‘Boots’ Ending Explained: What Happens to Sullivan?

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Netflix’s Boots!

Viewers have been Boots on the ground since Netflix’s coming-of-age dramedy premiered on Oct. 9.

The new series, based on Gregory Cope White’s memoir, The Pink Marine, stars Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, a closeted teen who joins the U.S. Marines in 1990.

Throughout Boots’ eight episodes, Cameron and his best friend, Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), make friends with their fellow recruits as they push themselves to finish the Marine Corps boot camp.

Cameron also develops a close but complicated mentorship with one of his commanding officers, Sergeant Liam Robert Sullivan (Max Parker), a deputy drill instructor, who also hasn’t revealed his sexuality.

In the final moments of the season, an announcement is made by President George H. W. Bush that changes the circumstances for Cameron and his friends and proves their toughest test is before them.

Here’s everything to know about the ending of Boots.

How does Boots end?

The season finale of Boots focuses on the Crucible, a grueling 54-hour test Cameron and the other recruits must pass to become Marines.

During the Crucible, which is a real-life examine, Cameron’s bunkmate, Joshua Jones (Jack Kay), goes missing after wandering off in the middle of the night due to his sleepwalking.

Cameron and Sullivan find Jones, and Sullivan instructs Cameron to bring him back to the medic truck. After Cameron rescues Sullivan, he finishes the Crucible.

Cameron’s mother, Barbara Cope (Vera Farmiga), shows up at his graduation, revealing that she had “tweaked” his birth certificate when he was younger, so he is actually 17 instead of 18. Cameron convinces her to sign a waiver, allowing him to stay in the Marines.

The episode ends with Cameron and his crew celebrating becoming Marines, before a news report reminds them of the serious consequences of joining the Marines.

Does Cameron finish boot camp?

Yes, Cameron finishes boot camp and becomes a Marine.

After rescuing Jones, Cameron takes him to the medic truck and tells Captain Denise Fajardo (Ana Ayora) that he would like to finish the Crucible.

He is the last to complete the test and receives a joyous congratulations from his fellow recruits.

What happens to Sullivan?

When Jones goes missing, Fajardo directs Sullivan to return to camp, but Sullivan defies those orders and goes AWOL to locate Jones.

Cameron follows him, and the two find and rescue Jones. Sullivan then hands Cameron his radio and tells him to take Jones to the medic truck.

“My job was to train you. I may have been too hard on you. I was just trying to prepare you the best I could,” Sullivan tells Cameron. “I’m sorry I let you down, but you don’t need me anymore.”

“You’re ready, Cope. You’re a Marine now,” Sullivan says, before turning and walking into the forest — his fate unknown, as his life continues to unravel.

Earlier in the season, Sullivan nearly killed a man during a bar fight, which led to an investigation into his personal life, and the situation becomes more complex when he decides to disregard his duties.

“That symbolic moment where he passes the radio to Cameron, it’s I think the first time you see Sullivan give in to what’s about to happen,” Parker told Decider in October 2025.

The actor continued, “He’s put someone in a coma, he’s literally struggling with alcoholism, and he’s being chased down by the law for other things and for being gay.”

What does President George H. W. Bush’s announcement mean?

In the final moments of Boots, Cameron and his peers celebrate overcoming the Crucible and becoming Marines.

While the group cheers and parties at a bar, a news report on the TV dampens the mood. In the middle of the festivities, Cameron and Ray watch as it’s revealed that Iraq has invaded Kuwait.

President Bush then announces the deployment of U.S. troops to the region, starting the Gulf War. Cameron realizes that the boot camp is just beginning, and they will now be involved in the war.

In real life, President Bush ordered troops to prepare to face Iraq in Kuwait on Aug. 7, 1990, according to History.com. America’s involvement in the conflict began on Jan. 17, 1991, after Iraqi forces didn’t leave Kuwait.

Has Boots been renewed for season 2?

In December 2025, Netflix canceled Boots, so the show won’t return for a second season, as reported by Deadline.

The Boots season 1 finale ends with unanswered questions, like the fate of Sullivan and what President Bush’s announcement means for Cameron and his crew.

Although we now know that viewers won’t get answers, creator and co-showrunner Andy Parker said in the past that he’d held out hope the show would get a second season.

In an interview with TheWrap, Parker explained that they set Boots in 1990 for two main reasons.

“One, it kept it still pre-‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ so it’s just illegal to be gay in the military,” he said. “It also allowed us to move up their graduation to right at this precipitous moment when Saddam Hussein invades Iraq, setting us up for them having to go to this conflict.”