Castle Rock Season 2 Ending Explained: Joy Dead Or Alive?

Made by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, the Hulu series Castle Rock transforms Stephen King’s fictional Maine town into a chilling hub of dark secrets, blending eerie supernatural vibes with psychological twists in every corner. The show’s second season spotlights a younger version of Annie Wilkes, the obsessive fan from King’s Misery, portraying her as a troubled newcomer caught in the town’s escalating chaos.

A Quick Warning: Major Spoilers from Here On

Overview of Season 2’s Story

Moving away from the first season’s focus on Henry Deaver and the mysterious figure known as The Kid, this instalment centres on Annie Wilkes—a traveling nurse with serious mental health struggles—and her teenage “daughter,” Joy. The two are constantly on the move across the country until a car breakdown forces them to hole up in Castle Rock. They end up staying at a lodge run by local thug Ace Merrill.

Annie, battling hallucinations and running short on her meds, lands a nursing gig at the hospital. Things spiral when she gets tangled in a violent family dispute involving Ace and his adoptive siblings, Abdi and Nadia—orphans raised by Ace’s uncle, the aging crime boss “Pop” Merrill. In a tense confrontation, Annie ends up killing Ace to protect Joy after he threatens them.

Panicking, she tries to hide the body at a nearby development site, but stumbles into hidden tunnels filled with ancient caskets from the 1600s. The next day, Ace inexplicably returns, alive and more menacing than ever. It turns out his body has become host to Pere Augustin, a fanatic from a long-lost French settler cult that worshipped a sinister entity they called their “angel.”

Flashbacks reveal Annie’s traumatic past: As a young woman, she helped her author father with his writing until he cheated with her nanny, Rita, and started a new family. Devastated, Annie’s mother died by suicide, and in a rage, Annie accidentally killed her father, then stabbed Rita and fled with Rita’s infant daughter—renaming her Joy and raising her as her own.

Rita, who survived the attack, eventually tracks them down in Castle Rock. A confrontation ends tragically when Joy accidentally shoots her biological mother while trying to protect Annie. Annie takes the blame and gets arrested, unaware that the town is falling under the cult’s influence.

Augustin’s plan involves resurrecting his cult followers by possessing modern residents, building toward reviving their prophetess, Amity, on the town’s 400th anniversary. The “angel” statue—revealed to resemble The Kid from season one—hypnotizes much of the population. Joy is targeted as Amity’s potential vessel.

In a chaotic climax, allies like Nadia and Abdi blow up the cursed Marsten House, shattering the statue and disrupting the ritual. Joy stabs Augustin (in Ace’s body), and Annie escapes with her. The supernatural grip on the town breaks, though some possessed cultists may linger. Pop Merrill dies during the showdown, having injected himself with meds to resist possession before being killed.

The Heartbreaking Finale: What Really Happened to Joy?

After fleeing Castle Rock, Annie grows increasingly paranoid that Joy has been overtaken by Amity’s spirit. Signs like Joy’s distant behavior, odd drawings in her notebook (eyes and biblical references linked to the cult), watching a French film (the settlers’ language), and secretive phone calls fuel Annie’s fears—especially as she’s obsessed with Paul Sheldon’s Misery books, craving that intense bond.

In a fit of delusion, Annie drugs Joy’s dessert and, convinced she’s purging an evil force, drowns her in a nearby lake. This echoes generational trauma: Annie nearly drowned baby Joy years ago, but couldn’t, and her own mother once tried to drown her during a breakdown.

Coming to her senses, Annie finds Joy’s letter explaining her withdrawal—she’s processing the horrors, knows Annie isn’t her real mom (but loves her anyway), and was planning temporary emancipation via a lawyer to find herself. Horrified, Annie tries reviving Joy, and it seems to work: Joy awakens, affectionate again, calling their life her “laughing place.”

But it’s all in Annie’s mind. The closing scene at a Paul Sheldon book reading shows Annie beaming next to “Joy”—only for the camera to reveal the seat is empty. Joy died in the lake; Annie’s hallucinations let her cope by imagining a perfect, loving daughter who shares her passions and forgives everything. This denial masks her grief and selfishness, fulfilling her deepest wishes from a lifetime of rejection.

Lingering Mysteries

• Was Joy Actually Possessed? Probably not. The “evidence” likely stems from Annie’s unreliable perspective and paranoia. Joy was just a traumatized teen seeking space. Sedatives weaken possessions, but Annie’s act happens before confirmation. The ambiguity underscores Annie’s tragedy—she murders her innocent loved one out of unfounded fear.
• The Angel and Ties to Season One The statue’s “angel” is explicitly The Kid from season one, a timeless entity jumping realities via “schisma” rifts (like around Castle Lake). It manipulates chaos across timelines, possibly an agent of pure malice. Its plan fails when the statue and house are destroyed; it vanishes from the lake cliff, perhaps biding time in another dimension.
• Fate of the Cult and Town The explosion snaps most residents out of hypnosis. Surviving reincarnated cultists (in modern bodies) could remain, but with antidotes known, the town likely purges them. A week passes safely before Annie and Joy leave, but the psychological scars drive Annie’s final breakdown.

This season masterfully weaves personal horror—mental illness, family dysfunction, obsession—with King’s multiverse lore, showing how Castle Rock’s cursed history devours outsiders like Annie, turning her into the monster we’ll see in Misery.