JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
It Ends With Us Ending Explained: Is Ryle A Part Of Lily’s Life?
There was a major change introduced in Sony’s It Ends With Us where Lily and Ryle’s romantic storyline concluded with a rather fulfilling ending.
Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers about It Ends With Us
Trigger Warning: This article includes references to rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence
It Ends With Us, now out in theatres, stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film adaptation from author Colleen Hoover’s similarly-titled romance novel. As has now become the norm in Hollywood, adapted films often tend to deviate from the source and explore the narrative in a way that seems fit. It also keeps the audience on their toes.
One such major change was introduced in Sony’s It Ends With Us where Lily and Ryle’s romantic storyline concluded with a rather fulfilling ending.
It Ends With Us ending explained
It Ends With Us follows Lively’s Lily Bloom, who moves to Boston to pursue her dreams of establishing her own business. Charting her career as a florist, Lily opens a beautiful flower shop tucked away in the bustling city. Her blooming new life in Boston is charmed by a new love as she sparks romance with a neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid.
As the two fall in love and develop a seemingly healthy relationship, Lily begins to discover new sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ abusive relationship. She had spent her life not to end up like her mother having seen her father abuse her all her life. Despite the toxic patterns, Lily convinces herself that Ryle is good for her and continues her relationship with him.
That is until he began physically abusing her, with Lily showing abuse signs all over her body. Finding herself in the crisis, she turns to her high school sweetheart, Brandon Sklenar’s Atlas after they bump into each other one day. Atlas, who had witnessed Lily’s traumatic childhood in school, persuades Lily to leave Ryle behind seeing her fall into the same pattern.
Eventually, Lily opens her eyes to Ryle’s violence. Jealous of his wife’s chemistry with Atlas, Ryle rapes Lily that pushes her to the breaking point. Finally, she leaves and is rushed to the hospital by Atlas, later to find out that she was impregnated during the sexual assault.
Regardless, Lily decides to keep the baby and lets her abusive husband meet their daughter, Emerson for the one and final time. He is never seen again after Lily demands a divorce, prompting an end to the abuse forever.
Years later, Atlas and Lily's paths cross once again. Only this time, Lily is a happy single mother raising her daughter all by herself. This is made explicit after Atlas asks her about Ryle and she says that it’s “just the two of us.”
The ending diverts from the book where Lily allows Ryle to co-parent their daughter and thus, is a consistent presence in her their lives. The situation suggests that Lily never completely got rid of her abusive ex-husband, further limiting her from leaving the traumatic past behind.
Why did the director choose a different ending?
Director Justin Baldoni’s impressive performance as the physically abusive Ryle was backed by the idea that he would never return to Lily’s life. He and screenwriter Christy Hall initially thought of abiding by Colleen Hoover’s ending but said they were not “fully comfortable with it.”
“we were trying to find a way to make it work, to honor the book, but too much had to be done in such a short window to explain how they could possibly be co-parenting,” Baldoni explained to The Wrap.
The original draft of It Ends With Us had a scene in the epilogue where Ryle dropped off his daughter to Lily’s followed by a short conversation, insinuating their co-parenting situation realized after many struggles since their divorce.
To align with the book’s ending, Baldoni even considered adding dialogue to convey that Ryle was working hard to better himself. But the director took inspiration from the reality and statistic reports to entirely cut off Ryle from the ending.
“The truth is, from our research and from our partners, we know that the majority of men go back to being abusers, and that’s the fact,” Baldoni declared. While he could have led Ryle’s story with an exception, he said it did not honor the true purpose of the film.
The 40-year-old star explained that he was not willing to discuss whether a man like Ryle should be allowed to co-parent or if he was putting in the “acceptable amount of work” to recover from the situation.
Hence, quite wisely, he concluded Ryle’s character arc over immense regret for his actions and the lost chance of a perfectly healthy life with his wife and daughter.
It Ends With Us premiered on Friday, August 9, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
Latest Articles
