WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Emilia Pérez.

The ending of Netflix’s crime comedy musical Emilia Pérez finds the тιтular protagonist and the mother of her children, Jessi, at the end of their road. Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, The Sisters Brothers), the genre-blending film delivers innovative music numbers and choreography infused with a gut-wrenching story about unfulfilled desire and regret. The film is a loose adaptation of the 2018 novel Écoute by Boris Razon and is France’s official entry for Best International Feature at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2, 2025.

The combined talents of Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez led the cast of Emilia Pérez. Emilia Pérez won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Ensemble award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in May. Emilia Pérez’s soundtrack is one of the essential highlights of the film as well as the heart and soul of the ultimately tragic narrative. Although Emilia Pérez takes place in several locations, the film was sH๏τ mostly in studios in Paris, France. Even though Emilia had shown immense growth in her new life, her need for control and inability to separate her happiness from her family led to her downfall.

Why Emilia, Jessi & Gustavo Die In Emilia Pérez’s Ending

Jessi Makes A Final And Fatal Stand To Protect Emilia

Emilia found out the hard way not to mess with Jessi and her lifestyle, which was based on having access to the vast amount of money that Mantias had left for her and their children. The second that Emilia invited Jessi and their kids to live in her mansion back in Mexico, Jessi knew that there were strings attached in the form of designer handcuffs, as she expresses with bitterness in the song “Bienvenida.”

Jessi is able to conceal her anger at Emilia’s financial control until she reveals she plans to marry Gustavo and live with him elsewhere with the kids, which enrages Emilia so much that she nearly blows her cover. Gustavo is not much of a character in Emila Pérez but represents the person who will cut off Emilia’s direct access to her children. Emilia sends her bodyguard to beat Gustavo up after she physically threatens Jessi on the bed. This leads Jessi to take off with the kids at the next possible chance and for the two to become fierce rivals.

Jessi goes so far as to allow Gustavo’s ᴀssociates to cut off three of Emilia’s fingers. Once Emilia reveals her true idenтιтy to Jessi, she immediately falls into shock and regret. She makes one final stand to protect Emilia while she’s locked in the trunk. Unfortunately, Jessi’s rash aggression forces Gustavo to drive off a cliff, resulting in all three of them perishing in the burning car.

Why Emilia Couldn’t Live Without Her Kids

Emilia’s Life Would Have Been Incomplete Without Them

Emilia had the best of both worlds while Jessi and their children lived with her in Mexico. As she sings in the song “El Amor”, she is deeply conflicted about only being able to be half of her true self, with Mantias essentially hidden in plain sight. Even though Emilia endured concealing her paternal love for her kids, being able to see them each day was the next best option.

It’s unclear how long Emilia believed this dynamic would last but she was completely blindsided by Jessi’s announcement that she was taking the kids to live with Gustavo. Emilia ostensibly ᴀssumed that the kids would live with her throughout their childhoods.

What Happens To Emilia’s Children & Rita

Rita Can Finally Be A Mother Like She Always Wanted

Rita expresses in the song “Todo y Nada” at the beginning of the film that she would like to have children and find a father but she feels she has no time to do so. Emilia and Jessi’s deaths provide Rita with an opportunity to be a mother like she had wanted to be for so long. While Rita was obviously not rooting for this outcome, it’s evident that Emilia and Jessi’s kids will be in safe hands with her. They will likely stay in Emilia’s mansion in Mexico or could potentially return to Switzerland, where the kids love to ski. Rita could also take them to London, where she started a new life after helping Manitas. Because of their Mexican heritage, however, they will likely stay put.

Why Emilia Didn’t Tell Jessi The Truth Sooner

Emilia Held Onto The Truth Until It Was Too Late

Emilia had grown so much as a person since her transition, particularly as a positive member of the community looking to right the wrongs of her past. It’s disappointing that it never crossed her mind to approach Jessi with an open heart and ask for her compᴀssion about her transition. That would likely have been a better strategy for retaining access to her children instead of making an arch-nemesis out of Jessi and trying to control the situation with brute force.

It tragically shows a total regression of Emilia’s moral development, nearly erasing all the steps she made towards healing and forgiving herself for her lifetime of crime and violence. In the end, Emilia’s pride smothered all her positive change.

Emilia’s Legacy & Impact On Her Community Explained

Emilia Will Be Remembered As A Saintlike Figure

To the community at large, however, Emilia exists as an exemplary figure. Many people sing for her in the streets after her death, honoring her as a saint for the work she did with her foundation for missing persons, La Lucecita. There’s a great irony in the community mourning and celebrating the life of Emilia when they only really know half of the picture. Manitas was a dangerous and feared kingpin responsible for many of those missing persons in the first place.

The only person who knew that was Rita, which makes it somewhat surprising that Emilia never tried to silence Rita permanently after reconnecting with her in London. Emilia arguably did deserve recognition for the changes she made in her later years both for herself and for her community. However, those people would likely not be worshipping her legacy quite as pᴀssionately had they known the truth.

The Real Meaning Of Emilia Pérez’s Ending

Despite Becoming Her True Self, Emilia Was Still Separated From Everything And Everyone

The ending of Emilia Pérez challenges the viewer to consider the moral value of Emilia contrasted with the evils of Manitas. It conjures questions such as “Was Emilia redeemed?” and “Does she deserve such an emotional, pᴀssionate sendoff?“. It’s one thing to make a positive impact on the community but a completely different thing considering the life of crime and violence it tries to cover up. Even when Emilia started La Lucecita, there was a sense that it was more self-fulfilling than altruistic, as she aimed to absolve herself of her past life. To liken Emilia to a saint would be insulting to true community leaders who didn’t need to bury a life of crime behind them before making a difference in society.

Emilia’s impact on her community in Emilia Pérez is symbolic of the impact she is quietly making as a trans woman. As Rita explains to Dr. Wᴀsserman in the song “Lady”, “changing the soul changes society,” which is effectively what Emilia did for the issue of missing persons.

However, Emilia does not advocate for her most immediate cause, trans equality, and instead remains silent about her transition and true idenтιтy since she had to conceal herself as the criminal Manitas and “disgrace” her family name. To overtly advocate for trans rights and equality would risk blowing her cover, so finding another cause to become the face of was her way of silently honoring her truest community in Emilia Pérez.

How The Emilia Pérez Ending Was Received

The Provocative Finale Drew The Impᴀssioned Responses It Sought

The Emilia Pérez ending has sparked a wide range of reactions from critics and audiences alike. Director Jacques Audiard’s musical crime drama builds up to a transformative crescendo of a finale – one that has been both lauded and critiqued for its narrative choices.

Supporters of the Emilia Pérez ending praise its bold and imaginative approach – especially on an emotional and thematic level. For example, Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine describes the conclusion as “fierce and glorious, a radical act of the imagination with kindness in its heart,” highlighting the film’s compᴀssionate storytelling. She also points out how the ending points to several of the most important messages at the core of the story:

“Audiard’s film is a challenge to find the beginning that comes after the end. It’s not about trans possibility, but about human possibility. Because they’re one and the same.”

Conversely, some critics have expressed reservations about the Emilia Pérez ending. Richard Brody of The New Yorker remarks that the film “presents twists and turns that exhaust themselves in the strain to stoke excitement; the movie is a wild ride to nowhere.” Brody’s views echo that of multiple critics who feel that, while vibrant and emotionally poignant, the ending of Emilia Perez doesn’t deliver when it comes to providing a satisfying narrative. However, not every review of Emilia Perez is wholly positive or negative. For example, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian offers a more tempered view, noting that while the ending is unconventional, it may not resonate with all viewers.

Despite the mixed critical reception of its ending, Emilia Pérez has achieved significant recognition in the film industry. For example, at the 97th Academy Awards, Emilia Perez received a leading 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Jacques Audiard, and Best Actress for Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history as the first openly trans woman nominated in this category. Additionally, Zoe Saldaña earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film also won four awards at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Foreign Language Film, from 10 nominations.

In short, the Emilia Pérez ending has elicited a spectrum of responses, with some applauding its inventive and heartfelt conclusion, while others critique it from a pacing and storytelling perspective. Regardless of these differing opinions, the film’s critical acclaim and award success underscore its cultural significance and the provocative nature of its narrative choices.