The Decameron ending explained: who makes it out of the villa alive?

The Decameron on Netflix is a dark comedy series set in 1348 that follows a group of misfits trying to wait out the Black Death in the Italian countryside. There, they hope to wait out the deadly pandemic by enjoying a lavish holiday but as social rules wear thin, their wine-fuelled romp descends into a fight for survival.

Here is everything that happened in episode 8...

The Decameron episode 1 recap
The Decameron episode 2 recap
The Decameron episode 3 recap
The Decameron episode 4 recap
The Decameron epsiode 5 recap
The Decameron episode 6 recap
The Decameron episode 7 recap

The final episode of The Decameron sees uncompromising mercenaries storm the gate ready to claim Villa Santa for themselves - but our gang of bonkers guests aren't going to go down without a fight.

As they all prepare to battle the mercenaries waiting outside, Tindaro is in his element, taking charge and reenacting one of the many battles he has read about in his history books. Soon there is a knock at the door and everyone readies their weapons, but it turns out it is just Licisca who is returning from running away because her path has been blocked by the wayward soldiers.

Instead, she decides that she wants to escape through Leonardo's now infamous 'whore door' but Filomena tries to stop her, begging for forgiveness over their past and wanting to be proper sisters. But Licisca doesn't want to hear it. However, just when it looks like she might make it out, more soldiers appear and she is forced to go back inside the villa with the others.

The leader of the mercenaries, Eric, arrives along with Pampinea, who has tried to bribe them to flee with her dowry, but her plan falls flat because they just take her money, claim the villa for their own, and fight the guests anyway. Tindaro is feeling braver as time goes on and he attacks Eric with his sword but is soon stabbed in the stomach. Eric also kills the villa gatekeeper and Panfilo isn't happy and attacks Eric, stabbing him in the eye and killing him.

As everyone tends to Tindaro, Filomena works out that Misia gave Pampinea her dowry back and they argue about the fact that Misia is never going to be free of Pampinea's spell. The gang tries to reason with the mercenaries and give them what is left of Pampinea's dowry (the bits she hasn't swallowed!) but it isn't enough and they shoot arrows at them through the windows.

Knowing they are outnumbered and it is only a matter of time before the soldiers barge their way into the villa, everyone goes to hide downstairs. But Filomena gets separated from everyone else and soon a soldier finds her and tries to kill her. Licisca hears her screams and although she can walk out through an open door that she has spotted, her love for her half-sister wins and she goes to rescue her by shoving the soldier down the stairs and killing him.

Panfilo, meanwhile, is going mad, loving the fact their lives are in danger because it is a welcome distraction from grieving Neifile. Licisca is enjoying this new rebellious side to Panfilo and the pair share a passionate kiss, before Panfilo admits it would never work because he is married (but more to the point, also gay).

How does Pampinea die?

As everyone is trying to plan an escape route from certain death, Misia is more worried about setting herself free from Pampinea's spell and knows that the only way that she is ever going to be rid of the bond that binds them is if Pampinea is dead. Misia pretends to be helping Pampinea hide from the soldiers by putting her in a barrel in the cellar (the same way her late girlfriend came into the villa in epsiode 1) and promising that she will come and get her when danger has passed. But instead, Misia seals the barrel and puts Pampinea's hat (that turns out to be very flammable!) on the top and sets fire to it. Soon the whole cellar is in flames and Pampinea has no way out.

How does Tindaro die?

As everyone meets in the kitchen, they come up with a plan to escape where Panfilo is going to distract the mercenaries while the others get out of the villa. Meanwhile, Tindaro is dying and gives Stratilia and Jacopo his jewels and asks the boy if he would have eventually come to think of him as a father, to which Jacopo agrees that he would. Eventually, Tindaro gets killed by one of the soldiers while he is saving Jacopo's life.

How does Panfilo die?

Knowing there is no way out of the villa without some drastic action, Panfilo goes to get Neifile's dead plague-ridden body, knowing that the mercenaries are terrified of the pestilence and use her as a decoy to scare them while the others make their escape through the front door. Sacrificing his own life for his friends, Panfilo is shot dead with arrows as he holds his late wife.

Who makes it out of the villa alive?

Eventually, the only remaining survivors of Villa Santa are Sirisco, Licisca, Filomena, Misia, Stratilia, and Jacopo. Some of Sirisco's villager friends also make it out alive, but they are angry with Sirisco for putting them in danger which led to their leader getting killed, and so they go off in a different direction after scaping the mercenaries.

They all head to the cave that Licisca and Filomena slept in a few days before and get some sleep - but the reality of what has happened is a lot. However, the final scene of the series sees the six survivors in a lush-looking bit of the woods, happily sharing stories and laughing together.

Who gets Villa Santa?

Stratilia tells Licisca in episode 7 that Leonardo said he would bequeath Jacopo all that was his, making Jacopo the rightful heir to the villa. But with Jacopo having run away with his mum and the other survivors, the villa is in the hands of the mercenaries for now, meaning no one living in the villa throughout the series got their hands on it in the end.

All episode of The Decameron are available to stream worldwide on Netflix now.