The Shining ending explained: How does Jack Torrance die in the climax?

The movie adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, The Shining is often considered as one of the finest horror-cum-suspense thrillers made to date. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd in the leading roles, The Shining follows the story of a family, who heads to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence and his psychic son witnesses horrific forebodings from both past and future. Helmed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is among those films which have a twisted ending and has confused fans for ages. Here is an explanation of The Shining’s end.

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The Shining’s ending explained

After being freed from the kitchen pantry by Grady’s ghost, Jack runs after Wendy and Danny, aiming to kill them with an axe. To protect them from Jack’s clutches, Wendy and Danny lock themselves in the bathroom. Ensuring her son’s safety, Wendy sends Danny through the window.

Unable to pass through that same window, Wendy gets trapped when Jack arrives and breaks through the door with the axe. However, Wendy manages to defend herself with a knife and slashes across Jack’s arm. The cook in the hotel, Dick Hallorann, rushes to help Wendy and Danny after the latter reaches out to him, however, Jack kills him too.

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Jack then goes after Danny, who runs into the snowy hedge maze while Wendy runs through the hotel looking for her son. At the hedge maze, Danny manages to escape by laying a false trap to mislead Jack. Wendy and Danny reunite and leave the hotel and Jack freezes to death. What happens to Wendy and Danny after that is unknown, however, a deleted scene features them in a hospital, recovering both physically and mentally from everything they went through at the hotel.

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Importance of Shelly Duvall’s character

Shelly Duvall’s character, Wendy Torrance spends much of the film in a state of dread or outright terror. Shelly’s character is the heart of The Shining, as she's the one holding her family united together, checking on the Overlook's heating systems and communicating with the forest service when the phone lines go down. Even as Jack ratchets up his emotional abuse, she still holds things together for the sake of her son. Wendy finally finds enough strength to survive Jack's physical attacks and escape with Danny at the end of the film. 

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