‘Something Very Bad is Going to Happen’ Ending Explained: What Happens to Rachel?

Picture Credit: Netflix

Created by Haley Z. Boston and produced by Matt and Ross Duffer (of Stranger Things fame), Something Very Bad is Going to Happen is Netflix’s latest horror offering — and it’s really good. In this post, we’re taking a look at the ending: Does something very bad actually happen? What was the curse?

Told over the course of one week, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen follows bride-to-be Rachel (Camila Morrone) and groom Nicky (Adam DiMarco) as they travel to Nicky’s parents’ vacation cabin, nestled away in rural, snowy woodland, where they’ll hold their idyllic winter wedding. However, when Rachel meets her betrothed’s eccentric family, she gets a lingering feeling of dread. This isn’t the wedding butterflies everyone gets; it’s something deeper and more sinister. 

The series is a masterclass in dread, making viewers feel unnerved by its gloomy, foreboding atmosphere, even when the horror is mental rather than physical. But Rachel’s sense of impending doom is vindicated.  She soon learns that her family is cursed through some old occultism, the intricate details of which the show keeps vague. In the days before her wedding, Rachel sees a video of her mother, who tied the knot with someone who was not her soulmate, and subsequently suffered a particularly gruesome death soon after. 

Turns out, the curse began many centuries ago. Her father recounts the story to her, revealing that one of her ancestors made a deal with death to bring her lover back to life. There was but one condition for her wish to be granted: he must be her true soulmate. It’s got a slight hint or the story of Orpheus from Greek Myth. And from that point forward, Rachel’s entire family line was bound to the curse. Once the betrothed ties the knot, if her husband is not her true soulmate, she dies. Naturally, once Rachel learns of this curse, she descends into panic: Is Nicky truly her soulmate?

There’s another twist to the curse, too. Throughout the series, Rachel keeps meeting a strange man, whom we know only as The Witness (Zlatko Buric). He appears heavily invested in Rachel’s journey, and for good reason. Rachel not only spots him in the present, but also notices him in the old video of her parents’ wedding. Despite so many years passing, he hadn’t aged a day. He’s immortal, and another victim of the curse. He reveals to Rachel that once, many years ago, he fled his wedding out of fear, and so the curse spread to another bloodline.  Turns out, the best way to avoid the curse is to never get engaged in the first place… who would’ve thought!

As the wedding ceremony draws ever-closer, Rachel finds herself embracing more methods of desperation. She catches wind of such way to lift the curse involving a strange potion; a concoction of one of her own bones, sperm of the groom, hair from her mother-in-law, and blood. As guests gather at the ceremony, Rachel races around the venue, chopping off her own toe in the process. Ultimately, she gathers everything she needs, but she decides not to consume it, perhaps believing that Nicky really is her soulmate. However, at the altar, as vows are exchanged, Nicky shows hesitation after learning about his parents’ relationship. His hesitation sparks the curse, and his family begin to die. 

Rachel shows appears to die of a hemorrhage too, but ultimately revealed to be well — at least in supernatural form. The curse transferred to Nicky’s bloodline, meaning The Witness finally realises death and Rachel takes his place in immortality. 

Who dies (and who survives) at the end of Something Very Bad is Going to Happen?

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. (L to R) Karla Crome as Nell, Gus Birney as Portia, Jeff Wilbusch as Jules in episode 101 of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026

• Victoria Cunningham (Dies)
• Portia Cunningham (Dies)
• Boris Cunningham (Dies)
• Most of the wedding guests in the Cunningham family also die, all of the family guests who were not married to their true soulmates. 

Funnily enough, both Jules and Nell actually survive the curse. Despite being at odds with each other, the curse seeks true soulmates, and sees them as meant for each other. 

Of course, Rachel survives, but the cost is huge. Her curse now is not death, but being doomed to witness the curse in effect for generations ahead. 

All 8 episodes of Something Very Bad is Going to Happen are now streaming on Netflix.