Where the Crawdads Sing ^ Kya didn’t kill Chase Andrews – Here’s Why

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Let’s go straight to the point. The ending of Where the Crawdads Sing is very straightforward, isn’t it? After years of hiding the truth about the murder of Chase Andrews, Kya finally dies peacefully on her boat, in the middle of the North Carolina marsh and her husband and real and true love – Tate Walker – finds a secret book, where the only piece of evidence of the murder has been hidden: the shell necklace Chase was wearing the same day he was killed.

But maybe that’s not the case. Have you ever thought that Tate’s face when he finds the necklace is not a «OMG, my wife is a killer» face, but maybe a «Geez, all this time my wife was keeping the evidence against me» face? Well if you don’t follow me until this point, let me explain a little.

But first things first. In the novel, in the book, Kya does kill Chase Andrews and when Tate finds the necklace, he also finds a lengthy poem where she beautifully describes every single detail of the murder. But in the movie is not the same.

In the movie, when Old Tate finds the necklace, we do not see any poem or description of the murder itself, and what we actually see is like a short dissertation about morality. Of course, Kya participated in Chase’s murder, but she didn’t committed. Or at least, she didn’t do it only by herself.

Let’s move back in time. The night Tate finds Kya scared outside her house, after Chase tried to rape her, Kya remarks she do not want to live in fear, like her mother. We are compelled to believe that Tate just stop the conversation there and left. But, the rest of this conversation is the key for everything.

Kya knows the «good» people of Barkley Cove and she knows if anything might happen to Chase, she will be the perfect suspect. So the plan she makes up with Tate is quite simple. While Tate murders Chase, she will act like she was guilty, just to reveal later she had a very sound alibi: being outside the town with no possibility of a quick return to find Chase and kill him.

The big question is if Tate was actually on board with this plan at first. After all, if for some reason Kya was found guilty, she would end up in jail. So, this is where the shell necklace comes to place. Tate agreed with the plan because he already owned Kya, and he wanted her back, but in the remote case she was found guilty, the only thing Tate needed to do was to reveal the necklace he took from Chase the night he killed him, in the fire tower, and this way Kya would not go to jail.

After Kya was found Not Guilty for the murder of Chase Andrews, Tate returned the necklace to Kya and she promised to get rid of it. Now, the surprise on Old Tate’s at the end of the movie was that Kya actually did not get rid of the necklace, but she chose to hide it in that secret book with some words about morality.

Kya actually got rid of her predator, but she did not do it alone, and this way she made sure Tate would not just leave her once again, like he once did.

If you ask me why the movie just hinted this explanation, I would say that Delia Owens – author of the novel – insisted so much to respect the ending of the story, that it was contractually impossible to show on screen somebody else besides Kya actually killing Chase. But, fun fact, we do not see Kya killing Chase on screen either. What we see in the movie is Tom Milton building a very strong case, and he makes abundantly clear it was impossible for Kya to kill a man, and cover her prints in just one hour.

Do you agree with theory? Comments below!

Look Both Ways, Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Have you ever thought what has been the most important moment of your life, that definitive moment in which you were never again the person you used to be? Was it a breakup, a graduation, a job, a move, buying a house, a trip? Which was? And have you ever thought what would have happened to you, if at that moment you had made a totally different decision?

For Natalie Bennett (Lili Reinhart) the answer to those questions has always been clear: the most important moment of her life was the night of her college graduation, the same night she took a pregnancy test, and for the rest of the film we see what would have happened to her, both in the event that it would have come out positive, and in the event that it would have come out negative.

1 ^ Is Natalie imagining everything? Which story is real in Look Both Ways?

The theory that some seem to be spinning regarding Look Both Ways is that everything happens in Natalie’s head during the two minutes of waiting to verify the result of her pregnancy test, two eternal minutes in which that Natalie imagines her life if the test comes out positive, and at the same time if it comes out negative. And that – in the end – we will never know the answer.

But Natalie isn’t imagining everything. Both stories are real, it is just they take place in parallel universes where the result of the pregnancy test was different.

2 ^ What is the message of the film Look Both Ways?

Some of the criticism I have read about this film, insist this is an anti-feminist film, or even worse, plainly misogynistic cinema, because in one of the stories it shows us Natalie sacrificing her planned life and her dreams, for a pregnancy that is clearly not desired, when – in the opinion of these articles – it was much easier to have an abortion.

But the message of the film goes much further than that. In the film we see Natalie in two opposite situations, in the first she abandons her roots to pursue a dream, and in the second she is tied by circumstances to those roots. In both circumstances, Natalie understood that the best version of herself is not the one fighting for her dreams putting her past self aside, or the one who put all his dreams aside, just to punish herself for not being careful enough.

The Natalie who never got pregnant, had to go back to her parents, see Gabe again and understand what would have happened to her if the test had come out positive, to find herself. The Natalie who became pregnant and had a daughter, had to learn again to fight for her dreams, and to take advantage of her experience as her mother make them strong.

The message of this film is that, no matter how hard and complicated the experiences we go through, we can always learn from them to achieve our dreams, as long as we do not lose our essence and remember at all times what we wanted them for.

3 ^ What does the end of My Two Lives mean?

In this Multiverse, we see that both versions (variants?) of Natalie find happiness when they manage to balance their experiences with their dreams, thus achieving, each in their own way what she had always longed for.

The scene in the bathroom, 4 years after the pregnancy test, in which the Natalies look in the mirror and tell themselves that they are going to be okay, is simply an exercise they do to be at peace with the path that they never took. The Natalie who went to Los Angeles, and who regretted having cut everything, for a frustrating life in which she was finally left with nothing, made peace with the possibility of staying there, perhaps fighting for her dreams without giving priority to others. The Natalie who became a mother, and who regretted not having made a decision that would allow her to continue with her life, finally made peace with that life that she could not have, but thanks to her talent, she may have another chance.

It all comes down to when we stop regretting the decisions we make and that we did not make, out of fear, or on a whim or immaturity, they still are part of our personal growth and in the end those are the experiences that make us the complex and vibrant human being that we are today.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

Ambulance ^ Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

What would you do if the only way to save a life is by committing a crime? Is it worth risking your life, and lives of innocent people to save just one person? Would you sacrifice someone you love, for doing the right thing?

The above are the main questions around Michael Bay (Bad Boys, Armaggedon, Transformers) drives Ambulance, a fairly effective mix of action, chases and yes, even some drama. Now, if in the midst of the shootings, the betrayals, the medical procedures and the personal traumas you are wondering what the heck was going on, do not worry, right now and without further ado, we’re going to deeply analize Ambulance!

1 ^ What is the story of Danny and Will? Why are they brothers if one is white and the other is black?

Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) are actually orphans. Or at least their biological parents did not take care of them, leaving them in the U.S. child protection system, where a cruel bank robber they identify as LT adopted them, more with the intention of training them as help for his operations, than as sons as such. However, the two boys formed a bond of brotherhood.

Over time, however, a difference developed between the two. When LT died – apparently in a situation where Will and Danny had to choose between them and him – Danny decided to continue with the business of LT and Will, decided to go to fight with the army, to change his focus on life. Will eventually married and started a family, with the problem that his daughter had a fatal disease, whose only hope was an experimental treatment not covered by insurance.

2 ^ What’s the problem with Cam?

As Cam (Eiza González) told Danny, when she started on Medicine School, she managed to complete 3 years, after which she started using. She lost everything and once she tried to get her life back, the conviction that she should pay for ruining her own life prevented her from having meaningful relationships, like the one she had with Collin Waters. Cam is aware of this issue, because within her phone contacts, there is a psychiatrist. However, she does little to nothing to fix this problem, because -as she tells Emt- on his first day, she doesn’t like to get attached to anyone at all. Neither with his co-workers, nor with his patients. The only thing she has in mind is to fully fulfill his tasks and his work, which she believes, is the only thing she can do to fulfill her karma.

3 ^ What was Danny’s plan and why did he need Will?

Danny and his army of thieves had the goal to steal 32 million dollars from the Federal Bank, in downtown Los Angeles. The plan was to subdue the employees, take the money, take it to Randazzo’s vehicle, flee and then distribute the money. Danny had reason to distrust his team, as all of them were extremely unstable and would not hesitate to kill him just to have a better chance to run away and escape. Danny needed Will, because he knew that he could protect him, and it was precisely because of that, that the Hell’s Doors were opened.

4 ^ What went wrong in the robbery? Why did Will shoot Zach?

Officer Zach was simply interested in asking out Kim, one of the Federal Bank workers, and his partner, Officer Mark, encouraged him to do so. Zach entered the bank, and realizing what was happening, he indirectly alerted the police who immediately closed the building. Zach, trying to be of use in taking down the criminals, attempted to subdue Danny, and Will shot him.

5 ^ Why didn’t the LAPD just blow the Ambulance’s tires?

Well, because then we wouldn’t have a movie. But hey, the script was a bit bold in trying to logically explain this gap. The police were trying to protect Zach’s life and to some extent Cam’s. Cam were in position in the bank building, after Mark’s emergency call, but once on the way, Danny and Will kidnapped her, leaving Emt out of the vehicle.

According to the film, the Los Angeles Police could not afford to provoke a situation in which two innocent people could die in front of the entire country, since the persecution was on national TV.

6 ^ Why did Will save Zach and Cam?

Will helped Cam do Zach’s bullet removal surgery, after which the internal bleeding stopped and she was able to stabilize him until the end of the film when he was treated at a specialized medical center. Likewise, Will also saved them both from being taken by Papi (A Martinez), who demanded them as insurance against the police. Of course Papi’s intention was to abandon them and use them as a decoy while they escaped.

7 ^ Why did Danny and Will go to Papi? What was his plan?

Because the police literally had them surrounded. The only way was to confuse the Police about which ambulance they were requesting and in the midst of the confusion to flee, now to another country, because they were already fully identified.

Danny offered Papi 8 million dollars, of the 16 he still had, to get a fleet of ambulances out, and to help get his own, painted a different color, for what they needed Castro. But Papi also added an ambulance with a bomb to neutralize the police. When this happened the brothers were to report to Papi, who demanded the two hostages, which Will refused. When Papi found out about the death of his right-hand man, Roberto, Danny and Will teamed up to take down the team of criminals. And run away… again.

8 ^ Why did Cam shoot Will?

Well, Cam already knew that Danny or Papi wanted to get rid of her, now that they were safe and sound, the only option she seemed to have was to run away, but if someone stopped her, she would be lost, so when she saw the door of the ambulance opened, the windows being covered by green paint, she didn’t realize it was Will, and she fired. Danny asked Cam to save her brother, while he was driving, until he understood that she was the one who had shot him. Now, with Cam’s help, the police have relocated the ambulance. Danny was lost.

9 ^ Why did Will kill Danny?

Desperate, believing that his brother was dead or about to die, and with the police surrounding him and without any support, the only thing left for Danny was to die, and the only thing he had to do was take down the person who helped foil his crimes. Danny planned to kill Cam and then immolate himself, but seeing that his brother was about to become a version of his father, Will – who was not yet dead – took his brother’s life, leaving Cam alive.

10 ^ What does the ending of Ambulance mean? What is the message of the film?

In the end, Danny apologizes to Will before he dies. The cops were willing to let Will die, but Cam, attending to her commitment to her patients, helped him up with the help of Mark, who also felt responsibility, as Will helped Zach. Finally, Cam gives him the part of the money for the treatment of Will’s daughter, and Will stays in the hospital, while Cam visits Lindsay, the girl she saved in the first scene of the film.

Danny apologizes to Will because he finally understood that it was his actions that brought him to that critical situation where they were both about to die. Cam understood that behind a criminal, there is always a story, a human face, and that a life is something much more complex than she believed. In the end Will is alive, but he will end up in prison, although with the satisfaction that his wife will be able to have money to pay for her daughter’s treatment.

But the most significant scene in the film is when Cam visits Lindsay. At the beginning of the film, Cam had declared that she could not be feeling affection, neither for the patients, nor for the colleagues, because they were just work. In the end, Cam realizes that the best way to heal is to let those bonds surface and emerge as naturally as they did with Will, and even with Danny, and if he could with them, why not with Lindsay or with Emt? ?

Even when we punish ourselves for not being perfect, that punishment does not have to be forever.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

Encanto | Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Have you ever felt excluded from your family? Maybe you haven’t felt as smart, or as good-looking, or as classy, or as successful as the people around you? If so, how did that make you feel? What did you do about it?

These were the questions directors Byron Howard ( Bolt, Tangled, Zootopia ) and Jared Bush ( Zootopia, Moana ) kept in mind to bring Encanto to the big screen. Encanto is Disney’s 60th animated film, and also Disney’s first animated film that takes place entirely in South America, in my beautiful country, Colombia.

Now, if in the middle of the wax palms, the arepas, the buñuelos, the nice coffee, the magic candles, the terrifying visions, and the secrets of the past, you have been left with doubts, or questions about the film, do not worry, because now, and without further ado, we’ll talk about Encanto in deep, and we will figure out what the ending means.

Let’s go for it!

1 | Where does Encanto’s magic come from?

Encanto’s magic stems from a miracle that occurred after Alma Madrigal (María Cecilia Botero) witnessed the murder of her husband Pedro, the father of her triplets. Alma was so deeply affected that she wished from the bottom of her heart, to separate herself and her children from such violence.

Her plea caused the surrounding mountains to close around the spot, preventing the passage to and from that place. The magic was channeled into a candle with the figure of a butterfly, which always remained lit, but the big question that remains is: who listened to Alma? Who caused the miracle? The answer is in the house.

When Mirabel first saw the cracks in the house, she was able to see faint symbols on the clay tiles that fell from the ceiling. Then we see these symbols again in the mysterious cave of Bruno. These symbols come from an indigenous culture, so it can be assumed that it is a local deity, which due to the geographical location of El Encanto, would necessarily have to be a Quimbaya deity, a pre-Columbian culture whose spirituality is associated with harmony and nature.

And although the candle that never goes out is the bridge between the deity and the Madrigal, the most interesting thing is not the candle, it is the house. La Casita.

2 | What really is the Casita in Encanto?

Disney usually animates things like teapots, candles, chairs, and even volcanoes, giving them life, giving little or no explanation about it. Or have you ever asked why the cups in Beauty and the Beast could speak?

However, in Encanto the matter of the house, la Casita, is very interesting. Although at first glance it seems to be simply an effect of the always-lit candle, what really seems to happen is that while the candle serves as a bridge, it is the house that is the origin of all magic and therefore, it is the physical manifestation of the spirit who heard Alma’s plea.

This spirit, to stay on this plane requires harmony.

3 | Why was the House cracking? Why was the Encanto dying out?

Whatever the source of the magic, it requires that there be harmony around it in order to manifest itself, however, as it became clear that the Madrigals were the only ones touched by this power, Abuela Alma began to assume that her responsibility, and that of his family was to maintain this magic, even at the cost of sacrificing the wishes and desires of each one of them.

Alma saw this guardianship as a privilege, a privilege that comes from the sacrifice of living exclusively to serve her community. But the truth is that magic, more than sacrifice, demanded harmony from them, which was destroyed by Abuela’s demands.

4 | Could the people in El Encanto get out of there?

The darkest thing about this story, and what is barely talked about in the film, is that – as Bruno said – once inside El Encanto it was impossible to leave. All the inhabitants of El Encanto are those who fled along with Pedro and Alma and their descendants. Very similar to the exodus of Jose Arcadio Buendía and Ursula Iguarán, which ended in the founding of Macondo, in One Hundred Years of Solitude.

However, one has to wonder if anyone was ever frustrated for that reason, and if that could be a cause for unsolvable conflict in the future. Would you feel good about living in Paradise, on the condition that you will never be able to leave?

5 | In what part of Colombia does Encanto take place?

Unquestionably in the Coffee Region. Or by extension, anywhere in the Colombian Central Mountain Range. Although there are many cultures and many ethnic groups in El Encanto, the type of vegetation, the climate and even the mountains are the same that can be seen in that area of ​​Colombia.

6 | And why are there people of all ethnicities in El Encanto?

If you have ever been in Colombia, you could notice there are Colombians from a wide range of ethnicities, thanks to the mix of the three main source groups: White (European), Black (African) and Native-American. So, it is easy to find within the same area people from these three ethnicities and everything in the mix. Also, every region in Colombia is unique in their cultural expressions. We can see not only different ethnicities in Encanto, but also different cultural expressions, like the culture of the Colombian Caribbean, or the Colombian Pacific, or the Colombian Andean Region. But why?

The Colombian coffee zone has always been full of people from all corners of Colombia, since the coffee harvesting process always requires a large number of employees. It would not be strange at all if among the people who fled the town under attack, there were people from all over Colombia, from the Atlantic Coast, the Pacific Coast, the Altiplano. It would then be like a Colombian microcosm where all the cultures of the country coexist, or at least those that were represented by the people who fled the town.

7 | Why wasn’t Mirabel gifted like the rest of the Madrigals?

Let’s speculate a little – the spirit that keeps El Encanto had to feel at some point that harmony was fading away, either because of the frustration of not being able to leave the town, or because of envy of the Madrigals, and that those negative feelings would eventually destroy everything. However, the isolation of the village was linked to the miracle of the candle – because that was Alma’s wish. The only way to avoid the total destruction of the town was to change the original miracle, and let a new one began to shine. For this, the harmony within the Madrigal had to be altered and what better way to alter a family than the appearance of someone different within them? That’s where Mirabel comes in.

By not giving gifts to Maribel, this spirit simply planted the seed that would lead to chaos, which Bruno managed to see in his visions.

8 | Why did Bruno hide from his family?

Because he wanted to protect Mirabel from her grandmother’s rigidity, especially from her obsession with preserving magic at the cost of the happiness of her family members. If Alma had known from the start that Mirabel was connected to the destruction of magic, she would probably have banished her from El Encanto, fracturing the family forever.

Bruno did not want to reveal how little he had seen in his vision of the future, so he simply left, although he did not get very far high in the mountains. And finally he hid in the hidden part of his own house.

9 | What is the message of the movie Encanto?

The most important message of Encanto is to recognize each member of our family as valuable; Many times we tend to minimize people close to us, because they are not so outgoing, or so smart, or so attractive, or so elegant, or so successful, or simply because they are the so-called Black Sheep. But not because something is different, it means that it has to be minimized, much less destroyed. It is definitely a call to be unconditional in the fact of loving our family.

Likewise, there is a hidden message in the film. Abuela Alma represents the past trauma of violence, and above all the fear of suffering such violence again. That trauma and that fear generated that the new generations had to pay with their happiness for the Abuela’s need to feel safe. What Mirabel represents is a new way of seeing the world, a new perspective on how to heal and maintain magic.

Perhaps, those of us who experience violence in Colombia or anywhere in the world are afraid of returning to that darkness that for so many years gripped our people, and that is why we tend to be rigid and strict, but perhaps it is good, perhaps not to change from one day to the next, but to give the opportunity for other perspectives, other points of view to appear and propose new ways of healing.

What better way to take advantage of the ideas and experience of others close to us, to begin to heal?

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

Awake: Netflix Original ^ Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

What would happen to us, the humankind, if we suddenly lost our ability to sleep? With that simple question, director Mark Raso (Kodachrome, Copenhagen) establish Awake, the most recent Netflix bet on apocalyptical thrillers on the vibe of Bird Box or The Silence.

Now, if in the midst of the chaos, the military, family conflicts, and sleep disorders, you have been left with some question, doubt or concern about the film, do not worry, because right now and without further ado we will jump to the Analysis and Explanation of… Awake (2021, so you don’t confuse this movie with the zillion other movies than share the same title).

1 ^ Does Awake (2021) have post-credits scenes?

Given the film’s somewhat ambiguous ending, maybe we might think the director was careful to include an explanatory scene after the credits, right? Well the truth is no. Awake: Disomnia has no post-credits scenes, so if you want to fully understand the film you need to gather all the clues we can find throughout its 96-minute run. And of course, keep reading this article.

2 ^ Why can’t people sleep in Awake?

The first seconds of the film show us a close-up of a starry night sky, without any clouds, a shot that appears in several later scenes, such as when Jill (Gina Rodriguez – Jane, The Virgin) realizes that Noah (Lucius Hoyos) is still awake, and then again the night Dodge (Shamier Anderson) takes the family to the hub where Murphy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is working on a cure.

These shots are an indication that the cause of the insomnia plague is in outer space. Murphy even points out to Jill that there is a theory that it is solar radiation that created the disorder. Human beings are biochemical machines that run on fuel (oxygen) and that communicate all its parts through electricity and fluid movement. Electricity in humans is so essential that when the body loses the elements that transmit it, such as potassium, lethal pathologies can easily emerge.

Now, the fact that the radiation comes from space does not necessarily mean that it is accidental. For this I have two theories: the first, that what we saw in the film is the first phase of an alien invasion that used a weapon as simple and simple as an electromagnetic pulse that melted at the same time human technology and its ability to sleep. And the second, that it is a weapon, which was used to deprive the people in a specific region of the world of their ability to sleep. The question remains whether the effect is global, or simply limited to the United States. If there is a sequel to this movie, maybe we can have an answer or two about these issues.

3 ^ Why does Noah hate Jill?

To understand why Noah hates Jill so much, we must collect the clues of how that family was formed. According to Jill, she became pregnant with Noah, as a teenager, she and Noah’s father did marry, but because they were financially limited, they both enlisted in the military.

In her time in what appears to be serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, Jill worked with Murphy in interrogation of prisoners, while her husband died in service. These traumatic events generated post-traumatic stress (PTSD) in Jill, to the point that she could only sleep using pills. The problem is that she later became addicted to these pills, and most likely she was caught stealing these highly regulated medicines at work, so the judge ruled that Noah and Matilda (Ariana Greenblatt) should remain under the tutelage of Doris (Frances Fisher).

The reason Noah hates Jill, or at least doesn’t like her very much, is that he blames her for leaving them alone when they needed her most, just when they had lost their father.

4 ^ What happens to the human body if we cannot sleep?

According to the Everyday Health portal, the damage suffered by the human body when it is deprived of sleep is gradual:

24 hours without sleep: The body reaches a level similar to that of a 0.10 alcohol intoxication. Judgment is clouded, there are memory issues, impaired decision-making ability, and loss of coordination between sight and extremities. There is emotional susceptibility, loss of attention and hearing, which increases the risk of dying in an accident.

36 hours without sleep : The symptoms listed above worsen, and markers of inflammation begin to appear throughout the body, which affects the cardiovascular system, and the endocrine system, so that the normal functioning of the organs begins to be affected .

48 hours without sleep: This is where there are differences with the film. When the human body is exposed to 48 without sleep it begins to fall into microsleep, this causes the brain to shut down momentarily trying to find a balance. However, in the film the micro-dreams do not appear so all the aforementioned symptoms worsen, including an exponential increase in disorientation.

72 hours without sleep: Multisystem failure begins to affect the brain, to the point where hallucinations begin to appear.

96 hours without sleep : catastrophic failure of all body functions, heart failure, irreversible multi-system damage. Death.

5 ^ What exactly is the sleep disorder in Awake?

Now, as we saw, the sleep disorder that we see in the film is not exactly like the one that is documented in any health portal you might find. The electromagnetic radiation that causes this disorder keeps the brain constantly on alert, and only shuts down when the individual dies. That is why there are no states of unconsciousness, even when someone is seriously injured.

When someone receives a traumatic injury or loss of blood, or a strong emotion, in general, loss of consciousness occurs in response to a loss of pressure in the pumping of blood that causes the brain to shut down as a preventive measure against a decrease in blood pressure. With a more limited flow of oxygen to the brain, it tries to keep online the functions we do not control such as breathing, the endocrine system, and so on.

But in the film, the brain cannot turn off momentarily and perhaps that is why the other symptoms worsen brutally, because the brain perhaps begins to turn off other areas in order to keep the individual awake.

6 ^ What is the cure for sleep disorder in Awake?

As we suspected at the beginning of the film, and then confirmed at the very end, the way in which the malfunction of the brain can be reversed is to momentarily stop vital functions, and reactivate them again. Matilda did indeed stop breathing for a minute, before the cops brought her back. Noah stopped breathing when in the middle of his disorientation he hooked up to a bare electrical current wire and was then brought back with a defibrillator.

The woman they had in the military installations stated that it was not the first time and she must have been dead, so it is inferred that at some point after the electromagnetic pulse she suffered a cardiac arrest and then was brought back.

7 ^ Why does the disorder seem to affect some faster than others?

Throughout the film we see how while a few hours after the event, many people already showed considerable signs of deterioration, Jill, and her family, and then Dodge showed a relatively stable state. Why?

In Noah’s case, the ultimate key factor is age. A teenager’s body is much more resistant to the effects of sleep deprivation than an adult. In Dodge’s case, he claims that he generally slept only two to three hours a night, so his body is used to some loss of sleep. And in the case of Jill, who suffered for a long time from sleep disorders, her body also has some adaptation to those symptoms.

8 ^ What does the final scene of Awake mean? Is Jill alive or is she dead?

In the end, after Matilda realizes the connection that exists between the momentary deaths of her and her brother, with their ability to sleep, they decide that to save Jill, they must do the same, literally kill her and then bring her back to life.

The movie is deliberately ambiguous in this regard, and we only hear a gasp at the end before the screen goes dark. Does this mean that Jill is alive? The answer is yes. In fact, this scene is very similar to the scene where the car falls into a lake at the beginning of the movie, and in both, Jill ends up taking a deep breath. Which implies that – these scenes being a reflection of the other – Jill did indeed survive.

Now, just like Noah, Jill needs a long break to start normalizing her bodily functions assuming some of them have not been irreversible.

9 ^ What is Awake’s message?

The premise of the film is to ask ourselves if we would put someone we love at risk for the sake of many more people. Many of us would not hesitate for a second to hand over a stranger if doing that could save millions of lives, but we would not think the same if it were a son, a daughter, or a brother, or our mother who was at risk.

Jill decides very early in the film that she is not going to put her daughter at risk, even if it means that she has no idea how to cure the disorder, she simply makes the trip to the facility hoping to free the sleeping woman, and that together with Matilda they can start a new life in that new world, in fact everything Jill teaches Matilda is with that goal in mind. Jill never thought of putting her daughter at risk.

However, Noah and Dodge did think that way, they both believe that Matilda can help them and the others to sleep, which is their only way out of almost certain death. And to avoid a mass extinction event.

What would you have done instead of Jill or Noah? I will read your answer in the comments.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.