The Long Walk ends in a spectacularly bleak fashion. It also changes the ending of the story. However, it stays true to the spirit of Stephen King’s novel of the same name. The Long Walk focuses on a group of young men taking part in a dystopian compeтιтion, where an endless walk is only over when one person is left.

The long-awaited film adaptation updates many elements of the story, changing certain elements while retaining the horror and heartbreak that made the original so enduring. Here are the biggest differences between the original story and the film’s ending, and how they speak to the same thematic core.

Who Actually Wins The Long Walk?

The Long Walk ends with Peter McVries winning the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly endurance compeтιтion, setting up a different (and darker) ending from the book. McVries is one of The Long Walk‘s most sympathetic characters, quickly bonding with Raymond Garraty and endearing himself to the other compeтιтors (and the audience).

It’s only thanks to McVries that Garraty lasts as long as he does, with McVries repeatedly keeping him alive despite the challenges of the Long Walk. This leaves the two of them as the last compeтιтors, with McVries eventually sitting down to allow himself to be killed. Instead, Garraty gets McVries back up and then allows himself to be killed.

It’s a heartbreaking turn, giving the tearful McVries the victory. It’s also seemingly the breaking moment for the young man, who had earlier in the film preached a more moral and noble purpose if he won the Walk. Instead, in his fury over Garraty’s death, McVries follows through on his friend’s plans and uses his “wish” to slay the Major.

It’s an especially heartbreaking turn in retrospect, as McVries had established himself as one of the most moral of the contestants. Even as people dropped around him and he learned Garraty’s understandable desire for revenge against the Major for killing his father, McVries tries to convince him to do something good with his victory if he wins.

Instead, the death of Garraty seems to break the noble spirit that had kept McVries going. This leaves him as a far more dangerous figure, willing to use his wish to demand a gun instead and use it to get revenge for all the deaths the Major (and by extension, the system he represents) has carried out.

How The Long Walk’s Ending Compares To The Original Book

The ending of The Long Walk film is different from the book that inspired it. In the original story, McVries is actually the second-to-last contestant to die. He chooses to sit down and allow himself to be sH๏τ, something his movie equivalent also attempts but doesn’t get to follow through on because of Garraty.

This leaves Garraty and Stebbins as the last two walkers in the book. In the movie, Stebbins is unable to continue the walk due to illness and allows himself to be sH๏τ before the final stretch. In fact, Garraty initially believes Stebbins will win the Long Walk, and only achieves victory for himself when Stebbins drops ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in horror.

This is connected to one of the biggest changes between the movie and the book. Even beyond Garraty being the winner instead of McVries, the book version of the character wasn’t as obsessed with revenge as his movie equivalent. In fact, what propels him to victory in the book is the sight of a mysterious dark figure, beckoning him forward.

In the book, Garraty not only wins the Long Walk, but he even ignores the Major and his potential wish to continue walking towards the man. This is referenced in the movie’s ending with McVries walking into the lonely night, but it means the ending has a different tone from the book, more bleakly rewarding than existentially heartbreaking.

The True Meaning Of The Long Walk’s Ending

The Long Walk is one of Stephen King’s bleakest stories — which is saying something, given the subject matter of many of his other stories. What makes The Long Walk so good is the way it never forgets the humanity at the core of the story, which is crucial to fully understanding the revised ending to the movie version.

The Long Walk‘s mᴀssive cast is never dehumanized. Even the ones who die without a given name or clear personality are treated like people, their demises a source of horror and heartbreak. Even compared to other similar concepts like The Hunger Games and Squid Game, The Long Walk really focuses on the humanity of the contestants.

Each death is heartbreaking in its own way, whether it’s the horrified cries of Curley, the somber acceptance of Barkovitch, or the defiant final moments of Parker. The focus on the Major and the country watching at large only underscores this, as the “contestants” that the crowd watches are scared young men.

The original novel, written by Stephen King when he was a young author, was thematically reflective of the then-current Vietnam War. That quality has evolved into a timeless element of the story, with the modern version of The Long Walk hinting at an American Civil War and the subsequent authoritarian crackdown stemming from the country’s near collapse.

However, the core moral remains the same. The last survivor is left broken by their experience, not only by the physical and mental strain but because of the spiritual toll of watching people drop around you. The Long Walk questions if someone’s humanity could withstand such an onslaught, and gives a definitive answer by having McVries accept revenge over growth.