The mystery surrounding Ivy Moon in the Netflix series Playing Gracie Darling has finally been explained, and the answer changes everything viewers thought they knew about the show. The season one finale revealed that Ivy is a patient who died, a truth that throws the entire story into a new light and leaves a haunting question about what is real. This final twist in the Australian drama, which became available on U.S. Netflix in December 2025, forces the audience to rethink the nature of the main character’s visions and the very rules of the show’s world.
For six episodes, viewers followed psychologist Joni Gray as she returned to her hometown to face a trauma from her past. Her childhood friend, Gracie Darling, vanished during a séance in 1997. When another girl from the Darling family goes missing decades later, Joni is pulled back to uncover the truth. The series seemed to solve its central mystery with a human answer, only to deliver one last supernatural shock with Ivy’s unexpected return.
Who Is Ivy Moon in the Story?
Ivy Moon, played by Australian actress Coco Jack Gillies, first appears in Episode 1. Joni meets Ivy during a visit to a psychiatric ward where the troubled teenager is in custody. In a tense scene, Ivy tries to stab herself, and Joni intervenes to stop her. This act makes Joni feel a brief sense of redemption for her long-held guilt over failing to protect her friend Gracie years before.
From that moment, Ivy becomes a symbol in Joni’s mind. She represents the young life Joni believes she can still save, a chance to make up for the past. Throughout the series, as Joni investigates the disappearances linked to the Darling family, she often thinks of Ivy, hoping the girl is getting better.
The Finale’s Revelation: A Ghost or a Vision?
The finale episode seems to wrap up the show’s main plot. Joni discovers that Gracie’s disappearance was not supernatural but the result of a terrible family secret and violence. Gracie’s grandfather, James Darling, killed her to protect a dark family history, and her body was burned in the woods. With this painful truth uncovered, Joni returns to her home in the city.
It is here that the story takes its final, unsettling turn. Joni walks into her backyard and sees Ivy sitting there. Confused, because Ivy should be in a treatment facility, Joni approaches her. Before she can speak to her, Ivy vanishes. Immediately after, Joni receives a phone call from a colleague named Liam. He informs her that the staff has been trying to reach her with terrible news: Ivy has died by suicide.
This revelation changes the context of the backyard encounter completely. Joni saw Ivy after she had already died, without any prior knowledge of her death. Up until this point, every strange vision or ghostly presence Joni experienced was connected to her trauma over Gracie and could be explained by her psychology. The vision of Ivy cannot be explained the same way.
What Ivy’s Identity Means for Joni’s Story
The confirmation of Ivy’s death and the timing of Joni’s vision introduce a major question the series deliberately leaves unanswered. The show’s creator, Miranda Nation, builds a story where the horrors are human, but the ending suggests something more.
The show stops short of confirming whether Joni is psychic, but the implication is strong.
Unlike her visions of Gracie, which were tied to repressed memories, Joni had no way of knowing Ivy was dead when she saw her. This forces both Joni and the audience to consider that her connection to the spirit world might be real. The series ends by balancing two truths: the crimes were committed by people, but the supernatural might still touch this world and someone like Joni can sense it.
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The Actress Behind Ivy Moon
The role of Ivy is brought to life by Coco Jack Gillies, a young Australian actress. Born in Sydney in 2004, Gillies has built an impressive list of credits. She is known for her role as Tash in the film Ruby’s Choice alongside Jane Seymour and provided the voice for Maya in Maya the Bee Movie. She also appeared in major productions like Mad Max: Fury Road and the television series The Twelve. In Playing Gracie Darling, her portrayal of the fragile and haunting Ivy Moon is central to the series’ powerful final twist.
The Future of the Mystery
All six episodes of Playing Gracie Darling are available to stream. The series premiered on Paramount+ in Australia in August 2025 before its global release on Netflix. As of now, there is no official announcement about a second season. The finale’s twist provides a complete story while opening a door to new possibilities. Whether Joni’s sighting of Ivy’s spirit was a one-time event or a sign of a deeper ability is a mystery left for viewers to ponder.
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