Why YOU got The Killer WRONG | The Killer's Ending Explained
I noticed some very important details in The Killer that completely change the meaning of the ending of the film. In this video, I'll show what people are missing and explain why it's so important to the ending of The Killer!

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Many people who watched The Killer on Netflix missed some key details about The Killer’s ending! In this video, I’ll show you why the ending of David Fincher’s The Killer is even better than you thought!

Here’s the major spoiler… if you haven’t seen The Killer, you may want to click away. Ready?

The Killer dies. We don’t see it, because the film cuts to the credits before we see his slow, painful death, but he’s definitely going to die.

Since it sounds like most people are missing the key moments that inform us of his impending death, let’s break it down in more detail.

Seconds before the film ends, we see the muscles in The Killer’s cheek twitch…

The Killer’s face twitches because he’s starting to experience facial necrosis.

How do I know? Let’s break down the evidence…

First, we’ve got The Killer’s conversation with The Client. The Killer specifically mentions planting a radioactive speck on the rim of The Client’s coffee mug. And he says that if he were to do that, The Client would die a slow, painful death from? Facial necrosis.

Why would the screenwriter and David Fincher use such a specific description in a line of dialogue? Because they’re foreshadowing The Killer’s death.

But that’s not entirely conclusive all by itself, so let’s take a look at the second clue…

After The Killer leaves The Client, the film takes us into the Epilogue in the Dominican Republic. The first shot we see in the Epilogue is a shot of what? A coffee mug.

THAT coffee mug doesn’t have a radioactive speck on it, but it’s there to remind us of the threat The Killer made to The Client.

…so where did The Killer come in contact with the radioactive speck that causes his face to twitch and will eventually kill him?

You’ve probably already guessed it, but let’s take a look at the evidence:

We have to go back a couple days to The Killer’s encounter with The Expert, which reveals two key clues:

First, when The Killer forces The Expert out toward the waterfront at gunpoint, The Expert says something odd, she claims that when The Killer is about to die, he’ll be thinking of her.”

Why would she say that? Why would The Killer think about The Expert while he’s dying? Because she’s the one who planted the radioactive speck on his glass that gave him facial necrosis!

Which brings us to the second piece of evidence from their encounter: The Killer drinks the whiskey from The Expert’s glass.

That’s where she planted the radioactive speck that will eventually kill him.

Her reaction is subtle, but there’s a fleeting expression of what we later realize is true: The Killer will die, too. And it’ll be a slow, painful death from facial necrosis.

I love how subtle this film’s ending is.

And the ending of The Killer proves to be a critical piece in regards to understanding the story. When we know The Killer dies at the hands of The Expert, it changes the premise of the film.

The Killer THINKS he made it out of his former life unscathed, but he HASN’T because that kind of life has consequences. The Killer doesn’t escape his former life. He succumbs to it.

And that aligns with the kind of premise David Fincher uses in many of his films. David Fincher doesn’t end films with characters feeling good about their lives!

Our worldview, values, and behaviors have consequences.

I love the ending of The Killer because it solidifies the film’s premise: “Nihilism destroys itself and those who adhere to it.” Fantastic stuff.

Also, if you want a super deep dive into the rest of the film, not just the ending, be sure to watch my video on The Killer explained.