The Stand
Series, 2020, The Stand, Set in After Captain Trips, retold
The Stand is #33 of 42 in release order and #42 of 42 in chronological order in the Stephen King Universe.
The story
In a world mostly wiped out by the plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil, the fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.
The Stand recap
The Stand (2020) is a nine-episode CBS All Access miniseries that retells the end of the world from the superflu and the battle between Boulder and Las Vegas. Josh Boone and Benjamin Cavell developed it, and it ran from December 2020 to February 2021. Unlike the 1994 version, it starts after the plague and moves back and forth in time. In the free zone of Boulder, Colorado, Stu Redman (James Marsden), Frannie Goldsmith (Odessa Young), Larry Underwood (Jovan Adepo), Nick Andros (Henry Zaga), Glen Bateman (Greg Kinnear) and the simple Tom Cullen (Brad William Henke) rebuild society under the guidance of Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg). Harold Lauder (Owen Teague), bitter at losing Frannie to Stu, and Nadine Cross (Amber Heard) are drawn to Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard), who rules a decadent Las Vegas with Lloyd Henreid (Nat Wolff). Flashbacks show how each survivor got there. Harold and Nadine bomb a meeting, killing Nick, and Abagail sends Stu, Larry, Glen and Ray Brentner (Irene Bedard) west to face Flagg.
The Stand ending explained
The Stand ends, in the finale "The Circle Closes", with Stu and Frannie home in Maine and Flagg reborn. After the Hand of God destroys Las Vegas, Stu returns to Boulder with Tom, and Frannie gives birth to a daughter, Abagail; the babies born in Boulder prove immune. The couple go home to Maine. Flagg, now calling himself Russell Faraday, finds himself among a primitive tribe and begins to gain power again. King wrote this coda, which is new to the screen.
Where to watch The Stand
The Stand is streaming on Paramount+ in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 5.7/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Outsider, before Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.
- Chronological order: after The Stand, the last.
What to watch before The Stand
The Stand (1994), which The Stand (2020) continues.
Cast
- James Marsden as Stu Redman
- Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith
- Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg
- Whoopi Goldberg as Abagail "Mother Abagail" Freemantle
- Amber Heard as Nadine Cross
- Gordon Cormier as Joe
- Irene Bedard as Ray Brentner
- Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood
- Owen Teague as Harold Lauder
- Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry
- Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen
- Henrique Zaga as Nick Andros
Created by Benjamin Cavell, Josh Boone.