Kindred (Season 1) Recap, Ending Explained, and Review

Kindred Season 1 Recap and Ending Explained: Kindred on Hulu did not make too much noise in the critics’ circle. This was despite the substance of its plot and the creative talents of Branden Jenkins being involved with the project. Octavia Butler’s novel serves as its basis, but it is really the spirit of the writers, directors, and actors that build a compelling case for Kindred. The plot follows Dana James, a twenty-something writer in LA trying to get her first big breakthrough. One day, her lack of personal and professional success does not matter anymore as she finds she has the power to turn back the clock and jump into the past. When she spots a woman who looks like her dead mother in the 1800s – and that the others can see her – Dana is steadfastly determined to fetch her back.

But gradually, Dana finds she has a larger purpose to accomplish. And her own existence hinges on her success. We have recapped the entire storyline in simplified bits to make sure you get through the plot well enough without missing any important details. There is also an ending explainer for Kindred’s explosive climax and what it means for the story to spill over in a second season, probably. Enjoy our recap and ending explainer of Kindred’s season 1 below!

Kindred (Season 1) Recap

WHO IS DANA JAMES?

Kindred begins with a disturbing visual of Dana lying on the floor face down, sobbing uncontrollably. It is difficult to ascertain what has actually happened. But soon enough, the sci-fi elements of Hulu’s compelling show dictate terms. She has “returned” from one of her journeys “into the past”. Dana is new to the bustling life of LA, but it does not take her too long to adjust. Kevin, a prospective partner, is shocked when Dana, after their date, does one of her vanishing magic and shuttles between 2016 and the early 1800s.

She is single and lives in a spacious house. At first, she dismisses her vanishings as sleepwalking. But soon enough, the realization hits her. Dana has a new headache to deal with. It presents a frightening yet exciting opportunity for her. Maybe it can become her own story to tell to the world someday and may even lead to a cathartic ending.

VENTURING INTO THE PAST TO SORT OUT THE PRESENT

Her first foray into the past is a plantation in Weylin (owned by Thomas and Margaret). Dana cannot believe her eyes when she sees Olivia in the flesh. Her mother had apparently died, but here she was. But who is this person? Dana does not engage. The only person she repeatedly saves and interacts with is Rufus. Once, when he is a baby; the next time, when he almost drowns; and lastly, from a fire. Why only him, you might ask. Well, the pattern goes something like this. Dana wakes up whenever she is threatened and falls back whenever someone else’s life is, specifically Rufus.

Her weird journey continues as she bumps into Luke, a slave in the place. Somehow, he also recognizes Dana and has a similar reaction to Rufus. She is pointed to Hagar’s house, where she finally meets Olivia. Now, it seems that she might get some answers. But there are more questions as Olivia shockingly claims that whatever is happening with Dana has already happened with her! She, too, was sucked into this unescapable maelstrom as a 26-year-old. The only difference: the daughter has been able to go back. That explains why Olivia’s body was never found (as confirmed by Denise, Dana’s aunt). She was stuck here!

DANA GETS A COMPANION

Kevin is not to be left behind. On the next trip, he is transported with her, and the two pose as a couple from faraway lands. But not in the usual sense. The relationship is strictly portrayed as “master-servant”. Like Interstellar, the two spaces operate with a different understanding of time and space. In Dana’s timeline, the time moves relatively slower. When she is back again, Olivia has visibly grown older. She has also forged bonds that she cannot up and leave. The Weylin’s kicked out Olivia, despite her efforts to raise Rufus, because of prejudice and racist beliefs. Dana reassures Olivia that she can now be free. Wouldn’t you jump at that opportunity? But Olivia says no.

She does not want to leave Alice, Hagar’s surviving daughter, down on the haunches. Alice is all alone in the house. Without Olivia, she will not survive. So now, she is stuck in that reality. Dana tries to carry on in the hopes of someday convincing her mother to accompany her.

DANA FINDS HER ANCESTORS

In the course of things, Dana makes an important discovery. Rufus is one of her ancestors. Yes, that is the symbiotic connection that kept bringing her back whenever his life was threatened. Dana’s presence was linked to her survival. The entire story would have never happened if Rufus was not secure and could not further his kin. But why did the responsibility solely fall on Dana to keep him alive? Turns out, it didn’t. Women from the James family have for years disappeared without any print of their existence.

Dana’s own grandmother had left her mother when she was just a child and gone away somewhere, never keeping any contact since then. It is too much content for a writer to experience and not write about. Dana keeps her calm and focused, though, and it leads her to spot Rufus with a black girl, Carrie. She is Sarah’s daughter, who works as a cook in the house.

Some more digging reveals that she secretly did not want the Weylin family to have any happiness. Sarah caused a lot of damage over the years to Margaret’s aspirations to become a mother. It becomes quite apparent to us and Dana that she is directly linked to Rufus and Carrie. Their child will eventually lead the kin forward, and Dana will be a part of that legacy. Keeping them together somehow becomes her purpose. At least, that is what she construes this superpower to be.

In the context of what the novel represents, it is a genius metaphorical tool to manifest the insecurities of the Black community and the White community about interracial relations and marriages. There was a species of brave young men and women who defied the social structure, went against the tide, and paved the way for future generations. Kindred celebrates that element of history so often left in the margins and side-lined by the more glorious worshipping of famous events.

KEVIN AND DANA’S RUSE AND A NEW PURPOSE

Kevin also wants to do his bit, and his musical talents see him land the job of the pianist to teach Rufus at the plantation. Their exchanges are quite uniquely written and performed. A very soft but careful distinction is made between piano lessons and the dictum on racial injustice. Rufus defies the odds to marry Carrie, and it is essential for him to learn all of this. Dana keeps a vigil over Carrie, preventing any harm from coming her way. Until the arrival of May, Margaret’s sister.

The old lady disrupts any semblance of a plan that Dana had made until then and takes away her sister, not bearing to see her tortured like this. Rufus goes with his mother, putting Dana in a spot of bother. All of this happens in Thomas’ absence, leading to our next important chapter. Kevin’s human core gives way to another big event in the story. Thomas took him on a trip. The two gelled quite well, and the pretense seemed to be working. Kevin’s moral turpitude got the best of him, and he broke off his appearances to confront Thomas.

But the old slave master was having none of it. He abandons Kevin, threatens him ever to return, and goes home an angry man. His anger boils over when he finds Margaret and Rufus missing. Despite Kevin informing Olivia of what has transpired, Dana is helpless for now as Thomas makes her his slave, not realizing her true identity. All this time, Dana was well hidden through a slew of distractions on the plantation. But now that Thomas wants to vent, he turns his eye toward her.

Kindred (Season 1) Ending Explained

What happens to Olivia and Kevin in the past?

Olivia’s arrival is a tad too late as Dana is not to be found. Sarah is worried and feels that some harm might have come to her. Thomas suspects that Olivia’s arrival on the plantation and tense demeanor point to something fishy. We do see Dana again – on the plantation itself – doing something that was illegal in those times: reading books. Thomas is livid when he finds her and even more angered at Dana’s unapologetic stance. Like Django Unchained, he brings public humiliation to Dana in the courtyard by tying her up and whipping the soul out of her. Dana cries with pain, only for Olivia to become her savior. She is close to death, and you know want happens then: Dana is taken back. Olivia is not with her, but Dana’s wounds hold her attention for now.

The police arrive on complaints by Dana’s neighbors. Denise comes to her rescue, shooing off the police and taking care of her. The two come up with an idea to avoid such beatings and instances from happening again while ensuring that Dana’s purpose is not lost. She thinks saving another ancestor would prove to be effective in the scheme of things.

Kevin, meanwhile, has been left behind. His unwilling participation in the ordeal after Dana’s vanishing is not easy. Since the past timeline moves at a frenetic pace, some hours passing by turn into years on the plantation, and Kevin becomes a silver fox, like in the book. Well, silver fox because of the hair and not really anything more. He has remained true to his ideals and has not let the times or the place change him. He is seen with a now grown-up Alice. The two live alone as free people, not bothered too much by the other townies. But, in a stark turn of the plot, we realize that Olivia, too, is not there on the plantation.

A turn of the pages sporting the family tree – on both sides – Dana arrives as a startling revelation. Carrie was never going to be Rufus’ wife; it was going to be Alice! She and Rufus had a baby together, creating this bloodline. Denise’s husband confirms that Olivia was found in her house! She was indeed transported back with Dana and somehow ended up in her house.

This is where the season ends, leaving us with titillating possibilities. It all but confirms that to conclude the storyline, we will have another season of Kindred.

Kindred (Season 1) Review

Kindred was a tumultuous ride. The complex storytelling structure did present some rudimentary challenges and confusion. But they were not enough to displace the effort mounted by Branden Jenkins to dramatize Octavia Butler’s revolutionary novel of the same name. Over eight parts, Jenkins distributes the weight of the story well with the writers, not allowing any segment to become lopsided. The quality of production, story, and characters remains consistently good throughout as a result. It keeps the viewer always hunting for more and engaging with the narrative.

Initially, there is a slight hesitance to follow through as Jenkins begins his world-building. But the unique culmination of creative brilliance on the screen and a jousting, twisty script with rich observations about racism and cultural prejudices catches you up. Looking at the past through the prism of the present is an annoyingly redundant theme nowadays. Kindred, though, reverses its contours a bit, making the exploration of the past through the sensibilities of the present placed in that timeline.

The cultural representation of the 1800s is itself very detailed and ubiquitous. It serves as a never-ending reminder of the literary spirit with which the author captured themes of oppression, racial injustices, and the dynamics of race relations in the book. “Saving the ancestors” was a clever touch by Butler in her book that brought out a sense of desperation and helplessness when it came to preserving the legacy of struggle by those who do not recognize the atrocities of the past. Kindred’s television adaptation uses this touch elegantly in the storytelling.

Season 1 of Kindred was a thoroughly fascinating and entertaining watch. Without being obtuse and too challenging to understand, the team behind Kindred has managed to capture the essence of Butler’s book and create its own compelling style of narration. It takes patience, but the payoff is equally, if not more, rewarding.

Kindred (Season 1): Recap, Ending Explained, and Review