Half Man ending explained: What happens to Ruben and Niall and why season 2 will 'never' happen
'I don’t think happy endings... are really true to life'
Half Man has a nasty, upsetting, and very abrupt ending, with Ruben and Niall’s fateful collision coming off the back of all sorts of bad decisions and revelations in the finale. Also, give up any hopes of season 2.
Episode 4 ended with Ruben’s body being carried out of the barn at Niall’s wedding. However, we didn’t know what happened to him.
In episode 5, amid Ruben’s suspicions about Mona cheating on him with Benji, a man at her dance class (which ended up being true!), Niall had sex with her. Everything came crumbling down after that. Niall’s partner Ava left him (because he slept with a male prostitute, not because of Mona) and Ruben stomped on Benji’s head.
Big questions remain going into the Half Man finale. Most of all, does Niall confess what he’s done to Ruben, and who survives? And what about Alby? Well, the ending ties up every loose end in harrowing fashion.
***Warning: spoilers for Half Man ahead***
How does Half Man end?
The Half Man finale opens with Ruben confronting Niall at his wedding, asking him if he loves him and how long it took before he “swooped in” and took “what’s his”.
The episode then cuts back to a press conference, marking the (incredibly successful, acclaimed) release of Niall’s book, The Rising Sun. Given the “high-profile” nature of Ruben’s two assaults and the fact the book revolves around a rough, violent man called Cosmo, journalists ask Niall if his brother inspired the story.
Niall doesn’t take it well, and effectively refuses to answer any questions that aren’t about him – something that gives Ruben great amusement in prison.
Don't miss a single story! Add us as a Preferred Source in Google for all your television news
Meanwhile, Mona is struggling to cope without Ruben and threatens to tell him what happened with Niall. As Niall says, Ruben would kill them both.
Later, Niall’s mum calls him to tell him to get to the hospital as fast as he can. By the time he arrives, Ruben’s mum is on the brink of death, but he’s so disoriented (in shock at what he’s seeing, plus the drugs from the gay sauna) that he throws up on her.
Niall’s mum asks him to tell Ruben, who spirals and loses his temper, furious at Benji for “taking these years” from him and keeping him from seeing his mum.
Also, Niall gets charged with driving under the influence after crashing into a lamppost, high on meth and crack cocaine.
Is Baird Niall’s son?
So, it was mentioned in an earlier episode that Ruben is infertile (which partly explains his constant, boiling-over insecurity and rage). Niall and Mona had sex, and now she has a son named Baird.
In theory, it could be Benji’s baby. However, it becomes abundantly clear in episode 6 that Baird is Niall’s son.
When Niall first meets with Mona in the finale, she tells him that Baird needs a masculine role model in his life. She’s agreed to let Ruben be a father to him, but she doesn’t want him to be oblivious to the fact that Baird isn’t his son.
“The kid is his,” Niall says. “No he’s not, he’s yours,” Mona tells him, but Niall warns her never to even “utter” that again, or else it could slip out in front of Ruben.
What happens to Alby?
Given his absence for much of Niall and Ruben’s adult years in the series (apart from brief moments at the wedding), the finale needed to incorporate Alby in some way.
Thankfully, Half Man finds a good way to reintroduce him. Niall goes to the doctors to get himself checked out (he’s in a dire condition; sweaty, irritable, and tired all the time). He catches sight of Alby, who’s had several facial reconstructions since Ruben assaulted him.
They have a sweet rapport, and Niall bucks up the courage to ask him to go for a drink.
They talk about Niall’s insurmountable insecurity about being queer, and how he can’t tell Ruben or anyone else (including himself). Niall says he wants to see Alby again, but acknowledges that Alby would probably rather smack him in the face.
Hilariously, he does slap him across the chops, before cheerily asking, “How’s Friday?”
We get one more scene with him, where he tells Niall he’s not man enough to admit he sleeps with men.
Does Niall confess to Ruben?
Ruben catches Niall in a heated conversation with Mona at his mum’s funeral. He demands to know what they’re talking about, but they don’t cave.
Later, Niall visits Ruben in prison. Not only does he tell him he’s gay, but Ruben confides in Niall about his father sexually assaulting him as a child, leaving him a “half man”.
They start to laugh about all the secrets they kept from each other that were inconsequential, until Niall blurts out that he had sex with Mona and Baird is his child.
Let’s just say, Ruben does not take it well.
Do Ruben and Niall die?
Yes, Ruben and Niall both die at the end of Half Man.
By the time it cuts back to them at the wedding, it’s clear that Ruben wants revenge. He suffocates Niall, but not before Niall stabs Ruben with his sgian-dubh (the knife that goes with a kilt).
Ruben pushes through the pain, shouting about how much he loves Niall as the life fades from his eyes.
As Niall lies dead, the gravity of Ruben’s actions starts to sink in – and, as the adrenaline wears off, he feels the effect of his wound.
He falls back, groaning in pain, and takes one more look at Niall’s body. He grunts – almost an admission of defeat, and him admitting to himself that he was his own worst enemy – and the finale cuts to black.
Will there be a Half Man season 2?
Strictly speaking, Half Man season 2 hasn’t been confirmed or denied by the BBC or HBO. However, it will not happen, period.
Why? How about the fact that the two main characters are dead?
Little else needs to be said about the matter, but Richard Gadd has already dismissed the possibility of a second season.
“I always say never say never… but never,” he told STV News, laughing.
“I always want to keep challenging myself and do new things. For some reason, I came up with two projects that felt perfect for a limited series format.”
As for how people will react to the ending, Gadd told Variety: “I don’t think happy endings, or even conclusive endings, are really true to life.”
