Bloodline defined itself early on with John’s (Kyle Chandler) whispered self-indictment, “We’re not bad people, but we did a bad thing.” From then on, the writers made sure to point out that it was yet another Rayburn lie. The truth of the series is in the confrontation of truth itself and the acknowledgment of sins. The series finale is the culmination of the concept of confronting the truth and its consequences, while also asking again if these were good people who did a bad thing.
The Rayburn family is cursed, and it’s a curse that developed through their own decisions. The final decision is one we’ll never know for sure. John killed his brother Danny (Ben Mendelsohn). At the end of the dock, Nolan (Owen Teague), Danny’s teenage son, stands and waits to meet with John. John is conflicted about telling Nolan the truth. When they do meet, we’re cut off Sopranos style before John can say anything. We can’t explain this situation without first exploring what happened in the previous episode.
John may or may not have attempted suicide. It’s another question we won’t have a direct answer to (as it should be, honestly). Before he regained consciousness, John hallucinated a different reality. Finally, he was confronted by his brother (who is wearing an unconvincing wig). Again, if this is meant to be considered just an illusion or a kind of “crossing over” moment is unclear. The two brothers have one of the few honest conversations in the series, where Danny reveals that all he ever wanted from the family - from John specifically - was an apology.
Of the family, John was the “good” one; the one everyone respected and went to for help. As a teenager, John lied for their father Robert (Sam Shepard), who beat Danny and broke his arm following the accidental drowning of their sister Sarah. The implication is obvious - all of the resentment that Danny had toward John stemmed from the lie; had John apologized at some point over the proceeding thirty years it very well may have kept things from escalating the way it did. He did, technically, during season 1, but Danny didn't truly accept it because John was only giving it while under pressure. It was latent guilt rather than something completely earnest. John’s actions to help Danny over the years were apologies in themselves, but never an actual admission of wrongdoing. So, instead, Danny’s anger and resentment festered.
John is also confronted by his mother Sally’s (Sissy Spacek) truth: that when she thought of the name Rayburn - when she thought of the family legacy - she thought of the inn, not her children. She resented them - her sons specifically - for the trouble they caused her. “You don’t know what family is,” John says. “You never did.” In spitting that reply to his mother, John also considers family. He remembers a conversation he had with Danny when they were teenagers. Danny gave him advice and sharing a brotherly moment. In the recollection, he’s reminded by a vision of older Danny that he wasn’t always a bad kid. Here, John is confronted by truth and consequence. By killing his brother, John also killed the good person that used to be in there. He killed the relationship they used to have and whatever positive memories he had of him. The realization is that he’s been burdened by the death and the only way to unburden himself is, to tell the truth.
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Nolan has long blamed himself for his father’s death. In trying to help Danny get money, Nolan burned down Danny’s restaurant, but since it was obviously arson there was no insurance to collect. So Danny went back to the Rayburns and then he was dead. In season 2, he was surrounded by the Rayburns and his mother, Eve (Andrea Riseborough). They’re all quite toxic. In season 3, he’s seen with Beth Mackey (Hani Avital). She is a Rayburn, technically - the result of Robert's affair - but she isn't tied to the family. Away from the Rayburns, outside their sphere, she’s a happy, productive member of society. Nolan is on the precipice, and Beth tries to talk him out of involving himself with them, but, as many characters are in Bloodline, he’s guided by the various shades of truth and untruth surrounding the family. He’s planning on cutting ties with the Rayburns, but he needs to talk to John first so he can find out how things actually transpired.
In the midst of this is John’s voiceover. It’s the speech he gave to Sherriff Aguirre (David Zayas).
“I used to think the greatest thing that ever happened to me was being born a Rayburn. It’s what I thought since I was a kid. That never changed. Until now. Now I know it was a lie we were taught to believe. A lie that bonded us when we didn’t know any different. A lie that became our truth and would eventually break us apart. There was a time we were innocent, my siblings and me. But that’s long past. I asked you here because nothing matters more to me than the truth. And I’m going to tell it. I don’t need to be read my rights. I need to confess.”
The cops won’t believe him, but Nolan would. John watches a waiting Nolan and is visited by two versions of his brother. The teenager and the adult. The older Danny wants John to confess. His reasons are obvious: it’s the apology he never received in life - the admission of guilt and the acknowledgment of his sins. It would break the Rayburn cycle of lies. Whatever happens next, at least the truth will be out there, and John’s responsibility would be fulfilled.
The younger Danny (also in a terrible wig!) wants John to keep the truth from Nolan. His reasoning is also obvious: let Nolan have the innocence youth Danny lacked. It would still be another Rayburn family lie, but Nolan could move on in peace. If you look at the other siblings, it tells its own story. Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz) wallowed in his family’s darkness. He was involved with Roy Gilbert (Beau Bridges) who saved his business and helped start the Rayburn House Inn. He was also a drunk kingpin who had an affair with Sally. The deeper Kevin involved himself in the family, the more his situation worsened. (It also didn’t help that Kevin couldn’t make a good decision if his life depended on it.) The ending for him was not a surprise: his connection to Roy Gilbert landed him in prison.
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Meg (Linda Cardellini) extricated herself from the family. She relocated to California and changed her name. Outside of the Rayburn influence, she was able to become herself. In her new locale, she’s cast herself as an orphan, claiming both of her parents were already dead. When John visited, Meg introduced him as an old friend from back home. Not only had Meg left the family, but she had also erased the concept of it completely. Meg was no longer drinking to excess. Rather, she was calmer, happier, and, as she put it, “Free.” Away from the grifting Eve, away from the family, Nolan would be able to do what Beth and Meg did: have a better life.
From John’s monologue with Aguirre, he’s bent on confession, but he’s stopped by the deep understanding of his family’s dynamics. At once, this confession can be something that finally changes the family, but it could also just be him selfishly washing his hands. It would relieve his burden but add to Nolan’s, who has no agency to do anything about it.
When John walks onto the dock and meets with Nolan, they exchange heavy glances before the screen goes black. We’re never given an answer as to what John decided. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bloodline co-creator Todd A. Kessler spoke about the open-ended final scene.
“It's meant to leave the audience with answering it for themselves: What is the right thing to do? Is the right thing to do to confess to Nolan about what happened, and that helps clear John's conscience and may, in essence, lead to changing the family and changing the family dynamic? But it also puts a huge burden onto Nolan because what is he going to do with that truth? So much of this third season is about putting the audience in the shoes of these characters, trying to align the audience with the characters' predicament. It's not meant to write out that whole scene and have it portrayed because, in essence, we're watching it play out.”
In that way, any answer is the correct one. However, what Bloodline accomplishes in that final moment is John’s understanding of the no-win scenario he’s in. The Rayburns created a bubble that was shrinking, slowly suffocating everyone within. Now, whatever he chooses to do will ruin a life. If John isn't haunted forever by these ghosts forever, then Nolan will. At their backs is the Rayburn House Inn, which is slowly sinking into the ocean. The metaphor is clear. One of them will be joining it.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter