Channel Zero: The Dream Door Ending Explained

In the season finale of Syfy's Channel Zero: The Dream Door, Jillian (Maria Sten) finds a way to control her power and kill her evil half-brother, Ian (Steven Robertson), who was using his creations to terrorize Jillian and her husband, Tom (Brandon Scott).

The fourth season of Syfy's horror anthology series opened with newlyweds Tom and Jillian finding a strange door in their basement that wasn't there before. At the beginning of the season, Jillian discovered that behind the door is a murderous contortionist clown named Pretzel Jack with deep connections to Jillian's past. Jillian learned that Pretzel Jack is bonded with her emotionally, causing him to attack anyone who angers her.

After Jillian realized that Tom has been keeping secrets from her, their issues began to put other lives - including Tom's - at risk. When Pretzel Jack started killing people, Jillian sought help from her friendly neighbor Ian (Steven Robertson), who held the answer to stopping Pretzel Jack from hurting anyone else. Ian, who actually shares Jillian's strange powers, began training Jillian so she would able to control her ability and destroy Pretzel Jack. As it turned out, Ian was Jillian's half-brother and the real villain of the series.

This Page: What Happened in the Finale?
Page 2: Jillian's Powers and the REAL Villain

What Happened In The Chanel Zero Finale

The series finale featured the conclusion to Jillian's battle with Ian. After Tom is taken by Ian, Jillian goes looking for him and encounters a duplicate of him. Jillian isn't fooled and kills the creature, but Ian still has more of his creations out there searching for her. After reuniting with Tom, the two are forced to hide from Ian. Jillian uses her power to bring back Pretzel Jack, who she sends to fight Ian's lackey, Tall Boy. When Pretzel Jack kills Tall Boy, Jillian and Tom realize that killing Ian's creations won't be enough. Ian has to die for them to be safe.

The couple find Ian in a room full of doors. Ian reveals that he secretly helped Jillian create the blue door in her basement. When he tries to grab Jillian, Pretzel Jack arrives to save her but is killed by a resurrected Tall Boy. Jillian stabs Ian with a knife, and with Tom's help, is about to finish him off before Tall Boy interrupts and attacks them. Tall Boy accidentally kills Ian, which causes all of the doors to disappear along with all of Ian's creations.

Some time later, it's revealed that Tom and Jillian have a daughter. The two were able to get through their problems and now appear to be happily married. The episode ends with a green door materializing in their daughter's bedroom.

Page 2: Jillian's Powers and the REAL Villain

Pretzel Jack Was Never The Villain

In promotional material for the series, Pretzel Jack was set up as the main antagonist of The Dream Door. The first two episodes seemed to indicate that as well by portraying the contortionist clown as a cold-blooded killer. The season premiere included a shocking scene where Pretzel Jack steps out of the shadows and murders Tom's friend, Jason (Nicholas Tucci) by repeatedly plunging a knife in his face.

Despite Pretzel Jack's violent behavior, he wasn't the one responsible for their troubles. His actions were triggered by Jillian's anger. As her guardian, he was compelled to attack anyone who upset her. Jillian blamed herself for what happened, but in a way, Ian too played in a role in Pretzel Jack's killing spree. Ian admitted to this when he claimed in the finale that he helped Jillian create the blue door in her basement by giving her a push. Ian is the one who set everything in motion, and it was Pretzel Jack who turned out be the season's unsung hero. If it wasn't for Pretzel Jack's timely intervention, Tom and Jillian wouldn't have been able to defeat Ian.

Where Do Jillian's Powers Come From?

Channel Zero Dream Door blue door basement

While Ian was training Jillian, he explained that what they're able to do is essentially a superpower. This is basically what the ability is used as in the finale when Jillian has to rely on it to save both herself and Tom. Her power temporarily turns the tide when she unleashes Pretzel Jack as a weapon against Ian and Tall Boy. This proves that the power isn't necessarily evil, and it even has the potential for good. Whether it's used for good or evil is determined by Jillian's state of mind and self-control. Ian chose to use his power to murder innocent people.

The origin of their powers are never explained. They may or may not be demonic in nature, but one thing we know for sure is that they're hereditary. Jillian and Ian both had them, even though their father seemed to have no knowledge of them at all. It's possible that the power skipped a generation. Whatever the ability is, it's apparently shared by Jillian's daughter. As the child grows older, Jillian will have to teach her to control it, just as Ian taught her.

What was Ian's Real Plan?

Ian entered the show as a helpful, open-minded neighbor to Jillian and Tom. He was the first person to believe her about her connection to Pretzel Jack and was beginning to become a trusted ally, but was actually a villain in disguise. Much like Seth (Jeff Ward) in No-End House, Ian developed a romantic attachment to the main character, gained her trust, and then betrayed her. In the end, Ian proved to be a psychopathic killer motivated by an incestuous love for his sister.

Ian said he felt a connection to Jillian, which was how he could sense her. After finding his sister, Ian grew to love her and wanted to get rid of Tom. He even created a duplicate of Tom just so he could experience what it would be like to be with Jillian. Ian says that everything he did, he did for Jillian. He even killed their father because of his love for her. Ian hoped that if she joined with him, he could continue to train her. He wanted the two of them to eventually use their powers to create something together, but fortunately, his plans were thwarted by Jillian. Ian's death was the only thing that could have put an end to Ian's monstrous creations.