: Rather than a literal serial killer, the figure of Big Daddy is revealed as a metaphor for the HIV/AIDS virus . He appears to characters as they become sick, representing their impending mortality. Character Fates :
The finale shifts away from a traditional slasher narrative to a poetic and tragic exploration of loss, legacy, and the devastating impact of a new virus.
(Joe Mantello) spends the remaining years of the decade documenting the deaths of his friends and the indifference of the city until he, too, is finally taken by the "specter" of Big Daddy.