‘Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen’: Do Rachel & Nick Get Married in the End?

Indeed, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen warned viewers of the outcome of Rachel Harkin’s (Camila Morrone) story before it even began. The Netflix limited series leans more into the horror of marriage rather than the romance of it, though Rachel and her fiancé, Nicky Cunningham (Adam DiMarco), seem like the perfect couple when they’re first introduced. As their wedding date creeps closer, Rachel starts to realize that what should be the happiest day of her life could take a deadly turn. It all hinges on whether Rachel believes Nicky is her soulmate. (Warning: Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen spoilers ahead!) 

The opening scene showed Rachel walking down the aisle to Nicky, but viewers don’t actually see her say “I do.” Then, the series rewinds to show the events that unfold in the week before their wedding. Rachel meets Nicky’s family, who initially seem like they’re out to kill her, but the truth is far more complicated. Rachel discovers that she could be the cause of her own demise: Her bloodline has been cursed to die if they marry someone who they aren’t totally sure is the one.

Are Rachel and Nicky meant to be? Or does Rachel’s romantic endgame look totally different? We’re breaking down that bloody Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen ending below.

Does Rachel get married in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen?

Technically, Rachel does get married, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. When she discovers the conditions of the curse, Rachel starts to doubt that Nicky is her soulmate. Still, she can’t back out of the wedding to save herself. Now that she’s engaged, she’ll curse Nicky’s entire family if she doesn’t go through with it, which the immortal Witness (Zlatko Buric) explains. Rachel races to figure out a solution with the help of Nicky’s brother, Jules (Jeff Wilbusch), and his wife, Nell (Karla Crome).

What they come up with — after a seance with a Harkin ancestor that survived her wedding day — is a magic potion. It’ll transform her into Nicky’s soulmate, guaranteeing she’ll live but possibly changing who she is. Rachel even cuts her pinky toe off to make the concoction, but decides to forgo it in the end and marry Nicky, convinced they actually are fated for each other. She gets as far as reading her vows: “There is no certainty in marriage, in love, in anything,” she says. “The only certainty in life is death, so f**k certainty.”

Then, Nicky blows the entire thing up. He doesn’t believe in the curse, and after finding out that his parents’ marriage isn’t as perfect as it seems, he decides to save himself and Rachel from the “institution of marriage.” He says, “Marriage destroys people,” not knowing he’s actually condemning a large portion of his family to death. (The curse will attach itself to the unmarried Cunninghams and kill the ones who are married to someone who isn’t their soulmate. Confusing, we know.)

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The Cunninghams start violently dying, and the still-living ones — including Jules because Nell is his soulmate — try to convince Rachel to marry Nicky and sacrifice herself instead. Nicky follows suit now that he’s seen the effects of the curse with his own eyes. Rachel decides to choose herself and escape, but the Cunninghams catch her. Since Rachel already read her vows, Nicky just has to say his to complete the ceremony. As soon as it’s done, Rachel starts bleeding out.

Who does Rachel end up with in Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen?

In the end, Death kills off the old Witness and replaces him with Rachel, resurrecting her from the dead. From now on, she’ll attend the weddings of Nicky’s cursed family members. Nicky survives the ordeal — he still believes Rachel is his soulmate, after everything. Still, the now-immortal Rachel leaves her husband behind, understandably throwing her ring out the window. She’s free — from marriage and the curse.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Now Streaming, Netflix