Nowhere ending explained: Does Mia survive?

Anna Castillo as Mia, lying down in the shipping container
Mia finds herself washed out to see in this nail biting thriller movie. (Image credit: Netflix)

The Nowhere ending is certainly dramatic, and fans everywhere have been tuning in to the gripping new Netflix thriller movie. 

At the time of writing, it is the second most popular movie on the streaming service, behind the mystery movie Reptile, so it's been a huge success for director Albert Pintó.

It seems Nowhere has got viewers hooked with its premise and it's easy to see why, as this is a fast-paced fight for survival, where we follow a heavily pregnant woman named Mia (Anna Castillo) as she finds herself swept out to sea.

What started as an attempt to flee her unsafe country ended in a desperate fight for survival with limited supplies and a container that's rapidly flooding, she must think quickly if she wants to get out alive.

But did Mia survive her horrifying ordeal, and did she escape her country? Here's everything you need to know...

Nowhere ending explained

In Nowhere, we see a dystopian reality where a totalitarian dictatorship has taken over, forcing many people to flee the country.

It's particularly tough for pregnant woman, meaning Mia and her husband Nico (Tamar Novas) decide to pay for a secret trip to Ireland, hoping this will help them escape the country.

This does not go according to plan, though, and Mia finds herself as the last woman standing in her shopping container, and Nico is separated into a different one. So she is alone, having watched other refugees murdered from inside the container.

Her luck gets even worse when a storm knocks her container off the ship, and she finds herself floating in the ocean, with time running out and no way of steering the container in any particular direction.

Most of the movie focuses on Mia's ordeal, and we watch as she tries to survive despite rising water levels, and a number of other obstacles that are thrown her way. And soon, she's not the only person on board this container.

Mia finds herself going into labor while in the container, and instinctively does her best to get through it. She delivers the baby in the water and fishes her out, giving her a few pats on the back when she realises she hasn't started crying. Eventually, the baby starts breathing and Mia is relieved.

She names the baby Noa and manages to fashion together a makeshift cot from supplies in the container, which float and keep her above water level.

Mia leaning against a box, surrounded by water.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Things go from bad to worse and the container begins to sink. Mia finds herself in the water holding onto the cradle, keeping her afloat, having now escaped the container as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

But this situation is even more dangerous as the duo doesn't have the shelter of the container, and are now very much exposed to the elements. While drifting with no land in sight, Mia reflects on her past, and we learn a bit more about her.

We learn that she and Nico had another daughter named Uma, who they lost to the regime.

They found themselves locked up at home with only Nico being able to leave the house to get food and supplies. One day, Uma insisted on going out, and Mia finally agreed, telling her to be quick and not to spend too much time outdoors.

However, Uma was caught and taken away from her family, with Mia carrying that guilt her whole life. She wants a better life for Noa, but floating here in the water, is unsure if she can ever provide it.

Finally, Mia has a chance of escape when a boat passes by and notices the cradle in the sea. They lift it ashore, and we see two sailors who check on Noa and make sure she's alright.

One of them then notices a rope attached to the cradle and pulls, dragging Mia out of the water and onto the boat. They perform CPR on her and she begins breathing again, coughing up water.

The movie ends with Mia cradling Noa on the boat, both alive after such a horrible ordeal. It's an open end and we're not sure where the two will end up (or where Nico is), but at least they're now safe.

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Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress