'Soulmates' Ending Explained & Series Recap: What Happens To Each Of The Characters?

The AMC science fiction anthology series, Soulmates, had created quite a ripple among fans when it first released in 2020, both because of the unique concept and also the compelling characters that it came up with in each of the six episodes. The series is set in the near future, where a corporation named Soul Connex runs a successful and immensely popular program named ‘Soulmates,’ which claims to use science and data accuracy to find the test-taker’s soulmate. Although Soulmates season 2 still stands cancelled, we take a look back at the William Bridges and Brett Goldstein series, encouraging you to watch it if you haven’t already.

Spoiler Alert

What is the series about?

Soulmates takes place roughly 15 years into the future, where scientific and technological advancements have eased human lives even more. Along with allowing all screens, from mobile phones to televisions to gigantic ad boards, to be transparent and futuristic, scientists have also been able to make a major breakthrough with regard to the more complex sides of human life. An average human being usually expects to spend a significant amount of time to find their soulmate—a lover whom they are most compatible with and can spend the rest of their lives in peace and prosperity with. While the act of finding one might still be quick in many situations, to simply understand or identify someone as one’s soulmate definitely takes longer, with all romantic hopes and expectations having to be carefully kept away due to the fear of courting the ‘wrong’ one. But what if advanced technology can use pure science and solid data to find soulmates for human beings?

A private corporation named Soul Connex seems to have solved this very mystery and simplified the lives of all humans by directly telling them who their soulmate is, based on strictly scientific computation. All one has to do is walk into any of the Soul Connex facilities all across the United States of America and get a test done, which only takes about 20 minutes and does not hurt at all. At the end of the test, the subject is told who their soulmate is and also given information about the latter, like their current address and profession. There is one slight catch, though, as both parties need to have gone through the test and entered their information into the database in order to find each other. In case one of the pair has not yet gotten their test done, the other is clearly told at the end of their test that their soulmate has not taken the test, meaning that they still need to rely on fate and fortune to some degree. It is in this context that Soulmates takes place, exploring all the avenues that such a unique innovation can lead to, ranging from drama to comedy to outright horror.

Are Nikki and Franklin still in love?

Episode 1 of Soulmates, titled “Watershed,” takes us through the crucial moment when two individuals break their otherwise happy and comfortable relationship in the hopes of getting a better match for themselves, all because of the innovation by Soul Connex. Nikki and Franklin are a happy couple with children, and they are part of a settled family lacking seemingly nothing. One day, Jen, a close friend of Nikki’s, shares with her the decision she has recently taken—to get the Soulmates test done on herself to find her real soulmate. But there are multiple problems with the proposition, as Nikki is quick to point out, for Jen is already married and even has kids. Even if she does find her soulmate and decide to pursue them, then she would be leaving her husband and kids, which she self-admittedly does not mind doing. Despite her best attempts to advise Jen against going down this route, Nikki is unable to convince her friend and is left bemused at the state of modern relationships.

Soon, Nikki’s elder brother, Peter, gets married to his soulmate, Rose, whom he has obviously found through the Soul Connex test, after just two weeks of dating. Seeing this growing conviction in people with regard to the test and its efficiency, Nikki starts researching the matter, clearly intrigued. This intrigue gradually gives way to more concrete thoughts, as she takes notice of all the happy couples around her, all of whom she assumes met through the Soulmates test. Nonetheless, Nikki holds back, thinking how wrong and problematic some decisions in this situation can be, but she once again changes her mind after an argument with Franklin. Although Franklin stops his wife from making love to him at a party because it is being hosted by an important client of his company, Nikki takes this to be a sign that her husband is losing interest in her.

Thus, Nikki finally pays for the test and visits the Soul Connex facility to get the test done, only to back out at the very last minute. She considers the 15 long years that she has spent in the happy marriage with Franklin and ultimately decides to give her already existing love another chance. However, the influence that the Soulmates test had been having on her had also affected Franklin secretly. Therefore, in a very intense moment, Franklin reveals that he has already gotten the test done, has just met his soulmate, and now wants to spend the rest of his life with her, leaving his wife and kids. But at the end of the episode, when Nikki and Franklin meet once again, this time at the house of Franklin, where he has moved, the two seem to still have a romantic connection. 

‘Watershed’ entirely focuses on the unnecessary inclusion of science and data into matters of love, even when two people are already happily together. It raises the question of whether the Soul Connex test is even accurate at all, or if the corporation is just making money out of a fad while also breaking genuine relationships apart. It poignantly brings out the negative side to the scientific innovation that initially seemed groundbreaking. The ending suggests that Nikki and Franklin are still in love, at least to some degree, but have both decided to keep their real feelings away in order to pursue the respective relationships they have been led to through software.

Did David Maddox be brought to justice?

‘The Lovers’ focuses on more sinister uses of the Soulmates test, although in this context it is used to bring to justice a cruel, manipulative, and vile man. David Maddox is a seemingly ordinary professor of art, who seems to have won in life after marrying the daughter of his wealthy and influential colleague, Walter Gaskell. His significantly younger wife, Sarah, seems to be in love with the man and enthusiastically introduces him to her contacts in the art appreciation industry, all of which tend to benefit David’s social and financial position. But there is more to David’s identity than just this creeper-like approach to life, for he is currently grooming another young student, Hannah, preparing to make romantic and sexual advances towards her, just like he had seemingly done to Sarah a few years ago. During such a time, a young woman named Alison Jones appears in David’s life, claiming to be his soulmate, as per the Soul Connex test, despite him having made his profile private in the past.

David tries to turn Alison down a number of times, stating how he loves his wife and does not want to be associated with a woman who has hacked into the Soul Connex system to find his confidential information. There is no reason for him to acknowledge Alison’s presence in his life, as he soon gets a significant promotion at the university, all thanks to his father-in-law, who is also his colleague. But the shockingly uncomfortable desire to be physically intimate with someone younger, in a vulnerable position, holds a tight grip on David Maddox. This is the sole reason for him grooming Hannah, and now he also finally gives in to Alison’s approaches and gets intimate with her.

But this is when David realizes that he has made a terrible mistake, for Alison Jones is actually Jodie Lamb, the elder sister of Chloe Lamb, a student who had tragically taken her own life at Berkeley a few years back. Incidentally, David was Chloe’s professor at Berkeley at the time, and he had groomed her to get intimate with her only to then leave her and marry Sarah. This had devastated Chloe, and she killed herself, making Jodie grow vengeful against the professor. Jodie had gone to great lengths to fake a soulmate connection to David, enter his life, and make a compromising video of him admitting to the crime and then threatening her. Thus, at the end of the episode, David Maddox’s crime from the past is exposed, and his life totally falls apart.

Do Libby and Adam stay together in the end?

‘Little Adventures’ is the first of two comedy episodes in Soulmates, in which Adam and Libby are a happily married couple with a special arrangement between themselves. Acknowledging each other’s desire and attraction towards other men and women, they have decided to be in a semi-open marriage, allowing each other to casually hook up with no repercussions. The only rule that they have is that they must never get intimate with, or even meet, their partners more than once so that they remain emotionally and romantically attached to only each other. Therefore, it is suddenly a problem when Libby finds a match on the Soulmate test, which she had gotten done many years ago, when her relationship with Adam was not very strong. Thus, she now wants to meet Miranda, the woman whom she has been matched with, and her marriage with Adam seems to be on the verge of breaking down.

But as Libby spends time with Miranda and moves in with her, she realizes that she still yearns for the emotional support and guidance of her husband, and so Adam never really leaves the scene. With time, Adam and Miranda also become very good friends, with the suggestion of some physical chemistry budding between them as well. Finally, at the end of the episode, Adam decides to get his own Soulmate test and then invites his soulmate, a woman named Tyra, to come and live with him. Although Tyra is understandably confused and overwhelmed to see her soulmate living with two women, she decides to stay back, at least for some time. At least in this case, the Soulmate test brings together four like-minded people who can simply stay together without any official tags attached to their unusual relationship.

Does Mateo find love through the Soulmates program?

‘Layover’ also maintains the overall air of a romantic comedy, as it tells the story of a very unusual chance encounter, with the Soulmates program playing an indirect but key role in the matter. An American man named Mateo is on the way to meet his soulmate match in Colombia, and has a layover in Mexico, which he wants to utilize in the best manner by spending time on the beach. He soon befriends Jonah, a young man at the bar, and the two end up getting intimate in a cheap motel room. But as Mateo returns to his hotel, he realizes that his passport, along with all his cash, which he had been carrying in a fanny pack, is missing. He suspects that Jonah must have had a role to play in the ‘misplacement,’ and his suspicions are confirmed upon seeing Jonah trying to befriend and get close to another man at the bar just like he had done with Mateo earlier.

It is soon revealed that Jonah is actually a small-time thief who makes his living stealing people’s cash and passports, as he sells off the documents to other parties involved in the drug trade. Despite it being very difficult to believe, Jonah keeps claiming that he had not gotten intimate with Mateo simply to steal from him but had had a genuine attraction towards him. A wild night follows, as Mateo goes to great lengths to recover his stolen passport from the drug smugglers, and Jonah tags along with him. They end up growing closer to each other, and when the time comes, Mateo actually risks his life to save Jonah from trouble. Ultimately, Mateo also decides to ditch his plan of pursuing his soulmate in Colombia and instead be with the match that he makes here in Mexico, thus staying back with Jonah.

How can the Soulmate program also lead to indirect exploitation?

‘Breaking on Through’ once again brings the series back to its dark and grim possibilities, exploring a unique scam/exploitation that is possible only because of the Soulmate program. For many, like the protagonist of this story, Kurt, it is possible that they would never get to meet their assigned soulmate, because the latter had passed away before they got the test done. In the case of Kurt, his soulmate, Heather, had gotten the test done a few years ago, when he was not aware of it or willing to take it. But now, when Kurt goes through the test, he is informed by the corporation that his soulmate has sadly passed away, and they hand him a few vlog videos that Heather had made and wanted to share with her beloved in the future. Kurt grows extremely emotional every time he watches the videos, and he ultimately seeks respite in a cult that promises to unite people with their deceased soulmates.

The cult is nothing short of a criminal enterprise that wants to take advantage of vulnerable people like Kurt and the woman he befriends and grows attracted to, Martha. Their first step is to make these people believe that they are on a holistic journey towards meeting their deceased soulmates for the first time by preparing themselves for the overwhelming experience. In reality, the cult’s main plan is to verbally push its subjects into committing suicide, but making them believe that they are doing something very significant and praiseworthy. They manage to convince the subjects into giving up their social security number and bank account details, including their passwords, so that all their wealth and savings can be transferred to those running the cult.

Ultimately, Kurt possibly realizes that he has walked into a cruel trap, and more importantly, he finds himself in love with the older Martha, and wants to be with her. However, such a heartwarming union between them is not so easy, as they have already been poisoned by the cult by the time they want to escape. Kurt and Martha do manage to get away but have to rush to the hospital, where they are seen being picked up by emergency workers. We do not know whether they actually survive the poisoning, and the worst possible fate would be if one of them dies, leaving the other ripped away from their possible soulmate once again.

Does Caitlin become a serial killer in the end?

The last episode of Soulmates, titled ‘The (Power) Ballad of Caitlin Jones,’ takes things a few notches higher as it ends with an unexpectedly somber and even scary tale. The story follows Caitlin, an ordinary woman who struggles to maintain agency over her own life mainly because of her submissive and docile nature. Caitlin can never say no to her selfish coworker, who often dumps all her work onto the protagonist to spend time away from the office. She is in a loveless relationship with Doug, a man who does nothing but play video games and slack off all day at their small apartment. The relationship is indeed part of an arrangement that Caitlin and Doug had made some time in the past, promising to be with each other as long as they did not find their respective soulmates. But Caitlin has never even tried to get the test done, and so when she goes through the experience now and even gets to know her soulmate, Doug is disappointed and refuses to leave her.

But Caitlin goes through a significant change after meeting her suave doctor soulmate, Nathan, or rather, while going through the experience of coping with this bizarre relationship. Although Nathan is the perfect embodiment of a gentleman on the surface, he soon reveals his innermost secret to Caitlin. Nathan is actually a serial killer who honeytraps women and then kills them for pleasure, and now he confides in Caitlin about this, even killing a young woman in front of her to give her a complete idea. Caitlin is absolutely shocked and devastated, and she considers going to the police but is unable to do so because of the twisted attraction she starts to feel towards Nathan. She seems to genuinely enjoy being dominated by Nathan, being told what she must do and how she must think.

In the process, Caitlin discovers a side of herself that she never imagined to be present—she too starts enjoying extreme violence and especially taking human life. When a vagrant on the street tries to attack her one night, she brings him down with her Taser but then continues to electrocute the man in the dark alley till he is dead. Soon afterwards, Nathan makes a bigger move by kidnapping Doug and ordering Caitlin to murder her good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend. Despite being held back by her moral compass, Caitlin does ultimately plunge the knife into Doug’s body before doing the same to Nathan as well. Through this weird and twisted set of experiences, she ends up taking agency of her life firmly and deciding to eliminate Nathan because she knows that he would continue to always dominate over her otherwise. Caitlin gives in to her newfound feeling of pleasure in the process as well by killing Nathan. Interestingly, the episode ends with her speaking to another man, a doctor, in a bar, around six months later. It is most definitely suggested that Caitlin has now become a serial killer, after having tasted blood for the first time through the match she had been given by the Soulmate test.

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