The Wizards of Waverly Place reboot has left fans mourning the apparent death of one of its legacy characters.
Disney’s sequel series, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place — which follows David Henrie’s Justin Russo, now a father who faces a new challenge when his sister Alex (Selena Gomez) introduces him to Billie, a wizard-in-training in need of mentorship — concluded its second season Wednesday in a dramatic fashion.
*Warning — Major Wizards Beyond Waverly Place season two finale spoilers to follow*
In part two of the season finale — which features the highly anticipated return of Gomez — it’s shockingly revealed that Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) is actually Alex’s biological daughter.
Alex makes the discovery after she regains her memory that she had wiped years ago, along with Justin and Billie’s, in order to protect her daughter from the dark wizard Lord Morsus (Tobias Jelinek), who is also revealed to be Billie’s paternal grandfather.
Morsus, meanwhile, has used Billie and her powers to open a dangerous portal between the mortal world and an evil dimension.
Realizing the only way to seal the rift is from the other side, Billie offers to sacrifice herself. However, Alex tearfully shuts her down and instead insists on doing it herself, promising Billie, “We’ll find each other again.”
Alex then steps up to the portal, leaping onto Morsus’s back as they’re whisked away to the other side — leaving Justin to comfort Billie and his children, reassuring them that they’ll find Alex someday.
The climactic cliffhanger has left fans devastated, with many expressing their heartbreak on X. The show “has no right being this good at dramatic storylines because what do you mean alex russo sacrificed herself for her daughter,” one wrote.
“My whole childhood is ruined,” a second cried, while a third declared: “Alex russo will forever remain the most iconic Disney character ever.”
Speaking in a recent interview with TVLine, Henrie admitted that he “knew that everyone was going to freak out” about the finale.
“For seven months, I was just waiting for the moment [the cast] got to read the script with the ending,” he said. “When we finally read it, everyone cried at the table read with all the executives and all the different folks that work on the show. Everyone was just deeply moved and touched. It was exactly what I had hoped for.”
He later addressed viewer concern, cryptically teasing on X: “Just so you know, Alex Russo is tougher than you think — and there’s a lot more to come. You’re asking all the right questions. Stay tuned, #WizardsBeyond has got some magical surprises up our sleeves.”
Gomez, 33, led the original four-season Disney Channel sitcom alongside Henrie, 36, from 2007 to 2012. The actor’s latest reprisal of Alex, a role that helped launch her career, marks only her third appearance on the reboot, much to fan dismay.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is out now on Disney+.
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