The season’s last pull: Inside the finale of WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

It’s been over a month since the finale of WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!, but it’s definitely the episode I’ve been thinking about the most. Airing live on 13 December 2025 at the Dynasty Typewriter in L.A, this final episode closed the season by taking the players beneath Maw Meadows, into the stone and sea that have shaped the previous shows. What waits in the dark has many names and wears many faces, but it remains undefeated. Will our characters take the crown, or will they all die? The palpable tension of this episode came from the same place it always does: the dreaded Jenga tower.

George Primavera’s work as Games Master has been outstandingly strong throughout the entire season. He has kept every story moving without steering the players’ decisions, allowing moments of hesitation to carry just as much weight as the action. For a game like Dread, this balance is of the upmost importance, and the finale showed George’s clear confidence in letting the players choose their own paths.

The appeal of tabletop games, such as Dread, lies in their simplicity and the act of creating something together in real time

In an interview with Anthony Padilla, Primavera spoke about the difficulty of rediscovering play as an adult. Unlike most video games, he explained, tabletop games require players to open up to one another. That openness, and the vulnerability that comes with it, is part of what makes the experience so meaningful.

Padilla responded by discussing the common misconception that adulthood often comes with the expectation that playfulness should be left behind in favour of seriousness. Agreeing, Primavera also pointed out that there is now a growing distance between art and human connection, particularly as AI has entered more creative spaces. For him, the appeal of tabletop games, such as Dread, lies in their simplicity and the act of creating something together in real time.

And this perspective helps contextualise this finale. The season ends in a way that reflects this philosophy, shaped entirely by human choice rather than predetermined (or AI generated) outcomes.

But before we get into it, in the month following the finale, a bonus behind-the-scenes video was released on live.smosh.com, offering a look at the cast before stepping on stage.

Anthony Padilla was clear in his priorities going in. “I do want to survive, I do really want to survive…or die right at the top,” he said, before adding that he was “willing to make some sacrifices.”

“I think tonight’s going to be a bloodbath. I think George is not going to go easy on us”

Amanda Lehan Canto took a more focused approach: “I do not want to get distracted. I do not want to get blown off course. I have one goal, that’s get my team in and get my team out. Everybody alive.”

Others were more openly bracing for the worst, with Ian Hecox making his predictions: “I think tonight’s going to be a bloodbath. I think George is not going to go easy on us. This is the last episode, and I think he’s going to make it particularly crazy.”

Hecox also stated that while details of the show were kept secret from them, the cast knew what to expect structurally: “Obviously [George] hasn’t told us what really is going to happen, but he did tell us that we’re gonna be jumping into the action very quickly, so there could be some risky manoeuvres right off the bat.”

Angela Giarratana summed it up simply by saying: “I have no predictions because I know whatever I predict won’t happen.”

This behind-the-scenes video also included reflections from Jon Matteson, a producer on the series: “Working with Smosh’s team and Dynasty’s team makes everything so easy,” he said. “I could not imagine doing all of this level of production, high-quality production on my own, or just with me and George, and everything has just looked so incredible.” Looking back on the project’s growth, he added, “I’d sat down with George in January of last year [2024] saying we wanna work together on something – to come this far, and to do so many shows in such a short amount of time, is just unbelievable.”

And with that, let’s see just how unbelievable this finale was.

The players were introduced:

Anthony Padilla as Dr Earl N. Meyer – a scientist focused on experiments and testing. He has brought several unknown concoctions with him on the mission, with no clear idea of what they do.

Amanda Lehan Canto as Cleopatra “Clip” Burns – Dr Earl’s sister, separated from him by their parents’ divorce. She is armed with a large number of knives, having trained under her martial artist mother.

Ian Hecox as Sergeant Hunter Ames – a military operative and War Ape’s trainer. He views the ape as a tool of destruction, with the goal of developing it into a fully functioning weapon capable of thinking and killing.

Angela Giarratana as War Ape – the first animal player we’ve seen in the series, a scientific experiment designed to turn apes into machines of war.

Jon Matteson as The Coral King (NPC) – a creature trapped for hundreds of years within the flesh-like walls of a slimy tunnel, served by the cultists who worship him. This character’s appearance, Matteson revealed in the BTS footage, required three and a half hours of makeup, completed by Gabriela Vega.

His presence was so enthralling that it briefly distracted not only me but even the most focused of players

As Ian Hecox predicted, the players were thrown into action immediately. One player, in a move that could be considered both foolish and entertaining, unsteadied the Jenga tower so early on that every subsequent move felt life-threatening. At one point, Amanda was literally telling another player to “breathe, breathe, breathe”, as they struggled against the ticking timer.

Another player, who had previously chosen to fail a pull, faced a game-changing consequence from George. They had to complete all remaining pulls standing on one leg, resulting in hopping across the stage and shaking the tower with every jump. In one particularly intense moment, a player had to pull six blocks in 60 seconds, with George declaring, “this is the Jenga MVP right here.”

Jon Matteson’s villainous NPC, the Coral King, then made his highly anticipated appearance, his make-up illuminated under the stage lights. His presence was so enthralling that it briefly distracted not only me but even the most focused of players.

George then handed the players full autonomy over how they would confront him, before upping the stakes soon after. Six blocks in 60 seconds, repeated three times. “For a total of 18 blocks in 3 minutes,” George added. These were definitely some finale-level pulls.

The fate of not just this episode, but the entire season rested on their shoulders

For the finale of the finale, an audience member was brought on stage. But this time, George requested for the real tower to be brought out. A massive Jenga tower, literally on wheels, was placed centre stage. A true finale tower, if you will.

I can’t lie, I felt for that poor audience member. The fate of not just this episode, but the entire season rested on their shoulders. I felt safe behind my screen.

“You may use both hands because [the pieces] are very big,” George joked, before the timer began. Did they save the fate of humanity? I’m not spoiling that part.

VOD access to all episodes of WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!! has been extended to 31 January 2026, so grab your seasonal pass before it’s too late.

With curtains closing, George concluded, “We’ll see you next time.”

I’ll be there. The question is, will you?