‘Enemy’ Ending Explained: Here’s What Really Happened
Many will be looking for a deeper exploration of what happened at the end enemya film by Garth Davis starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal.
The film, based on the 2018 book written by Ian Reid, follows a couple living in the future on a rural homestead on a dying Earth who are told that Mescal Jr. will need to be sent to spend time on a large space station. While he is gone, his wife Hen will be left with an artificial human version of her husband.
There is one big twist midway through the story that gives viewers one more before the credits roll.
Enemy ending explained
enemyThe first twist pulls the rug from under everyone’s feet midway through the film. As it turns out, Paul Mescal’s version of “Junior” that viewers watched is not the original.
From the very first scene, viewers followed the human stand-in for Mescal’s character. The two years the couple had to wait was precisely the time the real Junior was on the space station.
There were hints of this throughout the film, such as the dead bug and Junior’s spontaneous run through the desert.
Without much warning, the real Paul Mescal returns. His AI replacement is inhumanely stripped and put to sleep, a gruesome scene that proves to be a heavy burden for everyone in the house, especially Hen.
This leads to how the film ends.
Anyone who watches the film should understand how unstable and suboptimal Junior and Hen are together. But with this new Junior, Hen begins to fall in love again with the man she once knew.
So, when this duplicate is killed, it will have its consequences. As one might expect, the complication of her involvement with this other man causes trouble for the original Junior, and their usual arguments begin all over again.
This causes Hen to finally leave, leaving Junior with a blank letter. But there is another gift: her human substitute.
At first, Junior doesn’t seem to know anything. But it’s implied that he knows it’s not the real Chicken, although he doesn’t seem to care.
After all, this is his ideal wife. Meanwhile, the current Chicken lives her life and goes on the adventures she has wanted to experience all her life.
Why audiences don’t like the film “Enemy”
enemy You didn’t get along with many people. The project currently has a critical approval rating of 24% on Rotten Tomatoes – people aren’t liking it, to put it mildly.
While it’s widely believed that lead actors Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal give decent performances, they can’t quite save the story itself. It doesn’t help that the characters and their relationships at the core of the story are far from pleasant.
After watching the film, some felt that Mescal Jr. was simply an unhappy man. So it was unexpected that not only was it revealed that it was a replacement, but somehow Hen started to fall in love with him again.
The sci-fi elements of the film also require further exploration and could have been given a little more attention. It is also unclear how Hen could have accidentally found a replacement for herself, especially since she was not going to be sent to the space station.
For those who want to delve deeper into this story, be sure to read the original book.
enemy streaming now on Prime Video.