TV Recap: "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" 4-Part Series Finale

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place concluded with a 4-episode Season 3 that resolved the Season 2 cliffhanger and beautifully wrapped up the story. Best of all, it gave Wizards of Waverly Place fans a few more cameos that hadn’t happened yet during the spin-off’s run. Here’s a recap of the final arc.

Episode 1: “The Rift That Keeps on Giving” - Written by Jed Elinoff & Scott Thomas

It’s been three days since Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) accidentally opened the rift that Alex (Selena Gomez) disappeared through. Winter (Taylor Cora) has been sleeping over every night to try and keep Billie calm, and Billie keeps having nightmares about the family being afraid of her. 

That morning, Roman (Alkaio Thiele) reminds Milo (Max Matenko) not to mention Alex around Billie, a task that proves impossible when a delivery man (Rich Grosso) drops off boxes of Alex’s belongings from the apartment she’s been evicted from. Billie comes downstairs to find the boys trying to keep her from seeing what’s in the backyard. Suspicious, she goes to look, and Roman moves the boxes behind her with his wand each time. But in the shuffle to stop her from being reminded of Alex, Billie’s fears are confirmed: They really are afraid of her.

In the lair, Justin (David Henrie) searches for a spell to help him locate Alex, and Giada (Mimi Gianopulos) joins in the search. None of his spells work, and he thinks his emotions are getting in the way, so he puts them into the “Emotional Baggage,” becoming a pointed-eyebrows version of himself without feelings. After Giada leaves to get coffee, Billie enters to find a Justin so practical that he tells her to her face that her powers are dangerous.

Winter is recruited to help Milo and Roman move Alex’s boxes. When a leather jacket with “Spellz Angels” embroidered on the back falls out, Roman decides to try it on. It instantly transports him to a wizard realm roadhouse full of tough-looking wizards.

Billie decides to break her wand so she can’t use her powers anymore. Just then, Milo and Winter rush into the living room to tell her that Roman disappeared. Billie is familiar with the Spellz Angelz, the toughest crew in the realm who hang out at the Speckled Unicorn. Billie doesn’t tell them she destroyed her wand, having Justin open the mirror portal so they can go find Roman.

Billie, Milo, and Winter arrive at the Speckled Unicorn to find Roman jumping out of the window. “That’s what you get for wearing Damian Penwulf’s jacket,” a gruff wizard named Reaper (Blake Gibbons), who chased Roman out, declares before fixing the window with his wand. Billie asks Roman why he was wearing her dad’s jacket. When the boys refuse to talk about the boxes, Billie marches inside to find out from Reaper.

Unemotional Justin uses the coffee maker to create an interdimensional quantum locator that should connect him and Alex. When it doesn’t work, Giada finds out that he separated himself from his emotions, and she discovers that only Justin can open the Emotional Baggage. She watches her husband give up on finding Alex and instead focus on working out.

When Billie asks Reaper about her dad, he asks if Barnabas Quincy sent her. She lies, saying he did. Reaper points his wand at her, saying Damian told him to vaporize anyone Quincy sends looking for him. Billie is saved when another Spellz Angelz member (Ike Catcher) brings the kids back inside. Billie tells Reaper that she’s Damian’s daughter, but Reaper asks for proof in the form of her ability to conjure the Penwulf Herald. Billie explains that she broke her wand. Milo and Roman raise theirs to try and save them, but they’re snatched. The kids find themselves about to be vaporized by the Spellz Angelz.

After his workout, Justin can’t find his wand. Giada placed it in a duffel bag that looks exactly like the Emotional Baggage. Eventually, an unfeeling Justin guesses the right bag, grabs his wand, and walks away. But Giada tied a string connecting the wand to the Emotional Baggage’s zipper, and Justin is reunited with his feelings. Hearing a beeping from the lair, they rush in to find that it has established a connection with Alex. Giada realizes that Justin’s emotions are his connection to his sister, so turning them off is what made the device not work.

“I wish I could conjure that herald,” Billie says as all seems lost. But then her hands start glowing, and the Penwulf Heral appears (a floogie). “She really is Damian’s daughter,” Reaper declares. He conjures a stuffed bear that Damian asked him to give her, saying she would know what to do with it. 

That night, Billie thanks Winter for sleeping over. She looks at the teddy bear, vowing to figure out its secret. When she falls asleep, we see Winter levitate while she sleeps.

Where is Alex? We find her waking up on a couch in an apartment, looking confused. Someone is knocking on the door, saying “Alex, I’m back,” in a gruff voice. Alex opens the door to find Harper (Jennifer Stone) returned from doing laundry, her voice raspy from inhaling lint. To Alex’s confusion, Harper says they’re roommates. “Is everything ok?” she asks Alex. “I don’t think so,” Alex responds.

Episode 2: “The Right Stuffie” - Written by Rick Williams

When Alex says she doesn’t remember this apartment, Harper tells Alex how they’ve been through several of them together. Alex tries to leave the apartment to talk to Justin, but Harper won’t let her go. Harper grabs Alex’s wand and pushes her into the bathroom, locking her inside! Harper gets a phone call from someone, and we hear her tell them they have a situation.

Justin arrives at Harper’s door, and we learn that this version of Alex and Harper’s apartment is set in the past because he’s on his first date with Giada. Harper tells Justin that she had to lock Alex in the bathroom because her boyfriend is on his way over to propose to her. Alex, meanwhile, crawls through the window onto the fire escape and watches as Justin denies her call. Harper is worried she will spill the beans, so Justin casts a text replacement spell that won’t let her say it. When Justin leaves, Alex crawls into the living room through a window and takes her wand back. She tries to leave, but Harper begs her to say, saying, “Your repairman is coming to fix the dishwasher.” Alex is confused, but when she opens the door, she finds her boyfriend, Mason Greyback (Gregg Sulkin), there. 

It turns out Harper was wrong; Mason isn’t there to propose to Alex. In fact, he’s kind of a voice of reason, reminding Alex that this isn’t her life. “Because you’re dead,” she realizes aloud. He tells her about the rift and how he came to try and help her get back. He reminds her she’s married and has a daughter. “Billie,” Alex says, her memories restored. He promises to always be watching over her. Alex and Mason hug.

Alex tells Harper that her daughter has a best friend just like her. “I have to go,” Alex says. Harper starts to cry, understanding, asking Alex to give her a call when she gets home. They hug as Mason asks if Alex is ready to go back, helping her wake up.

Back in reality, Winter has to go home, but Billie promises to update her if she finds any information on the bear. Roman, having done some research, thinks it’s a Babble Bear, a magic toy that contains a secret that can only be unlocked with a magic key. Justin emerges from the lair in need of more supplies to boost the quantum locator’s signal to find Alex, saying he will then need Billie to open a rift. She asks if it has to be her; Justin says they at least need a wizard as powerful as her. When he leaves, Roman thinks they’re doomed, but Billie says if they find her dad, he can open the rift.

Roman and Billie work together to try and solve the mystery of the bear. She thinks the answers could be inside, and she’s ready to cut it open when Roman does a “hexray” spell to see inside. They see a locket like the one Billie got from Alex. She puts it on the bear’s neck, and it starts chattering in a gibberish language they don’t understand. Luckily, Milo recognizes it as “stuffy,” a language for stuffed animals. He transforms himself into a plush dinosaur to converse with the bear, changing back to share that it’s a message from Billie’s dad saying he locked himself in Wizcatraz to stop his dad from opening a rift. Billie will have to find a way to break him out of the wizard prison, and there’s only one person who's ever done it before. He happens to be trapped inside the locket!

The kids visit Silas Evilini (Ramon Reed) in his amulet prison to ask about breaking someone out of Wizcatraz. He says he can’t tell them, but offers to show them if they take him with them. They decide to free him from the amulet.

Silas asks for a list of things he’ll need to break someone out of Wizcatraz. The boys go to the lair to get it, leaving Billie alone to guard Silas. Winter comes over with a problem: Every time she sneezes, she duplicates! She says it started happening when Billie lost her powers, and when Silas hears that, he tries to escape. Billie uses pepper to make Winter sneeze, creating another Winter blocking every exit he tries. 

When Justin returns home, he demands answers. Billie comes clean about losing her powers. He apologizes for saying her powers are dangerous, something he wouldn’t have done if he’d had his emotions. They hug.

Justin tells Billie that she shouldn’t be afraid of her power, and it’s not gone; it’s just in Winter. After confirming that Billie wants it back, Justin does some magic that fixes Billie’s wand, with all the duplicate Winters disappearing. 

Having called Wizacatraz to report an intruder, Silas is imprisoned for breaking into a tribunal member’s house. Justin and Billie hide inside the locket on his neck, his former prison.

Alex wakes up on an asteroid in the realm of monsters. We see a cloaked figure on the asteroid with her.

Episode 3: “Billie Russo-Penwulf and the Prisoner of Wizcatraz” - Written by Molly Haldeman

Silas Evilini pleads his innocence with the Wizcatraz guards, but they don’t believe him. They zap his stuff onto a bench and take him to his cell. Justin and Billie break out to go find her dad.

Stealing a guard’s uniform, Justin pretends to be a guard while pushing Billie in a cart full of bones. He asks for directions to the records room, which, after breaking in, turns out to be an infinitely tall shaft. The records are all on high-up shelves, while the fall seems endless. Justin asks Billie to keep a lookout while he climbs up to the letter P.

At home, Winter and Roman are intrigued by Justin’s interdimensional bridge, thinking they can reconfigure it into a two-way communicator. Even though Giada warned them not to touch it, they do it anyway. They then get into a disagreement about whether science or magic is the best way to go about it. When they both try at the same time, it short-circuits, and all of its magic backs up into the home’s electric grid.

When Billie sees a guard pass by with a ring of keys on his belt, she decides to follow him to try and steal it. Meanwhile, Justin discovers that spells don’t work right in Wizcatraz. He tries to tell Billie, but she’s out of earshot. When she tries to use a spell to steal the keys, she ends up glued to the guard’s back. She’s able to grab the keys, but he falls, and her presence is found out. 

Justin finds out that Damian Penwulf is in Cell 140, just as an alarm goes off and an announcement is made about a teenage intruder. Justin gets back into the guard costume to save Billie, claiming to take her to the pit. She’s afraid until they’re alone and he reveals it’s him. He shares the good news about finding her father’s cell, but Billie starts to worry that he won’t love her. Justin promises he will. 

At home, the power from the device transfers around appliances until it gets to the microwave. Alex is on the other end, and she can communicate via text with the screen. “I’m beyond the rift,” she informs them. Roman finds out that opening a rift is the only way to get Alex back, but Winter thinks quantum entanglement could pull Alex back through the device via a binding spell. Alex starts to talk Roman through it.

When the Wizcatraz guards discover that Justin isn’t one of them, he holds them off while Billie goes to find her father. Justin tries to cast a spell, which backfires, making his hands grow huge. He uses it to his advantage, fighting the guards off as long as he can, until he is thrown in the same cell with Silas.

Billie reaches cell 140, using the stolen keys to unlock it. “Billie?” Damien Penwulf (Brandon Michael Hall) asks in disbelief, hugging her, calling her his Billie Bug. An alarm goes off, and Billie tells him about Alex going through the rift. Damien uses a rope to trip some guards.

Roman casts the spell, but he accidentally does it in the wrong direction…

… As Billie and Damien reach Justin’s cell, they watch his molecules break up as he disappears…

… Justin materializes on an asteroid in a monster realm. A hooded figure watches him…

Episode 4: “The Last Spell” - Written by Jed Elinoff & Scott Thomas

Justin approaches the cloaked figure with his giant hands. Underneath the hood is a mask like Lord Morsus, but it’s just a dummy. “Guess that makes you the dummy,” Alex says, revealing her presence and changing Justin’s hands back. She’s surprised to learn that Damian hid himself in Wizcatraz. She lights a fire to keep the monsters away and tells Justin she feels like a bad mom. He cheers her up, saying she risked everything to protect Billie. He knows she will figure things out like she always does.

Silas Evilini acts starstruck by Damien Pendragon’s arrival in his cell, citing Damian as his inspiration to be evil. He promises to help them escape. He leads them to the spell scrambler room, revealing that the last time he escaped, he reset the scrambler so he could use magic. But when they open the door, guards are waiting for them. Silas set up a trap in exchange for his freedom.

As Roman and Winter work on fixing the device, Giada thinks they need help from grandpa. She calls Jerry, but Theresa (Maria Canals-Barrera) answers. Jerry was bitten by a wareskunk and needs to quarantine until the next full moon. Giada doesn’t tell Theresa what’s going on since there’s nothing she can do to help. Milo pulls up WikiHow and finds the Handsome Hexman (David Henrie) has a video tutorial. Roman and Winter are able to fix the quantum locator, which instantly alerts them that Justin has been found. And then it gives another alert: “Unknown Entity Located.”

Lord Morsus himself, aka Damian’s father Nicodemus Penwulf (Tobias Jelinek), has arrived on Alex and Justin’s asteroid, sharing that the rift only increased his power. Alex and Justin dodge and run as he begins firing powerful blasts of magic at them.

Billie grabs the crystal spell scrambler, vowing to break it if the guards don’t let them leave. When it resets in her hand, Damian takes the chance to transport them out of there, trapping Silas in Wizcatraz again. Billie and Damien return to the Russo home, where Damian introduces himself to the family. 

Just when all seems lost for Alex and Justin, a small rift opens behind Lord Morsus. Alex sees Damian’s face through it, but he seems to be struggling to get it to open. Then Alex joins him, creating a big rift. Alex puts her coat on the dummy and distracts Lord Morsus into attacking it while she and Justin jump through the rift before it closes. 

It’s a happy family reunion in the Russo home. Alex promises never to leave Billie again. Justin congratulates her, and Billie thanks him for being a good teacher.

Billie packs up her room, telling Roman he finally gets his own. Milo hugs her. Roman lies, saying he won’t miss her. “I’m not going to miss you too,” Billie smiles, hugging him.

Justin talks to his mom on the phone, telling her he doesn’t know why Giada was trying to reach his dad. Alex thanks Giada for being there for Billie when she couldn’t be. Justin tells Alex they can stay as long as they want, but she’s eager to resume being a family again with Damian and Billie. Alex gives Winter a bracelet that will let her use mirrors to visit Billie in the wizard realm. Alex and Damian step through the mirror. Alex and Damian step through the mirror. “I guess I’ll see you around,” Billie says to the family before leaving, too. Justin, Giada, Roman, and Milo feel uncomfortable with the silence in the house. But Billie rushes back through the mirror for one last hug.

Later, a rift opens in the Russos’ dark living room. The family returns from getting pizza. Justin and Giada talk in the kitchen about how Billie reintroduced Justin to magic, a part of him he thought he had said goodbye to. Giada reminds Justin that he will always be Billie’s uncle and teacher. She goes to the living room, and a moment later, he hears her voice calling him.

Justin finds his wife and kids frozen on the couch. He turns around to find Lord Morsus, who instantly steals his voice, too. “Hey Billie, it’s Justin,” Penwulf says in Justin’s voice.

Billie, Alex, and Damian rush into the lair from the wizard realm after receiving a call from Justin that didn’t feel right. They have their wands drawn as they enter the house through the mirror.

Lord Morsus vows to rip the Russos apart for destroying his family, blaming Alex for Damian’s turn away from him. The family is saved by Theresa, who hits Lord Morsus on the back of the head with a lamp. She came over because she could tell that Justin was lying to her. 

Lord Morsus revives, and the whole family has their wands drawn, ready to battle. But Billie runs to her grandpa, standing in the way of their magic. “He’s family,” she reminds them, “and I’m not giving up on him.” Billie offers her grandpa a different path. The family lowers their wands, but Morsus calls them weak. He casts a spell and is surprised to find a forcefield that not only protects the Russos from his attack, but also turns it back around on him. He disintegrates, reduced to nothing but a cloak on the living room floor. The family applauds Billie’s bravery. 

The series ends with Alex, Justin, their spouses and kids, plus Theresa, back in the Waverly Place sub shop, enjoying a family meal together. They question who made the forcefield, but Theresa is the one to recognize what it really was: the most powerful magic of all, family. Billie asks if they can do a family dinner every week. “I’d love that,” Justin says.

The end.

All episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place are streaming on Disney+.