Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for Netflix’s Straw.Tyler Perry’s new Netflix movie Straw has been dominating the streamer’s charts in various countries this week, and leaving audiences reeling after its shocking ending. Sitting at the top of the Netflix charts in countries including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Nigeria, and South Africa, Straw is a psychological thriller about a mother who has been pushed to the edge. Anchored by a jaw-dropping performance by Taraji P. Henson, reviews for Straw have been mixed on the film, with many praising the story’s twist ending.

Straw begins with Janiyah waking up at the start of the worst day of her life. As the lead in this Tyler Perry movie, Janiyah is a single mother who cares for her daughter and her community. When she tries to give a pittance to Benny, however, her landlord sees and calls her out for her late rent, threatening her with eviction. She is then berated by her boss and fired, loses her daughter to child services, and has her car impounded. This leads to a psychological break, a complex murder, and Janiyah accidentally holding up a bank.

Straw’s Big Twist Explained: Janiyah’s Daughter Aria Was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ

How The Movie Teased It

The biggest twist in Straw occurs near the end of the film, where, before leaving the bank, Janiyah receives a call from her mother, Delores. In this call, Janiyah cries about the importance of her daughter, Aria, which leads to Delores reminding her that Aria pᴀssed away in the hospital the night before. This reframes the events of the entire movie, and a significant flashback sequence plays, which reveals that Aria, seen during the beginning of the film, was only in Janiyah’s imagination.

In these flashbacks, Janiyah is seen going through the motions of an ordinary day, but her daughter is not there. Rather than dropping Aria off at school at the beginning of the film, Janiyah opens the back door of her car and speaks to a person who isn’t there. This brings important context to many of the scenes throughout the film, showing that Janiyah’s descent into madness was a much more disturbing process than it seemed. More than just a terrible day, Janiyah was already on the cusp of madness due to the weight of her loss.

This was teased in some subtle ways throughout the story. Mostly, the interactions that Janiyah had with the people around her are given new context by this ending. Nicole already knew about Janiyah’s loss, and her reactions and her fear of Janiyah are expressed with this in mind. Even the looks and the treatment that Janiyah receives early in the film are informed by this same understanding, as is the state of her apartment in the film’s opening, which reflects a deeper depression than her character’s actions do.

Why Straw Has A Fake Out Ending With Janiyah’s Death

She Survives In The Real Finale

Late in the film, a sequence plays out showing how the ending could have gone. The police storm into the building, and bullets fly rapidly. In an intense and harrowing moment, the audience watches as Janiyah is gunned down, falling ᴅᴇᴀᴅ to the floor of the bank. Fortunately, this is then revealed as only one possibility of what could occur, and that it is happening inside Janiyah’s mind. Just like with her daughter, this internal element is essential to the story of the film, and informs how she and others can react.

The film concludes from here with the community coming around her, and this is what allows her to survive. Nicole stays with Janiyah until she is able to get out of the bank unscathed, while Detective Raymond works to ensure this from the outside. While Straw ends with Janiyah being loaded into the back of a police car and driven away, there is some hope among the sadness, as the crowd cheers her name and celebrates her for her strength in the face of horrifying adversity. Through this support, an ending with Janiyah’s death is narrowly avoided.

Are Janiyah’s Actions In Straw Justifiable?

She Still Committed Murder

Straw takes an interesting look at themes of power. Janiyah is clearly without much of her own, and is berated constantly throughout the film. Characters like her landlord and her boss, Richard, are struggling in their own ways, but they use their power over Janiyah as an opportunity to alleviate some of their own hurt by inflicting it upon her. This results in a harrowing introduction to the film, where Janiyah, who is only struggling to survive and to look after her daughter, is insulted, and threatened, and verbally abused.

It is difficult to say that justice is served at the film’s end, because all of this culminates in Janiyah being loaded into a police car and being taken to prison. There is some solace in knowing about her psychological break due to the loss of her daughter, which may result in a lower sentence, but there is still punishment awaiting Janiyah. Understanding these legal structures, it becomes clear that what Straw is about, as explained by Tyler Perry to Netflix, is less the result for Janiyah, and more about allowing underrepresented people to escape from being silenced:

Janiyah says in the script, ‘Nobody sees us’… There’s a contingent of people walking around on this planet who feel that way, and especially ones who look like her and are in her position.

There are some other important factors to consider, however. Most importantly, with the police officer who ran Janiyah off the road at the beginning of the story. He uses his insтιтutional power to protect himself when her car is being impounded, and even threatens her. This leads to the other officer hiding his actions. Fortunately, both of them are found out by the end of the story, due to Janiyah’s speaking up, and it appears that some kind of justice will be administered.

Why Janiyah Becomes A Symbol To Others

Raymond, Nicole, And The Crowd Are On Her Side

There are some positive outcomes that result from Janiyah’s actions. This can be best seen in the character of Nicole, played by Sherri Shepherd. Near the beginning of the film, Janiyah attempts to withdraw money from her account, and finds some difficulty with Nicole due to bureaucratic processes that must be followed. Nicole clearly does not wish to antagonize Janiyah, and even expresses a level of care towards her, but does not take the initiative to help her more directly.

Nicole’s character then evolves throughout the film. When the bank is first locked up, and the gun is drawn, Nicole is first driven by fear, believing that the science project in Janiyah’s bag is a bomb, but this slowly changes. Nicole reflects on her own motherhood, and the difficulty of performing those tasks even with a loving husband beside her to support her. She sees in Janiyah’s desperation something that she could so easily become, and this makes her feel deeply for her. The two women form an important bond over this.

Other characters seem to feel the same in the movie. When footage of Janiyah makes its way onto the internet, people throughout the city come together to support her, forming a protest outside the bank. Circumstances have made surviving as a single mother so much more difficult, and it is such a common experience that characters like Detective Raymond and the many people in the crowd use it as a point of connection. This awareness is spread through the film, highlighting the impact of Janiyah’s plight.

How Straw Examines The Difficulties Of Being A Single Mother

Raymond And Nicole Both Provide Important Empathy

There have been many powerful movies about single mothers over the years, and Straw confronts the inherent difficulties of this experience head-on. Janiyah is the anchor of the film, and her relationship with her daughter is given significant focus in the introduction, giving purpose to every one of the protagonist’s actions. All that Janiyah wishes to do is to give Aria a good life, but the circumstances that surround her make that difficult. Characters like Richard harp on about how Janiyah’s daughter and poverty are not his problem, highlighting the real-world issues the film hopes to confront.

Being a single mother is not easy, and this becomes exacerbated by difficult economic conditions. Janiyah struggles even to pay her rent, and does not have the opportunities available to her that would allow her to better look after her daughter. Much of her struggle has to do with simply acquiring $40 so that Aria can have lunch. This examination resonates with Detective Raymond, a single mother herself, who becomes a strong ally throughout Straw, empathizing with Janiyah and helping her get out alive. Community and support from others are essential for everyone.

The Real Meaning Of Straw’s Ending

Grief Is A Core Theme

​​​​​​The twist at the end of Straw feels slightly unnecessary to the film’s themes. However, in attempting to put together a narrative like this, it might have been the only way to ensure genuine sympathy for Janiyah. Many people have had terrible days, and it can be hard to justify killing your boss and holding a bank hostage as a result, although Straw does a surprisingly effective job of getting the audience on Janiyah’s side. However, considering a grief that has driven Janiyah to a state of madness, it is much easier to support her actions.

There are two other reasons why Janiyah losing her daughter was necessary. The first is practical: the film ends with Janiyah going to prison, and this would be much more tragic if she were abandoning her daughter in doing so. While Janiyah speaks with Nicole earlier in the film about taking Aria until she gets out, Nicole does not seem to have the capacity to do so, reiterating the film’s themes about the difficulties of motherhood. Without the loss of Aria, the film’s ending would be tragic in a different way, setting up the daughter for a difficult life.

Instead, the circumstances at the end of the movie seem at least slightly hopeful. While Janiyah is going to prison for her actions, there is clearly great support behind her on different levels. Detective Raymond cares, Nicole cares, and the public cares, and this could be a help to her during her trial. In addition, due to the grief Janiyah was experiencing in Straw, she will likely be tried differently and hopefully even supported by the legal system. With a plea of insanity, Janiyah will likely get the help she needs, and will hopefully be released sooner rather than later.