Absentia season 3 ending explained: Who kidnapped Emily?

Absentia, the crime thriller series created by Gaia Violo and Matt Cirulnick, has arrived on Netflix after initially premiering on Amazon Prime Video in 2017. It ran for three seasons until 2020 and has no plans, as of now, to rewrite for a potential fourth season renewal. 

The series follows FBI special agent Emily Byrne (Stana Katic), who disappears from the face of the earth while pursuing a serial killer in Boston. Six years later, after she has already been declared dead in Absentia, Emily is discovered in a cabin in the woods, with no recollection of the time she has missed. 

Emily returns home to find her husband, fellow FBI Special Agent Nick Durand (Patrick Heusinger), has remarried and is raising their son, Flynn (Patrick McAuley), with his new wife. With her relationship with her family massively changing, Emily decides to focus on her work with the FBI and solve the mystery of her disappearance.

Disclaimer: The following article has spoilers from Absentia seasons 1 to 3. Reader’s discretion is advised. 

Over the course of the three seasons, Emily’s murky past gradually comes to light as she deals with the challenges of the present. It is revealed that she was abducted by Logan Brandt, who has been going by the identity of journalist Laurie Colson (Lydia Leonard). Both grew up in the same orphanage, where they were experimented upon by Dr. Shen (Kok-Hwa Lie).

Absentia remained popular throughout its run, with the third season getting an impressive audience score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The reason behind Emily's abduction and its aftermath 

Emily’s abduction was rooted in Logan Brandt’s calculated plan for revenge, orchestrated to dismantle Emily’s life piece by piece. During their time in the orphanage, Emily had switched the files of her and Logan, which resulted in the latter going through six extra years of torture. In a sinister attempt to get even, Logan kidnaps Emily and keeps her in isolation for the same period of time. She also decides to break her psychologically, by framing her for a series of murders that she knows nothing about.  

Working alongside Conrad, Logan replicates Dr. Shen’s cruel methods with new, twisted variations, ensuring Emily relives echoes of her past trauma. The brutal nature of the revenge pushes Emily toward profound self-realization; she comes to understand that her experiences shape her isolated, “lone wolf” nature but also empower her with rare resilience and skills. 

Facing an international conspiracy in season 3, Emily embraces these strengths to protect the people she loves. She helps Nick and Flynn fake their deaths, enabling them to escape danger and start over safely. Ultimately, Emily leaves for Europe to begin a new life as a spy, forging a new identity. Her eventual reconnection with Special Agent Cal hints at emotional closure.

How to watch Absentia?

Viewers can watch all three seasons of Absentia on the streaming platforms Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

To stream via Netflix, users need a subscription, with plans ranging from $7.99/month for the ad-supported tier to $24.99/month for the premium tier.

For Prime Video, viewership access is available in two ways: as part of a full Amazon Prime membership at $14.99/month (or $139/year) or as a standalone Prime Video subscription for $8.99/month.

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