Netflix’s Nero the Assassin drops us into 16th century France, where religion, mysticism, and violence clash in bloody conflict. Pio Marmaï leads this French action series as the title character, joined by Alice Isaaz, Olivier Gourmet, and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing.
The series comes from creators Jean-Patrick Benes, Nicolas Digard, Martin Douaire, and director Allan Mauduit. It weaves a dark father-daughter tale through political schemes and supernatural prophecy.
Nero works as a paid killer for Rochemort, a corrupt nobleman. When a prophecy links him to ending a catastrophic drought, his world turns upside down.
He learns about Perla, his daughter born to a prostitute who died during labor. She becomes crucial to restoring magic and stopping the drought, which also puts a target on her back.
The Church and fanatics called the penitents, commanded by Brother Penance, both want her eliminated or controlled.
How Does Nero the Assassin End?
The finale erupts into violence. Hortense, Rochemort’s daughter and a key figure, launches an assault on Brother Penance and the archbishop controlling Segur.
The penitents have terrorized citizens, executing anyone hiding Perla, including Horace. Soldiers rally behind Hortense as she plots to infiltrate the castle through a hidden passage.
Nero agrees to kill the archbishop and Brother Penance with help from Perla and Zineb. Then he does what comes naturally: betrays his allies.
He realizes this mission means certain death. Nero pins the blame on Rochemort, claiming he leaked their strategy to the enemy, which forces heightened castle security.
This lets Nero push Hortense to fall back to Lamartine with Perla and Zineb, gather proper forces, and strike when they can actually win. He writes Lothar a letter ordering him to pull out the soldiers too.
It nearly succeeds. Rochemort exposes the deception to save his reputation. Hortense and Perla feel crushed by the lie.
Perla bolts before Nero explains, just as the penitents attack the village. Nero wears a penitent disguise to find her but gets caught and strung up by his feet.
Does Perla Sacrifice Herself?
Left with zero options, Perla chooses the unthinkable. She grabs the obsidian blade from the one-eyed witch and drives it into her chest.
Her blood touches the ground and the drought stops instantly. Rain falls across France for the first time in years. Zineb, Hortense, and Rochemort see it happen from far away but keep moving toward Lamartine.
The penitents cheer, believing their faith summoned the rain. Brother Penance rushes to share their victory with the archbishop.
The archbishop sees through it, he knows Perla caused this, not heaven. Brother Penance rejects this truth and hurls the archbishop from the castle tower, killing him instantly.
He can’t accept that a girl with magic did what their prayers failed to accomplish. Nero breaks free and races to Perla’s body.
Then things get weird. Someone knocks Nero out cold and takes Perla. While being carried off, she wakes up. The sacrifice succeeded, yet Perla lived.
What Does Perla’s Sacrifice Actually Mean?
The show leaves gaps, which works for building intrigue. Here’s what makes sense: magic and the Church have fought for centuries.
The one-eyed witch lived for 800 years, proving this war runs deep. The Church murdered magic users, which broke natural order and triggered the drought.
Magic functions like the show’s stand-in for ecological balance, destroy it and face consequences. Perla’s choice fixes that balance.
Her blood returns rain to France and awakens magic again. The archbishop understood too late that helping Perla rather than hunting her would’ve saved them all.
By then, the zealots he created had turned deadly. Brother Penance and his followers will twist this into proof their prayers worked, not a young woman’s power.
Who Kidnapped Perla at the End?
This question matters most. The penitents were celebrating too hard to snatch her. Zineb, Hortense, and Rochemort had already left for Lamartine.
Lothar could be furious after Nero’s betrayal note, but that feels wrong. I believe the one-eyed witch grabbed her.
Sure, we watched her die when her magic necklace dropped from Rochemort. But consider this: Perla’s sacrifice brought magic back, which likely brought the witch back along with Perla.
If Brother Penance connects Perla to the rain, he’ll chase her down to exploit her abilities. The witch would hide Perla where even Nero can’t reach.
Protection matters, but so does the fact that Nero betrays people when cornered. Keeping Perla’s location secret also gives the witch time for training.
Perla holds incredible power with no idea how to use it. She needs proper instruction, and only the witch can teach her.
What Could Happen in Season 2?
If Netflix approves another season, expect major shifts. First, we need real answers about what magic means here.
Season one barely touched why magic mattered, how it kept balance, or what destroyed it. Season two has to build that foundation before magic truly returns.
The final episodes might show early signs of magical comeback. The penitents will grow stronger, not weaker.
Religious manipulation drives them, and they’ll claim the rain proves their righteousness. Brother Penance will lock down Segur harder, making liberation nearly impossible.
Hortense, Rochemort, and Zineb face tough odds building forces in Lamartine. They must earn trust before troops join their fight to reclaim Segur.
Nero’s trapped between worlds. Segur wants him dead. Lamartine sits too far from Perla.
He’ll probably stay near Segur’s edges, taking mercenary jobs to survive while hunting for his daughter. But he needs real growth as a person first.
He’s betrayed everyone close to him. He left Perla at birth, served a tyrant, and deceived those trying to protect his child.
Reunion can’t happen until Nero confronts who he’s been and decides who he’ll become. The dynamic between Nero, Perla, and Hortense will anchor season two.
Hortense genuinely cares for Perla, and something unspoken exists between her and Nero beyond tactics. Perla must process her father, the man who abandoned her, lied to her, yet tried protecting her.
These personal conflicts will matter as much as the bigger war between magic and faith.
My Take on the Ending
Nero the Assassin drops us into unresolved chaos, which feels right for opening a story. The show creates a brutal world without clear heroes or villains.
Nero kills for money but has moral lines. Hortense fights with honor yet acts ruthlessly. Rochemort chases power but follows certain rules.
Brother Penance thinks he’s saving humanity, making him scarier than any cartoon bad guy. The finale reshapes everything.
Perla lives but disappeared. Magic returns to France. The penitents run Segur. The archbishop died. Nero stands alone and hunted.
Somewhere unknown, the one-eyed witch probably schemes her next move with Perla at her side. Season two or not, this ending gives enough fuel to keep people debating.
