THE SURVIVORS, the Australian Netflix miniseries based on Jane Harper’s bestselling novel. Set in the haunting coastal town of Evelyn Bay, Tasmania, the series is wrapped in salt, secrets, and sorrow. What begins as a return home for Kieran Elliott (played by Charlie Vickers ) becomes a harrowing journey through grief, guilt, and decades-old deceptions.
At its center is the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl named Gabby Birch (played by Eloise Rothfield), lost on the same night two boys, Finn Elliott and Toby Gilroy, died in a storm. For 15 years, Evelyn Bay mourned the boys — but not Gabby. Her story faded, never solved. Until now.
WHAT HAPPENED TO GABBY BIRCH?
Fifteen years ago, Gabby Birch vanished during a deadly storm. That night, everyone remembered the waves, the wind, and the sacrifice of two boys who set out to rescue Kieran from the dangerous caves near the sea cliffs. But few paused to ask: Where was Gabby?
Gabby had wanted to go to the caves that day — hoping to meet Kieran. But instead, she was taken there by Sean Gilroy (played by Thom Green), Kieran’s childhood friend. At first, it seemed like an innocent outing. The two explored the caves and even carved their names into the stone. But when Sean made an unwanted advance and Gabby pulled away, everything changed.
Gabby asked to leave. She pleaded. The tide was rising, and only Sean knew the way out. But he was hurt, embarrassed — and afraid of being laughed at by his friends for being rejected.
So he left her.
“I felt stupid, so I bolted,” Sean would later admit. Gabby was trapped in the dark, twisting cave system as water levels rose. She died alone, her body lost in the rock and sea, and her memory buried with it.
WHO KILLED GABBY BIRCH?
The answer isn’t just one of guilt — it’s of silence. Sean didn’t just leave Gabby behind. He never told anyone. Not even her mother, Trish Birch (Catherine McClements ), or her sister, Olivia.
Sean’s father, Julian Gilroy, found out. Instead of turning in his son or coming clean, Julian chose to protect Sean. He discarded Gabby’s belongings — tossing her backpack into the ocean — staging her disappearance as another casualty of the storm. As far as the town was concerned, she’d drowned like the boys. Case closed.
Years passed. Kieran moved away. Mia Chang (played by Yerin Ha ), Gabby’s best friend, left too. But none of them ever truly escaped Evelyn Bay.
The truth might have stayed hidden forever if not for Bronte Laidler.
Bronte arrived in Evelyn Bay to investigate Gabby’s case. She cared about the forgotten girl in the shadows of the town’s heroes. She found the cave. She found the carving. And she saw what no one else wanted to see: that Gabby had been left behind on purpose.
Sean knew she was getting too close. When Bronte confronted him about the past — asking why Gabby was never remembered, why no one honored her like they did the boys — he made his choice.
He killed Bronte.
He beat her to death on the sand, dragged her body into the sea, and fled. But this time, someone saw. Brian Elliott, Kieran’s father, stumbled upon the scene and tried to save Bronte — but it was too late.
THE ENDING REVEALS EVERYTHING
By the final episode of THE SURVIVORS, everything unravels. Kieran confronts Sean in the same caves where both Gabby and Bronte lost their lives. The emotional weight of guilt, friendship, and betrayal crashes down like the waves above. Sean admits it all.
The police arrest him.
Kieran, devastated, tries to make sense of how his childhood friend could have let this happen — not once, but twice. He begins to reflect on the kind of masculinity and peer pressure that surrounded them as teenagers, where rejection became shame and shame turned into violence.
But Mia reminds him: “What Sean did was because of Sean.”
GRIEF, TRUTH, AND A WAY FORWARD
For Gabby’s mother, Trish, the truth is both horrifying and healing. She can finally stop asking questions, though the answers hurt. At the memorial, with flowers thrown into the sea, she lets go: “I held on because I couldn’t bear the thought of letting you go.”
For Kieran and Mia, it’s a turning point. Their relationship, strained under the weight of the past, finds strength again. Kieran chooses to stay in Evelyn Bay to care for his father and rebuild the bond with his mother.
And for Evelyn Bay, the ghosts are still there. But now, they have names. Gabby Birch is no longer just a missing girl. She’s remembered, honored — not ignored.
WHO KILLED GABBY BIRCH? The answer is Sean Gilroy. But the deeper question the show poses is why. Why do some voices get silenced? Why do some victims get remembered and others forgotten?
THE SURVIVORS doesn’t just solve a mystery — it challenges a community, and a society, to look closer. And it offers a small glimmer of healing, even in the face of unbearable loss.
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