Cross uses Lauder for the purpose of an assassination attempt to eliminate the committee members. Her baby, all alone, left to the elements, in danger. The Hand explodes a nuclear warhead he planned to drop on Boulder, destroying Flagg and his followers in one swift blow. So he wasnt too hot on the idea of rebuilding society as it was, though thats exactly what his characters naturally tried to do once they gathered together. Stand They experience a frightening trek through the Lincoln Tunnel, an incident that Underwood is often haunted by for much of the story. He survives with a badly broken leg and attempts to shoot Cross, who abandons him. With the threat of "The Kid" neutralized, the Trashcan Man continues west to Las Vegas, where he receives a black stone with a red flaw and becomes one of Flagg's key associates. Cross eventually surrenders to Flagg completely, communicating with him with the use of a Ouija board an echo of her terrifying experience with a Ouija board in college, when she was first touched by Flagg. Cross is attracted to Underwood but her subconscious conviction that she must remain "pure" has further strengthened and has begun to manifestCross begins to both fear and anticipate that she is destined to be with Flagg. You come back, Frannie. This act of free will marks the beginning of Flagg's downfall, as while he foresaw her assassination attempt and consequently thwarted it, he did not predict her suicide attempt and lost his chance to uncover Cullen. Goldsmith is moderately injured in the blast, but her unborn child remains safe. Despite a lack of formal education, Brentner possesses a great deal of common sense and is very skilled with tools and machines; he uses a powerful radio transmitter to contact other groups of survivors across the country. The wheel turns, both Frannie and Mother Abigail say in this finale, a phrase common in the Dark Tower series, and baked deep in its structure. In the 2020 miniseries, the Trashcan Man was portrayed by Ezra Miller.[8]. (Flagg goes by many names in a bunch of King stories, but usually sticks with the initials R.F.) With help from Andros's spirit, who appears to Cullen in visions, Cullen is able to nurse a delirious and dying Redman back to health while they are snowed in for much of the winter, in motels in central Utah (Green River) and western Colorado (Grand Junction). Ive always loved the last scene of the extended edition, which is where we end the series, of Flagg on the beach. The ending suggests that not only is Flagg the embodiment of true evil, but true evil cant be killed. She heals Frannies wounds, sending the new family off with the knowledge that a force for good walks the Earth. The Stand Quotes. In terms of our crafting of the structure and our repurposing things in the book, Im very proud of a lot of what we did in Episode 8 to make the climax feel as though its at least allowed by or even touched off by the actions of our characters. The Trashcan Man received electroshock therapy at a mental hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana, before being incarcerated for arson as a teenager. She works for the group as a construction worker and becomes close friends with Jurgens, who is confused as to why Engstrom, whom Jurgens perceives as a "nice" person, is cooperating with an evil group. Shortly after, Underwood finds he is one of the few living people remaining in New York City. Unable to cast aside his past humiliations and his feelings of betrayal from Goldsmith and Redman, Lauder instead focuses on vengeance. She bears the same kind of resemblance or relation to Mother Abagail that Russell Faraday bears to Randall Flagg. The Stand didnt end on a horrible note apart from Flagg now becoming Russell Faraday, one of his many aliases, and forcing the native tribe hed showed to Frannie to worship him. Swann joins the party on its way to the Stovington Plague Center. And with this more pronounced circular storytelling structure, King also manages to tip the hat to fans of the ambitious and weird-as-hell Dark Tower series. Stern is later killed by Lauder's assassination attempt on the committee. The character is described, in Lawry's words, as "the only guy in Las Vegas too creepy [for Lawry] to sleep with; except maybe in a pinch". Randall Flagg is representative of evil and the devil. This version of Flagg is naked, kind of aloof, and calling himself Russell Faraday. In the 1994 miniseries, Harold was portrayed by Corin Nemec. A former butcher, Horgan joined Flagg's group as a cook, described by Lloyd Henreid as a "fat, loud sack of shit" but also an excellent chef. On the way, one of the main characters, Stu Redman, breaks his leg and is left behind. He does not meet Rita Blakemoor in New York, instead meeting Nadine Cross there, alone. Randall Flagg, aware of her identity through telepathy, summons her to his office and attempts to make her reveal the third spy, whose mind he is unable to penetrate. Since its publication in 1978, author Stephen King has come up with three different endings for The Stand. At the end of everything, all the death, all the fighting, all the planning and walking and struggle, it comes down to Frannie, and she doesnt flinch. She is 108 years old and lives in a farmhouse near Hemingford Home, Nebraska, well known in her pre-superflu community for surviving decades of vicious racism and voting for Republicans in every election she had ever seen.[5]. Cross meets Larry Underwood when Joe finds him sleepingJoe is working up the courage to kill the sleeping Underwood, but Cross intervenes. 'The Stand' Ending Explained: Stephen King's new end On her deathbed, she shares one final vision: four men from the committee will travel to the West coast to confront Flagg. King first revised the ending of The Stand in 1990 with an expanded edition that added a few hundred more pages. In the 1994 miniseries, Susan was portrayed by Cynthia Garris. However, she is rewarded by news of both Redman's return to the Free Zone and her baby's recovery, proving it possesses some immunity to the virus. Lauder shoots at Cross and nearly hits her, suggesting that Cross may unconsciously prefer death to the dark consummation awaiting her in Las Vegas; and also revealing limitations to Flagg's power. When Stu comes home, he finds a young girl caring for Frannies baby. Lucy Swann and Underwood become very close with Farris, and Underwood is upset when he successfully recruits Farris as the first of three Free Zone spies, but is unable to inform a distraught Swann of his whereabouts after he sets out. Stus final answer to this query is perhaps unsatisfying, but also rings true. Kings Complete and Uncut version changes that a little bit, making the happy ending a tad less cut and dry. Haunted by his dreams of Randall Flagg and Blakemoor, Underwood falls into a semi-catatonic state of self-reflection for several days until he finally collapses from exhaustion in New Hampshire. Thats when two accidents happen, which we find out were caused by a wounded, but still alive Randall Flagg: Stu is kept from getting back to Frannie quickly due to a blown tire, and Frannie falls down a well, gravely hurting herself. Andros later reappears as a spirit to Cullen and, finally able to speak, guides Cullen as he attempts to return from Vegas, and showing him how to save the life of a very ill Redman. The first survivor encountered by Larry Underwood's party, 24-year-old New Hampshire housewife Lucy Swann survived the superflu while her husband and daughter died. Theres a balance to this world. In the miniseries, Stu's group does not find his body, rather Stu psychically senses his suicide and grimly informs the others, stating bluntly "God rest his sorry excuse for a soul". Randall Flagg However, Lauder's plan is already in motion at this stage and Redman narrowly escapes the assassination attempt the next day. The novel was published in 1978, with its narrative set during the 1980s; however, a second edition was released in 1990, is considerably longer than the first version (1,200 pages compared to 800 pages), and is set in the 1990s. The final confrontation with the evil and mysterious Randall Flagg never changes much across these tinkered endings. Together, the pair return to Boulder to report the destruction of Las Vegas. When The Kid threatens to not only kill the Trashcan Man on several occasions (always for petty reasons) but also to overthrow the Dark Man, Flagg sends wolves to rid himself of this potential rival. Faraday, who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, began his WebThe Stand is an American post-apocalyptic fantasy television miniseries, based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Stephen King and a remake to the 1994 adaptation. In an attempt to maintain plausible deniability, he activates a contingency plan to have spies release the virus in the Eastern Bloc and China, ensuring these Communist nations are destroyed along with the United States. The moment in court when Glen [Greg Kinnear] gets killed in front of everybody, we constructed from a couple different scenes in the book, in which Glen is killed in private, just facing off with Flagg with Lloyd [Nat Wolff] in the room. Unless King wants to continue this story, that is the end of The Stand series, executive producer Benjamin Cavell tells TV Insider, nor will fans see any more footage because they made the decision not to release deleted scenes on the Blu-ray. The following is a partial list of characters from Stephen King's novel The Stand. In any other book this moment would come in the final dozen pages or so, but in The Stand, theres another 100-plus pages beyond that. Was there anything King wanted done or not done to set up the finale? After treating his severely burned arm, the Trashcan Man finds a bicycle and proceeds to travel westward with haste. By introducing a counterpart in this young girl in Nebraska, who does not exist in any previous version of the story, King takes away a little bit of Flaggs threat. In the 2020 miniseries, Susan is played by Lisa Chandler, although aspects of her character are applied to Dayna Jurgens instead. During his journey, Cullen has a prophetic dream that compels him to double back and find Redman, who has broken his leg and has contracted pneumonia. The Ending Of The Stand Explained - Looper The revisedexpanded edition of the novel includes an epilogue in which Flagg, in a new incarnation, awakens in an unknown tropical location where he meets a primitive tribe. As Goldsmith becomes more involved with Redman, Lauder's jealousy grows. Terry panics over what to do, eventually deciding to head south. Redman becomes romantically involved with Goldsmith despite their large age gap, and enters a marital relationship with her including accepting her unborn child; their involvement causes resentment with Lauder, who holds an unrequited love for Goldsmith. This powerful character is found throughout King's other stories, most notably in The Dark Tower series. The superflu wipes out the inmate and guard populations at the prison where the Trashcan Man is incarcerated, and he is able to escape home to (the fictional) Powtanville, Indiana. Later, Horgan informs Henreid that Engstrom intends to flee the group, while Flagg tells Henreid that he already knows the names of people who want to leave, including Engstrom. He pitched it to us. Wishlist. Warner Bros. Pictures released an announcement in January 2011 that the company would be producing a movie remake of the King novel. Something or someone is watching from the rows of corn that flank the cute little house. Jurgens's affectionate behavior towards Redman causes Frannie Goldsmith feelings of consternation later, it is revealed that Jurgens is bisexual. And he did all this while finally giving Frannie Goldsmith the agency she deserves. Lauder wrecks his motorcycle after slipping on an oil slick; the accident is implied to have been arranged by Flagg, who distrusts Lauder's intellectual nature. He is saved by Tom Cullen, who nurses him back to health. Erwins wears a red sash, a necklace of silver dollars around his neck, and a sword. Horgan plans to flee to Brazil with several others after first asking a reluctant Henreid to join them, saying sadly that he would go to Boulder if he thought they would accept him there and adding "it's justall gone bad here". The character's loyalty is further affirmed when he foregoes an opportunity to leave Las Vegas with several close friends; however, Henreid respects the decision of the men who plan to abandon Las Vegas and does not inform Flagg about the deserters. An associate professor of sociology who went into retirement some years before the superflu hit, Glendon Pequod "Glen" Bateman met Stu Redman near his home in Woodsville, New Hampshire. She is not rescued from the harem, but instead found by Nick Andros and his party on the road to Nebraska, and arrives at Mother Abagail's home along with Andros, Tom Cullen, Ralph Brentner, Dick Ellis and Gina McKone. Engstrom does not appear in either adaptation, with aspects of her character given to Julie Lawry in both miniseries. Nevertheless, Lauder persistently finds it difficult to let go of his old self-image. In Stovington, they find Lauder's directions to Nebraska. In the 1994 miniseries, Dorgan was portrayed by Chuck Adamson. Lauder then commits suicide by shooting himself through the mouth. Her love fixing a tire on an unstable truck that threatens to fall over on him. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Lauder seeks out Goldsmith's journal and finds she mocks him in her private thoughts, and considers him to be "immature". The book was the last of King's novels published by After the plague facility proves to be a disappointment, the survivors head towards Nebraska, before reaching Colorado to join Mother Abagail; the group pick up more survivors during their journey. In the 1994 miniseries, the Trashcan Man was portrayed by Matt Frewer. Comment 121. The Trashcan Man ultimately causes Flagg's apparent destruction, as the Hand of God descends from the sky and activates the warhead, destroying Las Vegas and every one of its inhabitants. The wheel keeps turning. Flagg might still be around, but hes unquestionably not as powerful as he would have been had his gambit with Frannie paid off. Underwood leads Cross and Joe to Stovington, Vermont, meeting Lucy Swann along the way. The grass yellows up and dies where he spits. A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Stephen King rewrote the ending of The Stand again and its the best version, Sign up for the The guy at the end I believe is flagg. In the 1994 miniseries, Flagg was portrayed by Jamey Sheridan. Henreid attributes his newfound abilities to Flagg, although Jurgens later suspects that Henreid's natural ability to anticipate problems has only been amplified by a fear of disappointing Flagg through failure. WebThe Stand: The Stand: Soul Survivors: Item Biography Randall Flagg / Russell Faraday: Tom Cullen: Walkin' Dude / Dark Man: Comments. WebRussell Faraday Martin Broadcloak (sometimes called "Marten Broadcloak") The Covenant Man Walter Hodji Nyarlathotep He Who Walks Behind the Rows (implied) Flagg Richard Farris Raymond Fiegler Original Universe The Stand Occupation Sorcerer High-ranking place in any hierarchy he is found Wandering plotter Powers/Skills Nigh-immortality He said, Flagg starts to move to the music, and he chose the song. The sight of the full moon rising over Las Vegas triggers Cullen to act on a post-hypnotic suggestion planted in his mind and begin the return trip to Boulder, avoiding the nuclear explosion that destroys the city. After the outbreak of the superflu, Cross finds an emotionally damaged young boy whom she calls "Joe," who has regressed to a savage state of mind but trusts Cross and remains with her. Dayna Jurgens is a community college physical training (PT) instructor from Xenia, Ohio. Unless trashcan taking that name to be like flagg. [Ed. While Campion is on night duty, a deadly superflu virus escapes the military complex he is monitoring. While running from the Powtanville fires, he vaults over a railing and breaks his right wrist; the fracture does not set properly and the injury eventually causes his hand to point away from his body at an almost ninety-degree angle. In the 2020 miniseries, he was portrayed by Brad William Henke. The Circle Closes When Bateman leaves with Stu Redman, Kojak is initially left behind. Cross desperately proceeds with a final attempt to seduce Underwood, an act that would break her virginal commitment to Flagg and free her, but Underwood is, by this stage, firmly committed to Lucy Swann and rejects Cross's advances. In the 1994 miniseries, Cross was portrayed by Laura San Giacomo, taking on aspects of Rita Blakemoor from the novel. 2nd is how did he survive the blast at ground zero. Henreid's character demonstrates both resilience and an ability to forecast problems by rapidly concluding that his situation is growing dire well before the cessation of regular services to inmates. No. Andros eventually recovers from the infection to his leg and begins his journey to Hemingford Home, Nebraska. King revealed in an interview that Flagg was partially inspired by Legion; Flagg is a hollow demon filled with other people's fear, hatred, and resentment. An unstable, sex-crazed teenager who lives through the pandemic, Lawry and Nick Andros have sexual intercourse in the deserted store where they meet and then Lawry attempts to convince Andros to leave Cullen behind. While Campion is on night duty, a deadly superflu virus escapes the military complex he is monitoring. She and her followers make their way towards Boulder, Colorado where they establish the "Boulder Free Zone" government. The two versions are essentially the same, although some content was added in the second version, including a new ending. Dorgan stands guard over Underwood and Brentner shortly before their planned executions and is eventually killed by the Trashcan Man's nuclear bomb. (note: this version of her earlier experience is only in the revisedexpanded version of the novel.) He assumes command of the containment operation after Starkey's removal and subsequent suicide. Lauder's obnoxiousness and arrogance hinder his ability to interact with others and engage as an active member of the community in the novel. As the plague and anarchy destroy New York, Underwood attempts to care for his dying mother, but she eventually succumbs to the superflu. Although Flagg possesses the ability to predict the future, along with several demonic powers, he begins to very gradually lose control as his plans proceed in an increasingly problematic manner. Frannie gets to be the kind, tough, no-BS character we were introduced to. Swann becomes romantically involved with Underwood, but senses her feelings are unrequited due to Underwood's strong attraction to Nadine Cross; Swann's feeling persists despite Cross's lack of interest in Underwood. When we meet him in the finale, hes so at ease. In the 2020 miniseries, he is portrayed by Curtiss Cook Jr. As the commanding officer of Project Blue, William Starkey is aware that, once loose, the superflu is almost impossible to control due to its constant mutations, meaning it will be impossible to create a vaccine. He is a demon of great power, calling people like Trash Can Man to In the 2020 miniseries, she was portrayed by Odessa Young. In an unexpected turn of events, Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgrd) is alive and calls himself Russell Faraday. Very clearly Mother Abagail and Flagg are two sides of a coin, mirror characters in some way. But when he grins, birds fall dead off telephone lines. Who is Russell Faraday The Stand? Now hes done one more pass, writing the final episode of the CBS All Access miniseries, which just wrapped up. Flagg offers Bateman his freedom on the provision that he "get down on [his] knees and beg for it." In the 2020 miniseries, Jurgens is played by Natalie Martinez. Mother Abagail ( Whoopi Goldberg ) appears in A weakness of Flagg's that turns out to be completely disastrous for him and his followers is his inability to read the minds or track the movements of individuals with mental deficits or illness, most significantly Tom Cullen. 'The Stand' Boss on the Different Versions of Randall Usually referred to as The Judge, Farris is a sharp, well-spoken, educated, and insightful man who served as a judge in the 1950s but has since retired. Andros serves on the Free Zone Committee, for which he is the leading thinker, and eventually recruits Cullen as a member of the spy contingent that travels to the West coast. This plot is ultimately hindered by the return of Mother Abagail and Frannie Goldsmith's premonition. Abagail receives prophetic visions from God, which end when she believes she has sinned due to pride and goes into exile in the wilderness. This event is the beginning of a turning point in Larry's life. Henreid is able to save himself from starvation by eating food that he has saved, along with whatever rats, roaches, or other vermin he can catchhe also very nearly consumes the leg of a dead cellmate (in the revisedexpanded version, Flagg insinuates that Henreid did indeed eat some human flesh, despite Henreid's attempts to hide the cuts in the leg before the Dark Man arrived). The Kid is also ambitious, unstable, and easily angered, traits that the Trashcan Man discovers when the character nearly kills him for spilling a can of beer on a carpet. This character is named Len Carsleigh in pre-1990 editions of The Stand. Cullen's anonymity seems to stem from his disability, as Flagg tells Dayna Jurgens that every time he tries to see the third spy, all he sees is the moon; this confirms her sighting of Cullen earlier (while both were on Las Vegas work crews). He flees into the desert, overcome with anguish over his actions; at first he plans to kill himself, but later he seeks redemption by bringing Flagg the most powerful weapon he can find: an atomic bomb in the form of a nuclear warhead that has been detached from a missile. Randall Flagg; Alias: Walter Padick Walter oDim Marten Broadcloak Bill Hinch Russell Faraday Richard Fannin Richard Freemantle Rudin Filaro Richard Farris Raymond Fiegler The Covenant Man Richard Fry Robert Franq Ramsey Forrest: Nickname: She is one of the 0.6% of the population that is immune to the superflu and initially appears to some of the plague survivors in their dreams, drawing them to her farmhouse, just as Randall Flagg (also known as the "Dark Man" and the "Walking Man") draws the evil survivors to his settlement in Las Vegas. Stephen King gives his Stand the ending hes wanted for decades with the CBS All Access miniseries. Randall Flagg | Divided Destiny Wiki | Fandom Hope, in the flesh. In the 1994 miniseries, Lawry was portrayed by Shawnee Smith and is inadvertently killed by Flagg's powers when she gets too close to Whitney Horgan's body. In the 1994 miniseries, Carsleigh is played by Robert Knott. His ideas are used to improve the conditions within the community, and he frequently volunteers for the toughest jobs in the Boulder Free Zone, including the removal of dead bodies. Fun Facts Andros leads the growing band of survivors to both Nebraska and Mother Abagail, who guides them on to Boulder. The author wrote the finale that allows Frannie ( Odessa Young ), who couldnt trek to Las Vegas with the others since she was eight months pregnant, to make The Trashcan Man undergoes a schizophrenic episode and reverts to his old destructive ways, destroying several trucks and aircraft, which kills all the experienced pilots in Las Vegas. The girl is a Mother Abagail version of that. "The Stand" finale is aggravating confirmation that Stephen In the 1994 miniseries, Cullen was portrayed by Bill Fagerbakke. Along the way he meets Tom Cullen, and later, Ralph Brentner, June Brinkmeyer, Gina McCone, Dick Ellis, and Olivia Walker; the group becomes a surrogate family to him. She meets Larry in New York, but leaves him after nearly sleeping with him, later being brought to Boulder by Teddy Weizak. In the 2020 miniseries, Terry is portrayed by Clifton Collins Jr., while Roberts does not appear. At this time, Flagg also gives Henreid a black stone with a red flaw to symbolize Henreid's allegiance to Flagg. note: The rest of this story contains spoilers for both the final episode of The Stand miniseries and Kings original novel.]. A senior citizen with arthritis, Bateman often serves as a mentor figure to the younger Redman. The Stand (2020 miniseries) - Wikipedia CBS miniseries gives greater depth to the under-served character. Stu returns home to his love, Frannie Goldsmith, who has delivered a baby in his absence. WebRandall Flagg, also known as "the Dark Man" or "the Walkin Dude", is the main antagonist of The Stand. After reaching Boulder, she begins a relationship with Brad Kitchener, the only technician, even trying to have children with him. He was portrayed by Nat Wolff in the 2020 miniseries, where instead of being killed by the explosion, he is decapitated by a metal ornament knocked loose by the Hand of God's lightning. In the 2020 miniseries, he was portrayed by Alexander Skarsgrd. Hes up to his dastardly tricks. [1][2][3] The project never came to fruition and the book was eventually adapted as a second miniseries for the streaming service CBS All Access where it is currently streaming.[4]. He frequently references himself in third person. The character drives an enhanced hot rod-style vehicle and has a fanatical love of Coors beer and Rebel Yell whiskey. Flagg is known to have appeared during tragic and violent events in human history. Along the way, they stop at a farm house in Nebraska for some much needed rest. However, when Lawry reveals her true nature, ridiculing Cullen's impairment and frightening him against Pepto-Bismol with a claim that the product is poison, Andros ultimately rejects her. Mildly injured in the assault and initially jailed, Andros is befriended by the local sheriff and his wife. The former leaves Flagg's fate ambiguous, while the latter uses the expanded edition's epilogue of Flagg assuming leadership of the primitive tribe after he is seemingly killed by the Hand of God's lightning. In the 1994 miniseries, Judge Farris was portrayed by Ossie Davis, and travels to Boulder as part of Stu Redman's party, rather than Underwood's. Mother Abagail dies shortly after revealing this prophecy. The baby is left alone on the porch, crying its little head off. The Kid does not appear in the 1994 miniseries, nor is he mentioned.