Étoile Season 1 ending explained: Did Nicholas wake up from coma?
Étoile Season 1 was released on Prime Video on April 24, 2025, and is directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino, and Scott Ellis. This is a comedy-drama about a Ballet Theatre company and the people associated with it.
The story follows Jack, the executive director of the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre; Geneviève Lavigne, the artistic director of another prolific theatre; and Cheyenne, the star dancer. The eight-episode series concludes by answering several unresolved questions raised throughout the season. However, the drama intensifies when Nicholas wakes up from the coma, as Cheyenne was in line to take his job.
Here's the official synopsis of the series:
"In an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions, two world-renowned ballet companies in New York City and Paris swap their most talented stars. From the Executive Producers of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel comes a bold new series celebrating the beauty, humor, and unpredictability of a life devoted to the arts, both on stage and off."
The series stars Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou De Laâge, Gideon Glick, David Alvarez, Ivan Du Pontavice, Taïs Vinolo, David Haig, Lamay Zhang, and Simon Callow in prominent roles.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Étoile Season 1. Reader's discretion is advised.
Geneviève and Jack swap dancers in Étoile season 1
Étoile season 1 began with a little girl practicing ballet at night, which set the tone of the series that focused on the lives of people who devoted themselves to the art form. The story had characters with differing and often contending sensibilities. On the one hand, there were dancers and executives obsessed with the dance form; while businessmen only concerned with the commercial aspect of the art.
Geneviève Lavign and Jack McMillan, executives of two major ballet theatre companies, were in trouble as the audience for ballet had been reducing. The market had been severely hit by COVID, and dancers were abandoning the dance form for shorter dance formats on social formats like TikTok.
Geneviève proposed a swap of top talents between the companies to gather public curiosity and funding, which Jack reluctantly agreed upon. However, he demanded Geneviève's star dancer, Cheyenne, in exchange for his star dancer, Tobias. Besides being a brilliant dancer, Cheyenne was a feisty and opinionated woman who terrorised everyone she worked with.
Nicholas woke up from coma in Étoile season 1
A large portion of Étoile's ending deals with Jack dealing with the dwindling health of his friend and Metropolitan Ballet's Artistic Director, Nicholas. He has had many health scares and eventually ended up in a coma. This was very hard for Jack to deal with, and he started to push off his professional responsibilities.
However, eventually he had to make a decision about the future of the company. He decided to offer Cheyenne the job without consulting Genevieve, which was a huge betrayal for her. Despite her disapproval, he refused to rescind the offer, eventually ending their relationship.
Another twist came when Nicholas woke up from the coma. Cheyenne had already made up her mind about taking the job and was looking forward to the new role. Season 1 ended without revealing Nicholas' decision of continuing the job or letting the ballerina take the responsibility.
Étoile season 1 finale revealed the past relationship between Cheyenne and Jack
Étoile season 1 ending gave plenty for fans to ponder, especially when it comes to entangled relationships. The relationship maze among Jack, Cheyenne, Genevieve, Gael, and Quinn has remained complicated and would probably get resolved in the coming seasons.
In a twist, the series ended with Jack and Cheyenne kissing in the theatre's rehearsal room. The two had a love-hate relationship and couldn't stand each other most of the time. However, the dialogue after their kiss revealed their relationship history. It was revealed that they had probably had a fling five years back and still considered them getting together a bad idea.
Jack and Genevieve's relationship ended after she found out about his job proposal for Cheyenne, which means that the two ballet companies would conflict in the coming season. Jack and Cheyenne being together would further complicate Jack's professional relationship with Genevieve. So viewers have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming season of Étoile.
Stay tuned for more news and updates on Étoile Season 1 and other such shows on Amazon Prime Video.
