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