How does Todd die?
After surviving prison, fire, river pursuit, storm, and shipwreck, he is recognized on the London road and shot while trying to break through the officers.
What becomes of Mrs. Lovett?
In Newgate she makes a full confession, then uses poison hidden in her dress to kill herself before trial.
Why is the ending so long?
This 1850 expansion turns the original mystery into a fugitive serial, repeatedly postponing capture through cliffhangers.
What happens to the survivors?
Johanna and Mark, Colonel Jeffery and Arabella, and Tobias and his beloved receive domestic futures that reverse Todd's destruction of households.
Themes and What the Ending Means
Predatory commerce: The barber shop and pie shop convert trust, bodies, and appetite into profit.
Institutional corruption: The madhouse and prison can be manipulated by criminals even as legal investigators slowly close in.
Disguise and hidden space: Clothing, false identities, cupboards, vaults, cellars, and mechanisms drive both detection and escape.
Serial suspense: Alternating plots and delayed revelations keep danger alive across an unusually long chapter sequence.
Retribution: Todd's late flight repeatedly places him inside versions of the traps he built for other people.