The following contains spoilers for Drop, now playing in theatersDrop‘s big twist is hanging in front of the audience all along, with a wild motivation that actually plays into the themes of the film. Directed by Christopher Landon, Drop focuses on Meghann Fahy’s Violet. On her first date since the death of her abusive husband, Violet initially seems happy to finally be sharing a meal with the handsome and sweet Henry. However, a series of anonymous air drops threatens the lives of her sister Jen and son Toby unless she follows their instructions exactly. Drop twists and turns after that, forcing Violet to scramble to figure out the truth.

Drop is a ​​​​​deeply entertaining mystery and a deceptively stylish film that becomes more engrossing as the stakes get higher. Drop is mainly focused on the mystery surrounding the person trying to force Violet to commit a murder, but that doesn’t detract from the deceptively powerful moral at the core of the story. Drop is a film about abuse survivors taking their agency back and fighting back against the people who want to control them. Here’s how the ending of the film builds a tense thriller into a burst of action and how it underscores the emotional themes of Drop.

Drop’s Villain Twist: Why Richard Is Threatening Violet

Drop’s Big Bad Is Hiding In Plain Sight All Along

Drop‘s main villain is Richard, who turns out to be a far more dangerous ᴀssᴀssin than his initially unᴀssuming persona would suggest. Initially, Richard seems like a throwaway character meant to establish the single scene that Violet is returning to. An older man on his first date in years, he seems genial enough. In reality, he’s an ᴀssᴀssin who’s been hired to kill Henry. It seems that Richard and his unnamed ᴀssociate have been at this line of work long enough to perfect it, using modern technology to manipulate Violet and prevent any of her attempts to alert the authorities.4

Ensuring Violet’s cooperation by threatening her family, Richard tries to force her to poison Henry, having stacked the situation with evidence of Violet’s guilt. This will pin Henry’s murder on her. Violet will be seen on the security cameras tampering with Henry’s drink, overdosing him with a medicine she frequently gives patients, and she has a history of men dying in her orbit. From his blind spot in a booth, Richard can watch it all play out and respond to Violet’s attempts to escape. It’s a well-thought-out scheme that only falls apart because he underestimates Violet at a key moment.

Why Richard Wants Henry To Die

Richard Is Following Someone Else’s Orders

Richard doesn’t seem to have any specific dislike for Henry, instead revealing that he’s only targeting him because of his employers. Drop steadily reveals that Henry is a pH๏τographer for the Mayor’s office who has evidence of corruption on the part of the politician. Henry is cooperating with the authorities and will serve as a key witness in the case. His death in even normal circumstances could be deemed suspicious as a result, necessitating a more secretive murder. Richard also needs to ensure the SD card in his camera is destroyed, something he forces Violet to do in his manipulations.

This is why Richard tries to use Violet as a go-between for his ᴀssᴀssination. If Violet is blamed for the murder, it would seem completely disconnected to the investigation into the Mayor and potentially spare him any further scrutiny. Ironically, Richard’s attempts to shield the Mayor from any connection to the ᴀssᴀssination get him exposed in an extremely public space. Once he believes Violet has poisoned Henry, Richard taunts Violet with the full details of their plan — only to realize she faked poisoning Henry and actually slipped it into Richard’s desert. His subsequent death (and failure to kill Violet or Henry) exposes the Mayor.

What Really Happened To Violet’s Husband

One Of The Darkest Reveals About Drop Surrounds The Mystery Of Her Last Relationship

The first scene of Drop is one of the darker moments of the film, hinting at the abusive nature of Violet’s relationship with her former husband. Toby’s father was married to Violet but became an increasingly unstable presence in their life, with Violet explaining to Henry late in Drop that he became dangerous around their son (something that still haunts her). As steadily revealed in the film through flashbacks, Violet’s husband lashed out at her, beat her, and threatened both her and Toby with a gun. When the police arrived, her shaken husband then turned the gun on himself instead.

It’s a dark reveal that changes much of the previous scenes. Violet’s decision to change her practice toward abuse survivors gains a much more personal edge, as does her eventual resilience in the face of other controlling and violent men like Richard. It also gives her and Henry something vulnerable to bond over, as he is still reeling from his discoveries about the Mayor. It also gives Richard a potential means of painting Violet as a violent killer, suggesting that her husband’s family suspected her of foul play afterward. The tragic truth behind Violet’s marriage is an emotionally effective reveal.

The Real Meaning Of Drop

Drop Is About Survivors Taking Their Agency Back

Drop is a тιԍнт feature that makes several twists and turns to great effect, with a focus more on the winding turns of the plot instead of any grand thematic statement. At the core of Violet (and to a lesser extent Henry) is a metaphor for abuse survivors. Whether that be a toxic romantic relationship, the betrayal of a friend, or the manipulations of an employer, survivors like Violet and Henry are both clearly shaken and dispirited by these experiences. Henry even suggests they cheers their tequila sH๏τs to the “hope” that they can come out the other side stronger.

This is the ethos of Violet’s actions in Drop‘s climax, as she refuses to give up her agency to another man who wants to abuse his power over her. Violet fights back against Richard, not only out-thinking him but ensuring his death while sitting right across from him. Violet helps prevent her sister and son from becoming victims, all while refusing to play by Richard’s rules. Drop empathizes with the lingering pain that trauma can cause in all kinds of people but highlights how important it is to fight against it and reclaim one’s own sense of self and agency.​​​​​​