Showcasing a new perspective of his 2008 film, Baz Luhrmann has come out with a revision of Australia that has new scenes and endings that weren’t in the movie. With 6 episodes, this show revolves around the same protagonists, only this time, the ending isn’t as wholesome.
The Hulu series Faraway Downs stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in the main roles. The epic story centers around Nicole’s headstrong character, Sarah Ashley, who sets out on a journey to Australia to divorce her husband. Once she reaches Faraway Downs, Sarah hears heartbreaking news and decides to continue what her husband has been doing all this time.
While Faraway Downs doesn’t have shots that were filmed recently, it does have additional scenes and dialogues that couldn’t make it to the final cut. Luhrmann has reportedly filmed 6 different endings for Australia, and using that leftover footage, he was able to create Faraway Downs as a 6-episode series.
Besides the Kidman & Jackman duo, the rest of the cast of Faraway Downs consists of David Wenham as Neil Fletcher, Bryan Brown in the role of King Carnet, Brandon Walters plays Nullah, and Jack Thompson plays Kipling Flynn.
Faraway Downs: What Happens In The Final Episode?
After accepting the deal that Neil Fletcher had proposed, it was finally the day that Sarah could go and meet Nullah and take him home with her. To do this, her friend at the Army station, Fletcher’s wife, offers to fill in for her.
The Drover is still dealing with Sarah’s absence, especially now that he has realized that he loves her. He was mad at Sarah for letting Nullah be taken by the men for keeping him at Mission Island.
Nullah waits for Sarah patiently, but the sudden peace of the land is lost when the Japanese start attacking Darwin. The first place to be hit by the dangerous jets is Mission Island, followed by the rest of the place.
The Army station where Sarah works goes up in flames, and when Drover hears about this, he immediately goes back and tries to save Sarah from the burning building. After no one comes out of the Army building, Drover believes that Sarah has fallen victim to the fire.
Meanwhile, Sarah and other survivors hide in nearby buildings, and that’s where she finds out that Fletcher’s wife has died in the attack. Devastated upon hearing the news, Fletcher blames Sarah for what happened, as his wife would’ve been alive if she hadn’t offered to take up Sarah’s shift.
The Drover hears that Mission Island, where native children stayed, was first to be attacked. When Drover and Goolaj show up at the burning Island, there is no sign of Nullah or other kids. The native boys then slowly start coming out of their hiding place, and Nullah is found to be alive.
The boys and Drover get up on a boat along with the Mission Island priest. Nullah sings the song that Sarah had first heard from him, and when Sarah recognizes the tune, she immediately gets out of her car and runs towards the music. Sarah, Nullah, and Drover had a heartwarming reunion and tried to go back to Faraway Downs.
Faraway Downs: Ending Explained
Fletcher sees that Sarah has reunited with the rest of the family, and in a fit of rage, he takes a soldier’s gun and aims it at Nullah. King George, the elder, witnesses what is happening and kills Fletcher using a spear.
However, it was already too late, as Drover ended up being shot in the process. He finally reveals his real name, and Sarah tearfully says her goodbyes. Nullah and Sarah then decide to take care of Faraway Downs themselves. After a while, Nullah and King George go on their journey, leaving Sarah all alone.
The ending of Australia had the Drover and Sarah live together at the cattle station while Nullah went to live with King George. Drover’s death was the new addition to the storyline, giving it a completely different meaning from Australia.
Sarah had come to Faraway Downs in hopes of divorcing her philanderer husband, only to find out that he was just taking care of a land that could be very profitable if enough time and effort was given.
In the 2008 film Australia, Sarah finds her true love during her journey to Darwin. In Faraway Downs, the woman is left with a transformed life. Her views and feelings on Native people were now different, and although Sarah was an ambitious woman from the beginning, she now knew what her actual job was going to be.
Luhrmann wanted to give a fresh ending for Faraway Downs as it showed what his original vision for the film truly was. Due to various reasons, Baz had to give up the ending he wanted but waited for a perfect time to show a new and much more realistic ending for Sarah and Drover’s story.
The ending of Faraway Downs is much more heartbreaking than that of the original movie, but the difference is what makes it so perfect as a TV series. Almost all 6 episodes end with a new tragedy, leaving us curious over what more could’ve happened in Sarah’s life at Darwin and the cattle station.
All episodes for Faraway Downs are available to stream on Hulu or Disney+.
