The Haunting of Bly Manor Plot Synopsis
The show opens at a wedding rehearsal, with a woman (Carla Gugino) singing verses from ‘O Willow Waly’, a song we will hear many times in the rest of the story. An Indian gentleman stands up to give a speech about love, setting the theme for the show. In the evening, everyone huddles up by the fireplace along with the bride and groom to be, as the mysterious woman begins to tell a horror story. In 1987 London, a young American woman, Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) gets hired to serve as an au pair to the orphaned niece and nephew of Lord Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas). Subsequently, she moves to Bly Manor and meets the two children, Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora (Amelie Bea Smith), who appear to be lovely and charming in the first meeting, but soon their disturbed-selves start showing as they try to cope with their losses. The kids lost their parents to an accident in India. Not just them, but the kids also lost their previous governess, Rebecca (Tahirah Sharif), who supposedly committed suicide after her lover, Peter Quint (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) broke her heart. Peter also stole several hundred thousand pounds from Henry. Apart from Dani, Bly Manor’s staff also includes the cook, Owen (Rahul Kohli), housekeeper, Hannah (T’Nia Miller), and gardener, Jaime (Amelia Eve). With every progressing episode, we discover the how the past relationships of these characters still affect them in the present. While the show’s main plot revolves around the horror Dani encounters at Bly; each episode focuses on providing more and more information about the backstories and the past relationships in every character’s life. We also see how these relationships influence their patterns, especially when it comes to loving themselves.The Haunting of Bly Manor Ending
The au pair’s sexuality plays a huge role in taking the storyline forward. A few years ago, after she was almost married to her childhood sweetheart, she realized that she is a lesbian. When she came out to her ex-fiance, they two had a huge fight, right before he got accidentally run over by a truck. This explains her disturbing visions of him with glowing eyes, as a result of possible PTSD. She tries to escape her visions, but they follow her to Bly Manor as well. After some help from her lover, Jamie, she gets over the trauma and her ex-fiance’s recurring visions by burning his glasses. By doing this, she finally gets some closure and releases her guilt.The Past Of Every Character In The Haunting Of Bly Manor: Broken Relationships
It is revealed that Henry feels guilty for having an affair with his brother’s wife for a long time right before their deaths. The couple went to India because Henry’s brother found out that Flora is his illegitimate daughter. He gives Henry the entire office and asks him to distance himself from Flora and her brother in return. Henry punishes himself by self-loathing and alcoholism, and even imagines his alter-ego talking to him based on his brother’s last conversation, who accused him of being a smirking, little monster in reality. Even though Peter’s past is not revealed much, we can still make out that his parents were swindlers, who had no problem extorting money from him by hook or by crook. We also learn that Peter’s father sexually abused him as a child. As for Hannah’s character, we learn that her husband cheated on her. She deals with the heartbreak by investing her entire time in the maintenance of the Bly Manor, but she feels lost now and then, searching for a meaning in her life. Jamie, Dani’s lover, has also had a rough childhood like Peter. She grew up in foster care, alone moving homes, until she discovered her love for gardening. She has never had a responsible and caring mother and has been slut-shamed her entire life, following in the footsteps of her mother. All of these characters have experienced a lot of sadness, especially when it comes to losing someone they were supposed to be in a loving relationship with- be it their parents, life partners, even uncles. In them, these broken relationships have left a void of some sort. Their pasts still continue to ‘haunt’ them, as the trauma has manifested itself in their minds, despite all the time that has passed and all the efforts they have put in.The Lady Of The Lake The penultimate episode of The Haunting Of Bly Manor is set in the 17th century revolving around Viola (Kate Siegel) and Perdita (Catherine Parker), the daughters of the Manor’s owner. After their father’s death, Viola gets married and gives birth to her daughter, but she is soon diagnosed with terminal lung disease. She perseveres for years, through her stubbornness and rage. Viola feels angered at her helplessness and gets jealous of sister and husband for the growing bond between them. She locks away all her jewellery and silk and decides to pass them on to her daughter when she comes of age. Eventually, Perdita gets tired of being harassed by Viola’s repetitive fits of rage, and filled with malice, she kills her. She then marries Viola’s husband and opens her sister’s possessed silk-and-jewellery chest, driven by both her greed and desire. As soon as she opens it, Viola strangles her to death, and turns her into a ghosts, as she joins the pack of spirits stuck within the premise of Bly Manor. After his second wife’s death, Viola’s husband sells the property and leaves with his daughter, but instead of taking the chest, they dump it into a pond in the property. In the centuries that follow, she lies in the pond, and as her memories fade away, her face fades away too. The people who died because of her, or any other cause, stay stuck in the Manor forever, faceless, purposeless.
How Did Peter And Rebecca Die?

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How Did Dani Save Flora?
When Viola is about to kill Dani, she sees Flora, and mistakes her for her young daughter. She decides to take Flora down with her and begins walking towards the pond, nearly killing Henry in the process, who is later saved by Owen. When Viola is about to drown Flora, Dani recites the words of possession, permitting Viola to reside in her body. Thus, all the spirits held by Viola in The Haunting Of Bly Manor are freed. Everyone leaves the Manor the next day, and in time, Miles and Flora forget everything that happened in the Bly Manor.A Love Story: Dani Finally Returns

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