It Ends With Us Ending Explained (2024)

Spoilers for It Ends With Us are ahead!

Though the movie is based on Colleen Hoover’s hit book, the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us includes a powerful ending that changes the source material in order to strengthen the message about surviving and recovering from abuse. The story follows a woman named Lily Bloom, played by Blake Lively, who watched her mother experience abuse in childhood and never wanted to get into the same situation. Unfortunately, after her father’s funeral, she meets a neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, who she’s immediately attracted to. They meet again months later after Lily unknowingly hires Ryle’s sister at her flower shop.

Ryle flirts with Lily, pushes her boundaries, and tries to come onto her despite her asking him to stop. Ryle wears down Lily, and the pair start a relationship. Though their relationship starts out well, Ryle starts abusing Lily. She doesn’t realize the severity of the situation until she meets her childhood love, Atlas, again, who immediately recognizes the domestic violence. After a rape attempt, Lily goes to the hospital with the help of Atlas and learns she’s pregnant. This revelation leads to It Ends With Us’ emotional and hopeful ending that shows the strength of abuse survivors.

Why Lily Leaves Ryle In It Ends With Us

Lily Leaves Ryle After Finding Out She's Pregnant In It Ends With Us

The two most powerful moments in the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us are when she physically leaves Ryle after he tries to rape her and when she mentally leaves him by demanding a divorce. When she physically leaves Ryle, it’s out of fear for her life. Her decision appears instinctual and driven by a flight response. She later decides not to go back to him, mentally leaving Ryle because of her daughter. Though Lily loves Ryle, she realizes her responsibility as a parent to give Emerson a better life than she had.

Moreover, Lily knows how easy it is to get trapped in the cycle of abuse because that’s what happened to her mother. In one of the most devastating moments outside the abuse scenes, Lily breaks down to Atlas about how she wasn’t supposed to become her mother. She thought herself too smart to get into an abusive relationship, not realizing that intelligence doesn’t factor into abuse. However, she became so desensitized to the red flags of abuse because of her father that she didn’t recognize them when it came to Ryle.

Ultimately, Lily leaving Ryle is an incredible act of bravery, especially since the most dangerous time for a domestic violence victim is when they leave (via JBWS). Luckily, she chooses to announce the divorce in a public space, mitigating some of the risk. She also doesn’t seem to maintain a co-parenting relationship with Ryle in the movie, which is an important change from the book that protects her child.

Atlas & Lily's Past History Explained

Altas And Lily Were Each Other's First Loves

In It Ends With Us, Atlas is the first person to recognize that Lily is being abused by Ryle, and that’s due to their history. The two met when they were teenagers. Atlas experienced homelessness due to an abusive home life and developed a romance with Lily while staying at the abandoned house next door. Because of their relationship, Atlas saw and heard the abuse happening at Lily’s house. He also was nearly killed by Lily’s dad. Between his personal experience and witnessing Lily’s home life, Atlas was primed to recognize the signs of abuse in a relationship.

Additionally, Lily and Atlas had sex when they were teenagers, which Ryle learns on the first day he meets her. Lily also has a heart tattoo that represents a hollow wooden heart Atlas carved for her. This part of their history becomes important to the story because Ryle uses Atlas and Lily’s romantic history as an excuse to abuse Lily.

To be clear, there’s no acceptable reason to abuse someone. Even if Lily were cheating with Atlas – which she wasn’t – Ryle’s abuse would still be wrong. Moreover, Ryle shows many red flags before Lily meets Atlas again, such as coercion, control, and crossing of boundaries. Lily and Atlas’ past simply allows Ryle a way to justify his abhorrent behavior.

How Ryle Paralleled Lily's Dad

Ryle And Andrew Bloom Are Both Charming Men With A Need For Control

Colleen Hoover’s book and the movie adaptation both use subliminal messaging to demonstrate the cycle of abuse. One of the most significant examples of this is the parallels between Ryle and Lily’s dad, Andrew Bloom. Ryle and Andrew Bloom are both powerful men with high-profile jobs that lead to praise. Ryle literally holds the lives of people in his hands when he goes to work. Meanwhile, Andrew Bloom had the ability to influence the lives of everyone in his town as the mayor. Both characters have jobs that give them power and control, which primes them for domestic violence.

On top of those similarities, Andrew Bloom and Ryle are charming and charismatic, though the book displays more of Andrew’s charm than the movie. Like these two It Ends With Us characters, abusers don’t typically abuse everyone around them. They can be charming and charismatic, which allows them to lure in victims and continue their abuse without intervention. Ultimately, these parallels play an important role in explaining how abuse works and why Lily gets trapped in the cycle.

Did Ryle's Family Know About His Abusive Nature?

Lily Reveals Ryle's Abuse To Allysa At The End Of It Ends With Us

The movie adaptation of It Ends With Us makes significant changes to Colleen Hoover’s book, including whether Allysa knows about Ryle’s abusive nature. The source material makes it unclear whether Allysa knows that Ryle is capable of abuse. However, the movie explicitly confirms that Allysa had no idea about the abuse during Lily’s conversation with her towards the end of the movie. This change makes Allysa less culpable in enabling her brother’s actions. It also makes it more meaningful when she tells Lily that she will never speak to her again if she goes back to Ryle.

The Significance Of The Oak Tree In It Ends With Us

The oak tree in the backyard of Lily’s childhood home is an important symbol throughout It Ends With Us. In the flashback of Altas and Lily, the pair discuss the fact that flowers, fruits, and vegetables rely on love in order to flourish; however, the oak tree grows regardless of how it’s cared for because it is strong enough to thrive on its own. Though she believes herself to be more like the vegetables in her garden, the oak tree represents Lily as a character.

By the end, she is thriving as a woman and a mother despite the lack of love from her father and the abuse she experienced at the hands of Ryle. Additionally, it’s symbolic that Ryle bites the tattoo that’s based on the heart made from the oak tree. He tries to tear down every ounce of her strength, but in the end, both the tattoo and Lily are okay.

Does It Ends With Us Fix The Book's Controversies?

It Ends With Us Adds Important Nuance To The Story

Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us faced controversy due to the romanticization of abuse, the use of domestic violence as a plot twist, and the book’s ending. The first trailer made it clear that the movie was trying to rectify the issues with the source material. Rather than painting the story as a love triangle or a romance, the domestic violence storyline was abundantly clear. Luckily, the movie followed suit by correcting the other problematic elements.

The movie presents the topic of abuse in a more nuanced way, distinguishing that the situation isn’t romantic, even if Lily romanticizes the relationship in her head. Atlas presents the option that Lily could abort her pregnancy with the use of the word “if” instead of “when,” which the book never brings up. Ryle isn’t portrayed as the “good guy abuser” like he is in the book. He also shows more red flags from the start. At the end of the movie, Lily also doesn’t let Emerson spend unsupervised time with Ryle.

The Real Meaning Of It Ends With Us’ Ending

Victims Aren't Defined By Their Trauma

The end of It Ends With Us makes two big changes from the book that are meaningful. Firstly, the movie shows the time between Lily giving birth and her meeting Atlas again. During this montage, Lily becomes more vibrant and joyful, a dichotomy from the way she acts while in a relationship with Ryle. Her face is also no longer empty, regaining the expressiveness and life that she had early in the movie. This addition shows that it’s possible to live a fulfilling life after abuse. The trauma may always be there, but it doesn’t have to define Lily.

Secondly, the ending of the movie adaptation has Lily raising Emerson seemingly alone rather than co-parenting alongside Ryle. This change offers hope that people can escape their abusers and give their children a better life than they had. Rather than relying on her abusive ex, Lily finds a support system through her mom, Allysa, and eventually, Atlas. Her daughter won’t be exposed to her father, who has a history of violence. Ultimately, Lily is giving her daughter the life she would have wanted at the end of It Ends With Us.

Sources: JBWS and The Hotline

It Ends With Us

Drama

Romance

Director

Justin Baldoni

Release Date

August 9, 2024

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures , Wayfarer Studios , Saks Picture Company

Distributor(s)

Sony Pictures Releasing

Writers

Christy Hall , Colleen Hoover

Cast

Blake Lively , Justin Baldoni , Brandon Sklenar , Jenny Slate , Hasan Minhaj

Runtime

130 Minutes

Main Genre

Romance