'Promising Young Woman' ending explained: The bittersweet finale that startled everybody

Promising Young Woman is a dark comedy that follows the story of a 30-year-old Cassie Thomas, a woman who once started off as an ambitious med-school student and is now a revenge-seeking part-time waitress. Her schedule includes serving at her friend's restaurant in the day and pretending to be prey for sexual predators who come off as nice guys and seek revenge on them. Why is she doing what she's doing is a mystery to be unraveled in the film.

On December 25, 2020, Promising Young Woman released theatrically in the US. On January 15, 2021, the movie was available for streaming, renting and purchasing on video on demand.

We'll be discussing the movie's shocking ending and why it turned that way. Major Promising Young Woman spoilers are going to be revealed ahead.

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Promising Young Woman Ending Explained

By the end of the trailer, we could make out that her thirst for revenge has to do with her best friend's rape. She can't move on, no amount of revenge can pacify her anger and disturbed mind.

In the movie's second act, Cassie is introduced to Ryan, her former batchmate who has now become a doctor. After some charming courtship from his end, she finally agrees to date him, only to find out later that he was also a friend of Al Monroe (the guy who raped her best friend, Nina) and has, in fact, witnessed the rape. After threatening him into locating Alexander, off she goes to the woods for her climactic revenge.

Alexander is seen celebrating his bachelor party with his other friends in a remote cabin in the woods. Cassie dresses like a stripper in a nurse uniform to enter the party. She drugs all the other men and handcuffs Al in the bedroom. She then forces him to confess about the rape. However, what we witness in the climax is nothing like what one would have imagined. Alexander manages to turn the tables on Cassie at the last minute and kills her using a pillow in a two-minute painfully silent sequence. The next morning, Al and his friend Joe burn her body.

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The ending came as a shock for everyone. Are we supposed to believe that good doesn't win over evil after all? The audience had grown to like her personality for the avenging angel that she was. Then why did the makers think of ending the movie on this note?

Fortunately, the movie doesn't end there. After all, somebody as meticulous as Cassie won't barge into a party without a solid plan, right? As a contingency plan, Cassie had already sent evidence of Nina's sexual assault to Al's former lawyer. Later, the cops are seen investigating Cassie's disappearance.

The heroine finally gets the last laugh with police walks into Al's wedding reception and arresting him. But, what was really the best part of the climax was the pre-scheduled text messages from Cassie that directly taunted Al's situation. "Enjoy the wedding. Love, Cassie and Nina" read the texts.

The bitter-sweet ending that the makers put the viewers through was truly unexpected. Plenty of discussions were put forth by fans and critics, some happy that the justice was served, at least in this case, and others devastated that misogyny still triumphed. Either way, the makers of the movie revealed that they couldn't have imagined Promising Young Woman ending any other way.

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