Gone Girl follows the intriguing story of Amy Dunne’s (Rosamund Pike) disappearance, and the movie’s ending not only reveals a clever twist but also shares the manipulative nature of her marriage to Nick (Ben Affleck). At first, the story appears to follow the formula of a typical domestic thriller, with a husband viewed as the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. When the movie takes a brilliant turn and reveals that Amy is alive and attempting to frame Nick, it becomes a flawless example of how to tell this type of tale without resorting to clichéd storytelling or predictable twists.

With David Fincher’s sharp direction and a brilliant script from the novel’s author, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl is a masterclass in depicting a tense, toxic marriage. The book’s structure explains the twist through Amy’s journal entries, and the movie captures the same harsh tone. Gone Girl‘s ending answers several crucial questions, from what happens to the central couple to why Amy purposefully goes missing. While some twist endings are silly and lackluster, the reveal that Amy has planned this all along will always have the same lasting impact, and the layers of her character are explored in every scene.

What Happens In Gone Girl’s Ending

Amy Kills Desi & Decides To Return To Nick

While every thriller should offer a fascinating and surprising ending, Gone Girl is known for mastering the unpredictable twist. As the story progresses, Amy’s perfect plan is revealed to be not so flawless after all. She never accounted for the powerful and dangerous Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), whom she once dated and who attempts to keep her in his home. This is the only time she appears afraid.

She decides to escape and return to her life with Nick by killing Desi and making it look like he kidnapped and ᴀssaulted her. This is crucial to understanding Amy’s character arc as she will do whatever is necessary to get what she desires. At the end of the Gone Girl timeline, Amy makes her way back to Nick, seeming to bring this story to a shocking yet happy conclusion in the eyes of the public.

Nick thinks he has the upper hand, but Amy convinces Nick to allow her to come home by sharing her pregnancy news and appealing to the soft, sensitive side still buried inside of him. When Amy says “Nick got lazy. He became someone I did not agree to marry. He actually expected me to love him unconditionally,” she explains her motive for pretending to disappear — paying Nick back for his infidelity and for no longer treating her in the same loving and appreciative manner that he did when they first began dating.

Amy’s Pregnancy Forces Nick To Stay With Her

If She Wasn’t Carrying His Child, Nick Would Leave The Marriage

Ben Affleck’s Gone Girl character is never sympathetic, and his infidelity and poor behavior are exposed, which proves that both characters are complicit in the failure of their marriage. Amy’s real pregnancy at the conclusion of the story reveals that she has had a main plan all along: to force her husband to remain married to her because he wants to raise their baby.

This is a compelling callback to the beginning of the movie when Amy pretends to be expecting in order to garner empathy and to make her husband look worse. She tests out her theory that a baby cannot be ignored. This plot point is effective, as Amy proves her intelligence and understanding of her husband. If she didn’t become pregnant, it’s possible that he would walk away.

Gone Girl is a memorable psychological thriller because the story traces Amy’s intense thought process and shares her untrustworthy nature. She traps Nick the way that she believes he has trapped her: in a house in a dull Missouri town that doesn’t measure up to their life in New York City. She channels her resentment for her lackluster domestic life and forces Nick to pay attention to her again.

Margo Is Devastated About Amy’s Return

Nick’s Sister Believes He & Amy Are Toxic Together

If Amy is devastated at Nick no longer viewing her as worthy of adoration and interest, Nick is equally stunned by how different his life looks in Missouri, as he runs a bar and teaches journalism. Nick’s close relationship with his sister, Margo Dunne (Carrie Coon), serves two smart purposes. Margo, who goes by the nickname “Go,” disapproves of Amy and Nick reuniting and becoming parents. She is the only character in Gone Girl who is honest, telling her brother that he was wrong to cheat on his wife and is uncertain of Amy’s motives throughout the story.

Go is also the only character besides Nick who realizes Amy is a liar. Nick ignores his sister’s opinion, proving he can be just as cold and unfeeling as his wife. Go realizes the truth: the couple brings out each other’s terrible qualities, but they are incapable of ending their marriage. They take a strange pleasure in making each other miserable.

While Gone Girl’s shocking twist ending leaves viewers speechless, Nick is not innocent, and it’s possible that he will get his own revenge on his wife in the future. It is suggested that Go will be there for her brother but will always watch Amy.

How The Gone Girl Ending Compares To The Book

It’s Mostly The Same

The Gone Girl ending is the same as the book, with the couple back together again and faking a content and peaceful marriage. The movie makes a few subtle alterations from the novel, most notably Nick telling Amy, “I feel sorry for you because every morning you have to wake up and be you.”

It’s the perfect finish, sharing that while she has convinced him to stay in their marriage and raise their child, he has the upper hand as well. However, the same sentiment is still present in the film adaptation, with the final scene of the couple sharing the news of their baby, ast they are attempting to keep up appearances. As long as they look happy to others, they can pretend that everything is fine.

The Real Meaning Of The Gone Girl Ending

Amy & Nick Are Both Ruthless & Calculated

Gone Girl not only has one of the greatest movie plot twists of all time, but its ending also explores the horrible choices that people make and how easy it can be for someone to convince themselves that what they are doing is right. Amy and Nick may not believe they have anything in common anymore, but they reveal themselves to be the same person: ruthless, calculated, and self-centered. They do what is necessary in order to survive, no matter who it hurts, and they don’t look back.

While Nick can ignore his sister’s discomfort at his life choices, Amy needs the love and approval of strangers to move forward. The Gone Girl ending also suggests that Nick will never be safe as long as he continues to live with and stay married to his wife. With Amy winning, she can continue to do so in the future, and it’s possible (and probable) that she will manipulate him again.

The next time Nick is unfaithful or makes a choice his wife dislikes, she will devise another plan. However, it’s also possible that Nick will betray Amy again and that she will underestimate him. The eerie and unnerving tone of the final scene drives home the idea that neither partner is trustworthy nor in the right.

How David Fincher Explains The Gone Girl Ending

Fincher Embraces The Satire In The Ending

The Gone Girl ending wasn’t always going to be what fans saw in the movie. David Fincher previously said that author Gillian Flynn threw out her own book’s ending and “started from scratch.” This scared a lot of the book’s fans, but Flynn said that was “greatly exaggerated,” and Fincher himself said that the film’s ending had the same intentions but a new “bone structure” that Flynn added when she wrote the story as a script for the movie (via Vulture).

Of course, as people who read the book and saw the movie know, the ending was the same with just subtle changes concerning what Nick and Amy said to each other at the end. Fincher said in an interview (via IndieWire) that he sees this movie going from a mystery to an absurdist thriller to a satire by the end.

However, through it all, Fincher was proudly “Team Amy”. The director said there are moments where he cheers for Amy, and he loves seeing her make all these elaborate plans for revenge. As for the ending where Amy and Nick are forced to go on together, Fincher sees it as a dark comedy:

“It’s that thing where you look over at your wife or girlfriend, and you see them holding their tongue and then five years later they unleash all of their retribution… It’s funny because it’s horrifying.”

What Others Have Said About The Gone Girl Ending

Gillian Flynn And Rosamund Pike Have Offered Their Views On The Ending

The ending of Gone Girl has been the subject of fascination since the movie was released, with a number of the people behind the film commenting on how it came together and what it all means in the end. Author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn admitted that she was surprised by how divisive the movie was, especially those who wanted to see Amy pay, but she also explains that it was an ending that made the most sense to her (via EW):

Amy’s not going to end up in jail. She’s Amazing Amy! You’re never going to find the aha! clue because she thinks she’s already thought of everything and that’s who she is. People think they would find that satisfying, if she were caught and punished. You know, when I’m at a reading or something, people will come up to me and are very honest about saying, “I hated the ending!” I always say, “Well, what did you want to have happen?” And it’s like, “I wanted justice!” I promise you, I just don’t think you’d find it satisfying for Amy to end up in a prison cell just sitting in a little box.

Another key aspect of the ending is the confrontation between Nick and Amy when she returns. Away from the cameras, these characters know the truth behind all the mysteries and secrets. However, it is a scene that was rewritten as the actors and David Fincher himself sought to communicate how Amy remains in power despite Nick being aware of the ruse that fooled the rest of the world. Rosamund Pike explained their addition of one particularly important exchange between Nick and Amy (via Yahoo!):

“Ben [Affleck], David [Fincher] and I rewrote that scene. He says, ‘You’re such a c*nt.’ I say, ‘I’m the c*nt that makes you the man you are today–the only time you ever feel like yourself.’ That’s Amy’s confidence. She’s right–she knows that gets him. And that’s the toxicity of their relationships right there. It’s a pretty damning message.”

How The Gone Girl Ending Was Received

One Of David Fincher’s Most Shocking Endings

Gone Girl is often considered one of the best movies in David Fincher’s filmography, and the ending especially ties together everything the director and screenplay had laid out up to that point. As a result, the film received a strong critical reception, with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 87% from general audiences, indicating that most people on either side of the aisle enjoyed Gone Girl immensely.

Gone Girl‘s ending is also one of Fincher’s most shocking, as Nick Dunne’s realization that he will have to play Amy’s game for a long, long time perfectly encapsulates their relationship that unfolded across the film’s narrative. Viewers responded in kind as well to the final few twists of Gone Girl, as everything that had been building up for the movie’s runtime completely boils over, and leaves us all stunned as to what just happened.