This recap of Netflix’s Girl From Nowhere season 2, episode 8, “The Judgement,” — the ending explained — contains spoilers.
The final episode opens with Nanno narrating about judgment while someone appears to be repeatedly stabbing her. However, she wakes up — it was a vision. It then flits to school, and Nanno is eyeing up a poster that says, “Congratulations! Miss Junko Jiraiyawat — Gold Medal; 18th National Biology Olympiad”. The school is noticeably empty, but then she sees Yuri in a wheelchair — it brings a scene from the last episode, where Yuri questions her mortality. However, when she focuses, it’s revealed not to be Yuri but another student in a wheelchair.
There feels to be plenty riding on the last episode of season 2.
The student with hemophilia
Nanno introduces herself to the student (Junko) and says she is new at the school — she congratulates her on the gold medal. Junko states her success is down to not having friends and staying inside and reading. Unfortunately, Junko accidentally cuts herself with scissors, and it is revealed she has hemophilia and has to go to the infirmary, as the bleeding will not stop. Nanno tells other students that she feels sorry for her, as there is no cure — the students set up a fundraiser to help Junko.
A life of caring
Later on, Nanno sees Junko and her mother — the mother is from her vision from earlier where she is stabbing Nanno repeatedly. Nanno tells the mother that she was with Junko when the accident happened. The mother tells her not to worry and injects her daughter with medication. Nanno tells the mother that she feels sorry for her as she has to look after someone for the rest of her life — she states how eventually, children do not need looking after, but this will not happen to her. The mother claims this never crosses her mind.
It’s almost like the episode brings a scenario like in the movie Run (2020), but obviously, with a different twist.
The mother and daughter
The story then focuses on the mother and daughter; after dinner, the mother digs something from a sack bag in the basement — upstairs, Junko is playing with a ballerina figure and looking up at a wall that is examining different biologies for body parts. When the mother leaves the basement, it’s revealed that Nanno was hiding in there. Next, scenes show the mother at the infirmary (she’s a teacher that works in the school). Nanno visits and tells her she joined this school to meet a teacher who was meant to be working at the infirmary (Supattra). The mother explains that she quit last semester and that she isn’t sure where she went. Nanno presses her, stating they worked together.
“They’ve all disappeared”
And in true Nanno-like spirit, she doesn’t give up on her questions, finding a way to crawl under the mother’s skin.
Nanno then notes that many teaches at this school appear not to be here — “they’ve all disappeared.” The mother brushes it off, saying there’s a high turnaround of staff in this school, and tells her to return to class. Nanno tells her she left something and gives her what looks like medication, and states she thought it was Junko’s, but it turned out not to be. The mother knows that Nanno is on her case. Later on, Nanno texts the mother the bag from her basement and asks what she injects her daughter with to weaken her. The mother is understandably shocked — Nanno then sends photos of body parts she found and asks if she should post them on the internet.
Waan versus Nanno
It does not take long for Yuri to show up, and it does feel like a showdown in the ending of Girl From Nowhere season 2 — episode 8 turns up the heat.
Yuri turns up and tells Nanno that they are very much like “mother and daughter.” Nanno asks if all she can think of is “kill and kill.” The mother of the story (who is now called Waan) texts Nanno asking if they can talk. When they meet, Nanno says she has all the evidence against her. She believes she hurt her kid to fool other people to get more money, as a teacher’s salary is not good enough. Waan tries to inject Nanno, but she throws it out of her hand.
The truth about Junko
However, not everything is as it seems, as episode 8 fools the audience and highlights a twist.
Nanno threatens to post the evidence on social media, but Waan claims that the money she is saving is the indemnity for the dead teachers’ families. She claims she did it for everyone because Junko is a monster who killed all those people — she tells her daughter’s story; she was bullied, but the teachers did not defend her. Waan explains that Junko hates everyone and has an obsessive interest in the human body. She explains that one day when Junko could walk again, she found Junko playing with a dead student’s organs after murdering them — this is why she weakened her.
Yuri and Junko
Waan states she has done her best as a mother. Then, Yuri turns up with Junko, and they heard the whole conversation. Yuri tells Waan that she is Junko’s friend. Flashbacks show Yuri befriending her and suggesting that people have no right to judge them. Waan tells her daughter it was necessary to weaken her as she was killing people. Junko says her murders were justified as she wanted revenge. The mother and daughter have an emotional argument; Yuri then gives Junko a knife — she reveals that she has replaced Junko’s drugs with vitamins, so she’s had no weakness for a while. Junko stands up and swipes her knife at her mother to hurt her. As the mother and daughter fight over the knife, Yuri asks Nanno what they should do.
Who is in the wrong?
Everything feels like a test for Nanno in episode 8 of season 2 — Girl From Nowhere makes it feel like Yur finally has the upper hand.
Yuri tells Nanno that Junko has been a victim all her life, and she deserves to get revenge, but Nanno argues that it’s hard to see Junko as one. Yuri asks how they can judge who is the wrong one. An emotionally exhausted Waan tells Junko that she loves her. Junko seems to warm to her mother’s words but then starts to strangle her, stating that she called her a “monster.” Waan apologizes, saying Junko cannot be in this world without a mother, and puts the knife against her daughter’s throat — however, she cannot go through with it. Flashbacks show Waan bringing up her daughter.
Waan repeatedly stabs Nanno
Yuri asks Nanno if she can tell them who the wrong one is as both mother and daughter sob together — suddenly, Junko grabs the knife and tries to stab her mother, but Nanno stops her. Yuri laughs hysterically. Junko and Waan stab Nanno together.
Waan then looks at Nanno and stabs her a few more times, and then Nanno falls to the ground. As she lays on the floor, she smiles, but Waan keeps on stabbing her, asking why she had to interfere — Yuri looks on, smiling. Nanno narrates, “Even love can be used as an excuse for selfishness. This is human”. The stabbing continues, and tears leave Nanno’s eyes.
The ending
When all the stabbing stops, Waan cries next to her. Junko then kneels next to her mother and slices her neck to kill her. Yuri kisses the dead Nanno on the forehead and then stands with Junko — she tells her she’ll give this to everyone and let themselves be the judge. She slices her hand then wipes her blood on Junko’s lips — she licks the blood. Finally, Yuri says goodbye to Nanno and queries what the world will now be like without her.
The episode then zooms out, showing a dead Nanno on the floor. However, it then shows Yuri and Junko walking in opposite directions — as the camera pans further, it shows a young girl sitting on a balcony looking above them –looks like Nanno isn’t dead after all.
While the series has always felt anthological by nature, it feels like forces were truly at play between Nanno and Yuri. When Nanno discovered she could be potentially mortal in the last episode, it then brings this series of events. Of course, it could be possible that Nanno was truly dead; however, there must be an extension of the belief that she works in realms of otherworldly rules; Waan kills Nanno convincingly, but it could be that because Junko killed her mother shortly after, that brought the rules full circle, and hence, Nanno remains immortal.
Girl From Nowhere season 2, episode 8 brings a finale-esque ending, with a pondering showdown between Nanno and Yuri — it’s the battle of the minds and ideology that brings the story full circle.
