This article contains discussions of sexual assault and abuse.

After seeingBlink Twice, audiences have been a little torn over the film’s final scene — but writer-director Zoë Kravitz has already clarified how the somewhat-divisive ending perfectly fits her movie.Kravitz’s directorial debut wasn’t originally titledBlink Twice. Instead, it was a more provocatively titled project that underscored the film’s dark third-act reveal. Much like Slater King (Channing Tatum), the billionaire atBlink Twice’s center, the movie boasts a glossy facade, but, at its core,Blink TwiceisPromising Young WomanmeetsGet Out— with a dash ofSpring Breakersthrown in for good measure.

Frida and Slater from Blink Twice are in front of the words

Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress and aspiring nail artist, and her best friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat), have a chance encounter with Slater and his powerful entourage. Soon enough, the two women join the rest ofBlink Twice’s cast of characterson Slater’s private island. Plied with flues of seemingly endless champagne and drugs of unknown origins, the women guests seem to be having a great time, until Frida and Sarah (Adria Arjona) realize something’s off.Blink Twice’s endingreveals thatSlater and his male friends abuse and assault the women nightly before erasing their memories— and evading accountability.

Frida’s Final Decision Hasn’t Sat Well With Some Viewers

Not unlike Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut,Promising Young Woman,Blink Twiceturns into a story about women getting revenge for the abuses they’ve enduredat the hands of powerful, unrepentant men. However,Zoë Kravitz’s clever psychological thriller is truly unforgettable, in part because of its singular approach to the subject and the themes it is interrogating. Throughout the film’s runtime,Blink Twicedrops hints about its dark twist, from foreshadowing Slater’s violent side to suggesting that Frida has, in fact, been to the island before. Ultimately, Frida learns thatBlink Twice’s memory-erasing perfumeis counteracted by snake venom.

…Frida realizes that she’s a survivor of Slater’s abuse.

Newly armed with her memories, Frida realizes that she’s a survivor of Slater’s abuse. Not only had Frida been assaulted by him on a nightly basis during the events of the film, but she had been taken to his island the year before as well. The perfume she and the other women have been using is actually made from the island’s flowers, which contain some memory-erasing substance. The women’s realizations culminate in an all-out bloodbath during whichFrida laces Slater’s beloved vape with perfume. Instead of killing Slater, Frida chooses to use his power against him.

It’s not the conventional Hollywood ending viewers expected, but it works with the film’s approach.

Channing Tatum looks menacing and Naomi Ackie smells a flower in Blink Twice

Slater, who has repressed his childhood trauma, believes that “forgetting is a gift” and thinks that the flower-based perfume could help people seal away their trauma. However, he abuses his power by using the memory-erasing substance on the women he assaults. In other movies, Frida might have left Slater in his burning mansion or sought justice in some more lawful, moral way. Instead,Frida decides to benefit from the same abusive systems of power that oppressed and harmed her by controlling Slater. It’s not the conventional Hollywood ending viewers expected, but it works with the film’s approach.

Amazon MGM Studios made the compassionate choice to include a trigger warning at the start of Blink Twice, and other movies need to follow their lead.

Zoë Kravitz’s Film Is About Power — Not Empowerment

Although the ending ofBlink Twicemight not feel satisfying for some viewers, it perfectly reflects what the movie is about: power — and the abuse of it. Frida is a survivor of abuse, but her treatment of Slater in the final scene reiterates that attaining power doesn’t automatically mean someone will use it for “good” or just reasons.Blink Twice’s protagonist has been oppressed, but,given the chance to seize power, Fridadoes— and she doesn’t try to reshape that power either. Instead, Frida opts to uphold the same harmful power structures that mistreated her.

Kravitz subverts the typical Hollywood ending because her movie… is about power — not empowerment.

Blink Twice 2024 Film Release Poster

Perhaps refreshingly, Kravitz’s film doesn’t impose any kind of moral judgment on Frida’s choices. While another revenge thriller might have let memory-wiped Slater die in the fire,Blink Twicehas Frida save her abuser from death so that she can exert that same control over him. It isn’t enough for Frida to gain the moral (and literal) high ground. Frida even marries Slater, who crowns her CEO of his tech empire. Kravitz subverts the typical Hollywood ending because her movie, as she states in her production notes, is about power —not empowerment(viaPop Culture Happy Hour).

Blink Twice, Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, carefully leaves hints about the psychological thriller’s big twist, making for a compelling rewatch.

Blink Twice’s Ending Fits The Movie’s Tone & Approach

AlthoughBlink Twicedoesn’t need a post-credits sceneto further explain its ending, it is the kind of ambitious movie that audiences will be thinking about long after the credits roll. There’s no doubt that Frida upholding, not dismantling, the abusive system of power is a jarring ending for audiences who are used to rooting for morally unambiguous protagonists. However,Blink Twicemight offer a more realistic ending:No matter our experiences, we often do the best we can within the harmful systems we live in.Outside a conventional Hollywood ending, it’s much rarer to dismantle or reshape them.

Directed by Zoë Kravitz, Blink Twice is a drama thriller film, marking her first foray into the world of directing. The film follows a cocktail waitress invited to a tech billionaire’s private resort home to party with them - but after arriving, she begins to discover the dark truth behind the island.