East of Eden ending explained: Spoiler warning for how Netflix series ends – is it like the book?

A thematically rich adaptation of an American literary classic is here.

Netflix has released Zoe Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden.

The series depicts two generations of the Trask family before and during the early 20th century, and how this intersects with the actions and schemes of the complicated anti-heroine Cathy Ames (Florence Pugh).

However, how does the story go, and how accurate to the novel is it?

**Spoiler warning for 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?

Half-brothers Adam (Christopher Abbott) and Charles Trask (Mike Faist) always had a difficult relationship; the former was more loved, but the latter more skilled and remarkable. The pair mirror Cain and Abel in the Bible.

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.

The pair lead a difficult but companionable life together on the farm, but Adam is not content.

This is compounded when a severely beaten Cathy Ames crawls to the farm.

We learn Cathy’s own origin story, which included killing her parents through arson and abandoning her life as a teen to become a prostitute and later mistress to a pimp. When he became displeased with her independence, the pimp tried to beat her to death. However, Cathy survived and arrives at the Trask homestead.

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.

Cathy’s presence drives a wedge between the Trask brothers, and Charles resents her, eventually leading to Adam deciding he and his wife will move to California and leave Charles.

Before their departure, Cathy drugs Adam, enabling her to consummate a sexual relationship with her brother-in-law.

On their way to California – where she doesn’t want to go – Cathy realises she is pregnant and later tries to self-abort the pregnancy once they are in California. This attempt is not successful, and the Trasks come to live on land in the Salinas Valley.

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).

In the intervening years, Charles dies alone and depressed on the old Trask farm, and Adam finds out after finally attempting to get back in touch with his estranged brother.

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.

Adam gives Cathy their wedding photo, which also includes Charles, and leaves her alone as she claims she still has power over him.

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?

As in Steinbeck’s novel, following her various murderous, scandalous and manipulative actions, Cathy Ames has reached a state of paranoia and heartache by the end of the series.

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.

Having been confronted by the children she abandoned as infants but now as young adults, and with them now fully aware of the life she chose to leave them for as a madam of a notorious Salinas brothel, Cathy is particularly impacted by the heartbroken reaction of son Aron Trask (Joe Anders) and proceeds to relapse further into opium abuse.

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.

This is slightly different to the book, even though Cathy does remember her time with Charles and contemplates his potential true nature as her sons’ father.

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.

However, just like in the novel, Cathy begins to fear that one of her murderous actions – killing her former employer and surrogate mother, Faye (Martha Plimpton) – will be exposed by a former colleague in the brothel, Ethel (Amelia Reynolds), and has set her current enforcer, Joe (Brad McMurray), to track her down, but soon becomes scared of Joe herself.

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.

In the novel, having inherited Charles’s wealth in his will and clearly feeling guilt for Aron, Cathy bequeaths her estate to only one of her twin sons – having faced a complicated individual in the form of her other son, Cal (Joseph Zada), perhaps someone who shook her identity too much in their meeting.

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?

An intelligent, skilled and emotionally rich individual, Lee raises the second generation of Trask boys and deals with racism and prejudice as a Chinese-American man.

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.

When the boys are teens and as Adam grows dismissive of Lee’s views over the children, Lee resolves to move on and open a bookshop in San Francisco.

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.

Returning to Salinas, Lee takes a more respected and authoritative role in the Trask home and with Adam’s blessing.

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?

As they grow older, Aron Trask is a high-achiever and is well-liked, while Cal Trask finds the opposite.

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.

Cal eventually discovers his mother Cathy is alive and visits her brothel and confronts her. She does not regret abandoning her sons and makes clear she detests Adam and loves her power and agency.

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.

Meanwhile, Aron goes to university and finds it not a happy experience and misses his girlfriend Abra, who back in Salinas fears Aron does not truly love her as she is but as an idealised image.

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.

Returning home from university for Thanksgiving, Aron is happily welcomed by Adam, Lee and Cal.

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 anger at Adam and resentful of Aron’s favour, he takes Aron to meet their mother at her brothel. The truth of Cathy being alive and her state of living breaks Aron’s heart, and he flees after hitting Cal.

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.

As Cal focuses on providing for his family, he also grows closer to Abra once again in Aron’s absence and a romance blossoms.

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.

What happens in the final scenes of East of Eden?

As Adam Trask potentially lies on his deathbed, Cal is left in emotional turmoil knowing that his actions towards his brother have helped trigger both Aron’s and potentially his father’s deaths.

As his father lies partially paralysed and barely able to speak, Cal confesses his actions to a shocked Adam before fleeing.

Eventually persuaded to return by Lee and Abra, Cal sits with his father. Lee encourages Adam to forgive Cal and to be a father to him after all that has happened.

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.

It is unclear from the doctors if Adam will recover to live a longer life, but either way, father and son have found peace.

What is "Timshel" in 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.

This is directly discussed by characters in the book and film, including in relation to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, which is mirrored in both generations of difficult Trask sibling relationships.

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.

East of Eden is available to watch now on Netflix.

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