That twisty ‘Glass Onion’ ending, defined

Warning: the next accommodates spoilers for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Thriller.

It is official: Glass Onion, Rian Johnson’s follow-up to Knives Out, is one killer whodunnit. Johnson guides us by a complete labyrinth’s value of twists and turns earlier than bringing us to a powerful, satisfying conclusion.

However earlier than we unveil the ending, let’s revisit the premise. Tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invitations his closest associates to his non-public island for a homicide thriller social gathering. His associates embody Congresswoman Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), sensible scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), former mannequin Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), right-wing streamer Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), and his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). Additionally alongside for the journey are world-class detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), and Miles’s ex-business accomplice Cassandra “Andi” Model (Janelle Monáe). Everyone on the island (minus Benoit) has a cause to need Miles lifeless, and with tensions increased than ever, it is solely a matter of time earlier than we witness a surprising homicide.

Just like the titular glass onion, this thriller has layers. But in addition just like the titular onion, this thriller is pretty clear about its wrongdoer. We simply need to make our well past all of the distraction to see the assassin for who they honestly are. Let’s placed on our greatest Southern drawls in honor of Benoit Blanc and break it down.

Who dies in Glass Onion?

Miles might have invited his associates to his island to resolve his homicide, however he’s not our sufferer. No, that honor goes to Duke, who collapses and dies after mistakenly ingesting out of Miles’s glass as an alternative of his personal. Miles panics, claiming somebody is trying to poison him. Then, to make issues worse, all of the lights exit. Within the ensuing panic, somebody shoots Andi, bringing our physique depend as much as two.

Besides Andi is not even Andi — she’s Helen, Andi’s equivalent twin sister in disguise. Not solely that, Helen is not lifeless. The bullet lodged itself in one in all Andi’s journals that she was carrying round, permitting her to outlive the homicide try.

Our physique depend stays at two although, as a result of Andi is basically lifeless — she died earlier than the invites to Miles’s island had been despatched out. This complete time, Benoit and Helen have been attempting to resolve her homicide, however Duke’s demise is an added complication. A donut gap inside one other donut gap, if you’ll.

How did Andi die in Glass Onion?

Andi deserved higher.
Credit score: John Wilson/Netflix

Authorities believed Andi died by suicide. Nonetheless, after going by Andi’s journals and e-mails, Helen has a hunch her sister was murdered by one in all Miles’s inside circle.

Andi and Miles had been enterprise companions at tech firm Alpha, however when Miles wished to launch a unstable new power supply named Klear with none testing, Andi walked. Within the ensuing lawsuit, Miles shut her out of Alpha utterly, claiming he had provide you with the principle thought of Alpha. His proof? A cocktail serviette he wrote his plans on. Nonetheless, it was initially Andi who detailed her concepts on a cocktail serviette from the Glass Onion bar, the place the “Disruptors” gang would all hang around. Sadly, she could not discover the serviette in time for the trial — as a result of truthfully, who retains monitor of years-old napkins? — giving Miles a possibility to pretend his personal. He obtained their associates to perjure themselves on his behalf, with the promise of bankrolling ventures like political campaigns or sweatpants firms.

Reduce to the aftermath of the trial. Andi finds her authentic cocktail serviette and sends an e-mail to Claire, Lionel, Birdie, and Duke to tell them of her discovery. Helen suspects that one in all these 4 drugged her, stole her cocktail serviette, and staged Andi’s suicide, as a result of if Andi uncovered Miles, they might all go down too.

So, who killed Andi?

Helen (not Andi) on the hunt for her sister’s killer.
Credit score: John Wilson/Netflix

In a twist, none of Helen’s authentic 4 suspects killed Andi. As an alternative, the wrongdoer was none aside from Miles, who discovered of Andi’s e-mail through a fax from Lionel.

As Benoit factors out, it is virtually too apparent, but it surely makes essentially the most sense: Who stands to lose extra from Miles being uncovered than Miles himself? Just like the glass onion, the reality was at all times hiding transparently in plain sight.

Wait, so then who killed Duke?

A homicide being deliberate in real-time.
Credit score: John Wilson/Netflix

Consider it or not, additionally Miles! Everybody who obtained Andi’s e-mail rushed to seek out her, however solely Duke noticed Miles rushing away from the scene of the crime in his iconic Child Blue automobile. All through his keep on the island, Duke stored hinting that he noticed Miles leaving Andi’s — the phrase “pancake” does a lot of heavy lifting right here — and attempting to leverage Miles for a spot on Alpha Information. When the information of Andi’s demise breaks on-line, Duke factors it out to Miles in secret and forces his hand.

Does Miles concoct an elaborate poison with the intention to dispatch of Duke? Not precisely. He simply takes benefit of Duke’s pineapple allergy, foreshadowed within the scene the place all of the visitors obtain a possible COVID remedy earlier than arriving on the island. Miles offers Duke his personal glass, containing a tropical cocktail with hints of — you guessed it — pineapple juice. Then, all he has to do is persuade everybody that Duke merely made a mistake in selecting up Miles’s glass, shut off the lights, and shoot Helen (who he believes to be Andi) with the pistol he stole from Duke. In brief, Miles has to gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss his method out of this.

Benoit is clearly upset in regards to the a number of murders, however hilariously, he is virtually extra enraged by the truth that Miles’s guilt was hiding in plain sight. He all however handed Miles the thought of the lights going out and somebody getting shot. And to prime all of it off, pineapple juice getting used as a homicide weapon? Ridiculous! However that is Miles for you — a tech billionaire fool who’s by no means had an authentic thought in his life.

Does Miles face justice for Andi and Duke’s murders?

Jail!
Credit score: Courtesy of Netflix

There’s actually a second the place it seems like Miles goes to get away together with his crimes. Helen finds Andi’s cocktail serviette, however Miles burns it to a crisp. Then, all of the island visitors say they do not bear in mind seeing any proof of his homicide of Duke. After all, they facet with the richest particular person within the room… although he is an admitted assassin.

However Helen will not again down till Miles pays for what he did to Andi. She wrecks his elaborate glass statues in a majorly cathartic scene, then units his home on hearth. Take note, Miles boasted that his total home was powered by the hydrogen gasoline Klear. When that is available in contact with hearth, we get an explosion that Claire aptly describes in a single phrase: “Hindenburg.”

Within the ensuing blast, Helen shuts off the safety system defending the Mona Lisa that Miles has on mortgage from the Louvre throughout lockdown. Sure, the precise Mona Lisa. The world’s most well-known portray goes up in Klear-powered flames, making certain in a deliciously roundabout method that Miles will get what he is at all times wished: to be remembered in the identical breath because the Mona Lisa. How’s that immortality in search of you now, Miles?

Seeing the carnage and Miles’s absolute meltdown, his so-called “associates” activate him one after the other and agree that all of them noticed him burn the serviette and swap Duke’s drink. As police boats descend on the island, Benoit enjoys a smoke with home visitor Derol (Noah Segan), and Andi prepares to go dwelling understanding she’s avenged her sister.

So there you might have it: Glass Onion contains a double homicide thriller involving pineapple juice, a purple envelope, two deaths, an explosion, and the Mona Lisa. It is the type of twisty chaos you may solely get from a whodunnit involving our favourite Southern detective. This is hoping Benoit Blanc and Helen get a very good relaxation after coming back from Greece. After peeling again the layers of this wild thriller, it is the least they deserve.

Glass Onion is streaming on Netflix Dec. 23.