Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers about It Ends With Us
Trigger warning: This article contains references to rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence
It Ends With Us, now in theaters, stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film based on author Colleen Hoover’s romance novel of the same title. As has become commonplace in Hollywood, adapted films often stray from the source and present the narrative in a way that seems appropriate. This also shocks audiences.
One such major change was made in Sony’s show It Ends With Us, which concluded Lily and Ryle’s romantic storyline in a very satisfying manner.
The ending of It Ends With Us explained
It Ends With Us follows Lively’s Lily Bloom, who moves to Boston to pursue her dreams of setting up her own business. Pursuing a career as a florist, Lily opens a beautiful flower shop in the bustling city. Her blooming new life in Boston is enchanted by a new love as she strikes up a romance with a neurosurgeon, Riley Kincaid.
As the two fall in love and develop a healthy relationship, Lily begins to discover new aspects of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ abusive relationship. She had spent her life trying not to end up like her mother because she had seen her father abuse her throughout her life. Despite the toxic pattern, Lily convinces herself that Ryle is good for her and continues her relationship with him.
He continued until he began physically abusing her, leaving visible marks of abuse on Lily’s body. Finding herself in crisis, she turns to Atlas, her high school boyfriend, Brandon Sklenar, when they bump into each other one day. Atlas, who witnessed Lily’s traumatic childhood in school, persuades Lily to leave Ryle after seeing him falling into the same pattern.
Eventually, Lily discovers Ryle’s violence. Jealous of his wife’s chemistry with Atlas, Ryle rapes Lily, leaving her devastated. Eventually, she escapes and Atlas takes her to the hospital, later discovering she had become pregnant during the sexual assault.
Despite this, Lily decides to keep the baby and allows her abusive husband to meet their daughter, Emerson, one last time. He is never seen again after Lily demands a divorce, ending the abuse forever.
Years later, Atlas and Lily cross paths once again. But this time, Lily is a happy single mother raising her daughter on her own. This is evident when Atlas asks her about Ryle and she says “It’s just the two of us.”
The story in the book is different in the end, where Lily allows Ryle to co-parent their daughter and as such, he is a constant presence in their lives. The situation shows that Lily has never been able to completely get over her abusive ex-husband, which hinders her from leaving the painful past behind.
Why did the director choose a different ending?
Director Justin Baldoni gave an impressive performance as the physically abusive Ryle, who had the idea that he would never return to Lily’s life. He and screenwriter Christy Hall had initially thought about following Colleen Hoover’s ending, but said they “weren’t completely comfortable with that.”
“We were trying to figure out a way to work it out so that the book was respected, but there was a lot that had to be done in such a short amount of time to explain how they could co-parent,” Baldoni told The Wrap.
The original draft of It Ends with Us featured a scene in the epilogue in which Ryle drops his daughter off at Lily’s house, followed by a short conversation depicting the state of their co-parenting after several conflicts following the divorce.
To keep up with the book’s ending, Baldoni even considered adding dialogue to suggest that Ryle was working hard to improve himself. But the director removed Ryle from the ending entirely, drawing inspiration from reality and statistics reports.
Baldoni said, “The truth is, our research and that of our colleagues tells us that most men do reoffend, and that’s true.” Though he could have gone with the exception of Ryle’s story, he said that wouldn’t have honored the film’s original intent.
The 40-year-old star explained that he wasn’t ready to discuss whether or not someone like Riel should be allowed to be a co-parent, or whether he’s doing an “acceptable amount of work” to overcome the situation.
So, quite wisely, they ended Ryle’s character with a great deal of remorse for his actions and the lost opportunity to live a fully healthy life with his wife and daughter.
It Ends With Us premieres on Friday, August 9, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you need help or know someone who is going through domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health professional, NGO or just talk to someone. There are many helplines available for this.
Also read: It Ends With Us: Blake Lively’s costume designer opens up about being criticised for the actress’ outfits in the film
