‘Blink Twice’ Ending Explained: What Actually Happened on Channing Tatum’s Island?

One of nan astir skillful aspects of Blink Twice, nan characteristic directorial debut of character Zoë Kravitz, is nan measurement it weaves successful nan consciousness of unarticulated dread that nan movie’s Get Out-ish communicative depends on. Anyone pinch immoderate inkling of nan movie’s genre will cognize that besties Frida (Naomi Ackie) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) astir apt aren’t going to conscionable person nan clip of their lives erstwhile they’re invited to nan private-island partying sanctuary of semi-disgraced billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). But nan measurement that Kravitz uses editing and cinematography to tease a subtle consciousness of disorientation retired of nan seemingly endless montages of sun, swimming, drugs, opulent meals, and playful flirtations doesn’t conscionable cue nan assemblage to expect a unspeakable revelation; it puts viewers successful nan mediate of nan revelry alongside Frida, Jess, and nan different women partying alongside Slater and his pals, nan repetitive becoming some rhythmic and numbing. The transition of clip wrong nan movie becomes conscionable arsenic nebulous arsenic it is for nan characters; erstwhile montages look repetitive and overlong – OK, we get it, they’re smoking and swimming! – nan deadening emotion has purpose, blurring nan action together, leaving Frida some locked into nan groove of routine, and unsettled by that caller normal.

What happens, then, erstwhile Kravitz must move nan communicative on and break that spell? The mechanics are clever enough, pinch a touch of Greek myth: The land has a flower, incorporated into nan nutrient and nan endless proviso of gift-bag perfume, that represses memories and leaves those who ingest it emotion a benignant of perpetual ignorance-as-bliss (shades of nan lotus, successful different words). Frida realizes that a peculiar snake venom counteracts nan effects of nan flower, which is why Jess started to regain her representation and her desire to time off nan land aft a snake wound – and subsequently disappeared. The flower’s effects besides explicate why nan different girls didn’t moreover retrieve Jess’s beingness there. But Frida ingests nan venom and tricks nan different women into taking it too, gradually restoring everyone’s memories of what’s been really going on.

Photo: ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection

Frida, having taken nan venom earlier, remembers much and faster. Specifically, she recalls what happened to Jess, getting a flash of representation of Slater snapping her neck. The fuller image is conscionable arsenic horrifying: Every nighttime aft dinner, King and his unit make a crippled of chasing nan women, tying them up, taking turns raping them, past utilizing nan flower to guarantee that they won’t retrieve nan adjacent time – basically, an exotic and elaborate rich-guy type of a date-rape drug. This is afloat revealed successful a agelong cookware complete nan landscape, catching various women successful authorities of panic and assault. As much of nan women regain their memories, nan slow panic of their pliant dancing pinch nan men turns to rage arsenic they move against their captors/violators. After a bid of chases and skirmishes, galore of nan men and immoderate of nan women are dead.

Blink Twice Ending Explained: So What’s The Twist?

Well, Frida makes 1 much discovery: She has been connected nan land before. When Frida met Slater earlier successful nan movie, she was nether nan belief that they’d met erstwhile before, only briefly, piquing her liking successful this handsome, celebrated man. But that brushwood really progressed into him bringing her to nan land for an extended play a twelvemonth earlier, wherever she went done a akin experience: drugged, assaulted, and only remembering bits and pieces of it now. Thematically, this makes sense. The movie is explicitly astir a repression consequence to trauma: The thought that “forgetting is simply a gift,” arsenic Slater’s assistance Stacy (Geena Davis) insists while attacking Frida, who yet kills her for her complicity. Slater continues to make this argument, claiming that forgiveness doesn’t exist, only forgetting (and implying that he suffered immoderate shape of maltreatment successful his past).

Logistically, though, immoderate disorder would beryllium understandable. For example: How agelong was Frida connected nan land nan erstwhile year? It’s implied that Slater’s gatherings past for weeks astatine a time; Frida whitethorn person forgotten that period, but really did she relationship for her ain absence from nan working-class life wherever she seems to hardly eke retired a living? Why doesn’t Jess retrieve a clip erstwhile her champion friend mysteriously jetted disconnected to immoderate chartless location? Why, for that matter, would Slater want to push nan boundaries of his forgetting supplier by re-engaging pinch personification who has already been connected nan island, particularly fixed his accusation that he’s amazed by Frida’s adeptness astatine forgetting? His reasoning expressed to Frida (“you’re for illustration my champion friend”) is momentarily chilling, but doesn’t really make overmuch sense. It each makes nan characters look arsenic if they’re serving a prescribed purpose, alternatively than surviving and breathing connected their own.

Photo: Everett Collection

Are location immoderate much twists successful nan Blink Twice movie?

There’s 1 much twist to nan ending of Blink Twice that feels much thematic than organic. After Frida laces Slater’s vape pen pinch nan gift-bag perfume made from nan forgetting flower, he is horrified to “discover” nan bodies littering his island. Frida neglects to termination him, however, alternatively pulling him from nan now-burning villa. The camera pulls retired to a wider changeable of a smoke-smudged Frida and an unconscious Slater earlier cutting to a much sterile, acquainted environment: immoderate benignant of gala meal for illustration nan 1 that Frida and Jess worked astatine nan opening of nan film. Slater is erstwhile again well-dressed and successful nan institution of different rich | folks – only we realize, erstwhile he reacts to nan quality of a friend (Kyle MacLachlan) seen earlier successful nan movie pinch foggy confusion, that he’s still nether nan power of nan flower. Then Kravitz reveals Frida arsenic nan CEO of Slater’s tech company. As he struggles to trim his steak, she looks serenely powerful. She’s attained nan bully life she was aft erstwhile she met Slater King successful nan first place.

In a sense, she’s turning nan tables connected Slater, utilizing nan permanently addled bliss of nan perfume to support him successful a different benignant of captivity. Rather than intersexual slavery, she takes complete his business and his fortune. (It’s for illustration nan Hold Steady opus says: Guys spell for looks; girls spell for status.) It’s fitting melodramatic irony, but it besides doesn’t wholly fresh nan characteristic we’ve seen create complete nan past 90 minutes, aliases statesman to reply nan movie’s ain questions astir nan psychological effects of forgetting. Has Frida insulated herself against her horrific trauma pinch money? Surely she deserves her revenge and financial compensation, but is it conscionable to time off Slater successful a life of blissful ignorance alternatively than exposing him? Is this a satire of girl-boss feminism, aliases an illustration of it? In literal terms, what happens astatine nan extremity of Blink Twice is easy explained. Emotionally – nan why of it all, beyond “because it fits nan taxable of nan movie” – it’s harder to pin down.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is simply a writer surviving successful Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts astatine www.sportsalcohol.com, too.