The Crystal Cuckoo ending explained: Is Gabriel behind the disappearances in the town?

Set in the fictional remote town of Yesques, The Crystal Cuckoo is a Netflix mini-series that keeps viewers on the edge after every episode. Its mind-boggling mystery makes viewers suspect every character until the final episode reveals the truth. The plot revolves around figuring out just one mystery: Where do people disappear in Yesques? The show doesn’t start with this search. Instead, it takes viewers through different timelines, showing the past and how it led to the disappearances that are happening in the town.

The premiere episode opens with young Juan witnessing his father, Miguel, all covered in blood. From there, the story shifts to the present, where Clara, a curious medical student, wants to know the identity of the person who donated the heart she received. Even though it’s illegal, she manages to find out the truth, and her search for the donor leads her to the same town where disappearances have been happening for years.

It turns out to be Carlos, the son of Miguel and Marta, who died in an accident. Marta is hesitant at first, but later agrees to meet Clara and even invites her over because Clara wants to know more about the donor.

Taking a look at twisted crimes that happened in the past in The Crystal Cuckoo

As she reached Marta’s restaurant, she learns Carlos’ dad, Miguel, had been missing for years, to which Rafa explained through his investigation that he had fled with a woman named Silvia Luna. A little girl, Manuela, disappears when Clara arrives, and she later becomes the target as the whole town becomes involved in Manuela’s search. 

From the flashbacks, we see that Gabriel has always been a strange person in the town. He often disappears and then suddenly comes back, and is a manipulative psycho who keeps Rafa (his nephew) under his control by emotionally trapping him. Throughout Rafa’s childhood, Gabriel taught him strange things and told him that a man must be “violent,” giving him a completely wrong idea of masculinity. Rafa even learns that Gabriel killed Magda (Miguel’s sister), and years later, he also killed his wife, Luisa, by setting her on fire. But Miguel, through his own investigation, understood that Gabriel was lying.

Rafa hid Gabriel’s horrible crimes because Gabriel told him that he was his biological father, which means Gabriel didn’t even spare his own sister from sexual assault. When Miguel went to confront Gabriel about this, Rafa killed him and made everyone believe that Miguel had an affair with Silvia and never returned to his family.

Juan was also struggling to understand the truth about his father, because the last time he saw him, Miguel was covered in blood. This made Juan suspect that his father was involved in the town’s people’s disappearances. Also, Rafa not only supported and covered up the crimes of his uncle (later revealed to be his biological father), but he also had an affair with Silvia. To prove his “masculinity,” he raped and killed her, which explains Silvia’s disappearance from the town and his made-up story of an affair between Miguel and Silvia. 

Manuela’s disappearance led Clara to dig deeper into the case in The Crystal Cuckoo

No one in the town ever suspected Rafa or Gabriel of being the real villains. They only believed that an older man was behind the disappearances. While learning about Carlos, his girlfriend Maria thinks about their relationship and tells Clara that Carlos’ death was not an accident. Carlos had always been curious about Miguel and his disappearance. Soon after, while searching for Manuela, Clara sees a man wearing a bird mask, dancing in front of baby Manuela. Later, on Maria’s social media, she sees a video of Carlos dancing in the exact same way.

Gabriel was also strangely obsessed with cuckoo birds, and this connects perfectly to the title of the series. Just like a cuckoo lays its eggs in another bird’s nest, Gabriel did something similar; he raised Rafa and passed his violent, terrible behavior onto him. Later, Carlos became another “cuckoo,” influenced by Gabriel and Rafa, passing their darkness to the next generation. But Carlos broke the cycle with his death.

Gabriel kidnaps Clara in The Crystal Cuckoo

Gabriel kidnapped Clara when she was searching in the woods for Manuela, but she barely saw his face. In his cabin, she heard him talking on the phone with someone, and it was Rafa. She couldn’t remember much of the conversation, but she clearly heard Gabriel calling someone “Eaglet.” This word becomes very important in the end. Everyone in town now suspects Gabriel, and Rafa has no choice but to end Gabriel’s game, since he is deeply connected to all his crimes. Juan and Rafa find Clara running in the woods while Gabriel is chasing her, and Rafa shoots Gabriel dead.

Rafa saved himself by doing this because if Gabriel had been caught, Rafa’s own crimes, killing Miguel and Silvia, would also have been exposed. The mystery of the town’s disappearances is now solved, but Clara remembers hearing the word “Eaglet” again from Marta, when Marta told her how Rafa used to call Carlos by that name. Clara realizes that Gabriel passed on his toxic, violent behavior to Rafa, and Rafa was passing it on to Carlos. This means Rafa was also involved somewhere, and the “Eaglet” Gabriel mentioned on the phone was actually Rafa. That’s why Carlos was seen dancing like the bird-man, too.

When Marta learns the truth, she shoots Rafa, and Clara heads back home. In the end, she gives the wolf a smile and then walks away.