The series, which has been adapted by Zoe Kazan, tells the multigenerational saga of the Trask family, honing in on the complicated anti-heroine Cathy Ames (Florence Pugh).
But how does the tale unfold, and how does it deviate from the source material? Here's everything you need to know about the ending of East of Eden on Netflix.
Well, the television adaptation of East of Eden from Zoe Kazan ends in a fashion that rings true to the novel by John Steinbeck.
Let’s narrow things down by character and whether this adaptation matches how the book concludes for the major players.
What happens to brothers Adam and Charles Trask’s relationship?
Following the death of their rich but fraudulent father Cyrus (Tracy Letts), and after Adam returns from his career as a soldier, he settles on the Trask farm, which Charles has been running alone following the death of his mother.
This is compounded when a severely beaten Cathy Ames crawls to the farm.
While Charles does not want Cathy there, Adam cares for her and eventually proposes marriage to her to protect her as she publicly lies she does not remember who she is or how she came to be beaten.
Before their departure, Cathy drugs Adam, enabling her to consummate a sexual relationship with her brother-in-law.
Cathy is not happy, however, and after she recovers following giving birth to twin boys, she attempts to leave, and when Adam resists, she shoots him and walks out on her family.
In the aftermath, Adam is depressed, and after months and years, he comes to eventually care more for his twin sons, who are primarily raised by his servant Lee (Hoon Lee).
Following this, Adam finally learns from friend and neighbour Samuel Hamilton (Ciarán Hinds) that Cathy is alive and well in Salinas and running a brothel – something she came to own through manipulation and murder of its former owner.
Eventually, Adam, Lee and the Trask boys Aron and Cal come to live in Salinas themselves. However, Adam comes to repeat some sins of the father as he shows favour towards the well-behaved Aron over the less idyllic son Cal.
What happens to Cathy Ames AKA Kate Albey in East of Eden?
After leaving Adam, Cathy became a prostitute and commits murder to rise to the station of madam of a brothel in Salinas, amassing great wealth and obtaining blackmail material on many local and influential men.
In the series, Cathy is also haunted by the spectre of brother-in-law, former lover – and the potential true biological father of her children – Charles Trask (Mike Faist), who passed away years prior and in whom she felt she had something of a kindred spirit.
In the series, we also have it made very clear that Cathy was a victim of child sexual abuse, and this impacted her view of the world and men, especially.
Convinced that Joe may come to harm her and now a shell of her former confident self, Cathy writes a letter and sends it to the local sheriff warning of the danger Joe poses to her well-being before deliberately overdosing on morphine.
Following Cathy’s death in both the novel and the series, Joe robs Cathy’s belongings before he gets a visit from the Sheriff, when the enforcer flees and is gunned down.
Towards the end of the story, Cal places flowers on Cathy’s grave in a bid to be good.
What happens to Lee?
Lee openly discusses and explains to his friend Samuel Hamilton how he code-switches to appear less proficient in speaking English and less intelligent to fit in with white people, as many members of the Chinese-American community who he knows do.
Unlike the novel, we see this journey and attempt in further detail, as Lee struggles to fulfil his dreams there and slowly comes to the same realisation as the book: that his home belongs with the boys he raised.
Lee also grows close to Aron’s girlfriend, Abra Bacon (Zoe Phillips), who he comes to wish was a daughter to him, and she returns the same feelings.
What happens to Aron and Caleb Trask?
Aron has a childhood sweetheart in the form of Abra Bacon and has ambitions to go to university, while Cal hopes to win his father’s love through business and making money – something Adam himself was never good at.
However, Cal makes clear his love for his father and his brother, and despite his doubts about his own true nature, he reveals his pity of her, clearly upsetting her. Cal hides his confrontation with Cathy from the rest of his family.
In the novel, this goes even further, suggesting Aron lacks a passion for her as he becomes focused on religion and the influence of a local pastor.
Cal succeeds in making money during World War One through buying and selling beans and even funds Aron’s early entry into university.
Yet, Cal’s reveal of his success to Adam does not go as hoped, and it is rejected as profiting from war and compared negatively to Aron’s success.
In the aftermath, Aron is revealed to have lied about his age to sign up to fight in World War One, the news of which helps trigger Adam to have a stroke.
At the end of the series, as in the novel, news arrives that Aron has been killed in action, triggering a further massive stroke for Adam and leaving him in critical condition.
As his father lies partially paralysed and barely able to speak, Cal confesses his actions to a shocked Adam before fleeing.
Ultimately, Adam says one word to Cal – “Timshel” – signalling his forgiveness and reconciliation with his son. Cal then lies beside his father and embraces him.
Why did Adam say "Timshel" at the end of East of Eden?
In both Steinbeck’s book and the series, “Timshel” is described by Steinbeck as a Hebrew word that translates directly in the Book of Genesis in the Bible to mean “Thou mayest”, suggesting the importance of free will in a person’s choice to sin or not to.
It should be noted that the actual Hebrew spelling of the word referred to is Timshol, and this translates to “You will rule”, but Steinbeck was clear on his own meaning with his own spelling.
This speaks to the wider themes of East of Eden, in which no one is born truly good or evil, but has the ability to decide their own identity and their own actions.
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