In this section of our Colossus Movie Guide for Parasite, we will explain the film’s ending.
Cast
- Mr. Kim – Song Kang-ho
- Chung-sook – Jang Hye-jin
- Kim Ki-woo (Kevin) – Choi Woo-shik
- Kim Ki-jung (Jessica) – Park So-dam
- Mrs. Park – Choi Yeon-gyo
- Mr. Park – Lee Sun-kyun
- Park Da-hye – Jung Ji-so
- Park Da-song – Jung Hyeon-jun
- Gook Moon-gwang – Lee Jung-eun
- Oh Geun-sae – Park Myung-hoon
- Min-hyuk – Park Seo-joon
- Written by – Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won
- Directed by – Bong Joon-ho
The end of Parasite explained
Recap
The end of Parasite is a montage-style epilogue that explores the aftermath of the tragic events at Da-song’s birthday party. We follow Ki-woo. First, his awakening in the hospital after sustaining a major head injury. The subsequent recovery and trial. Going to visit his sister’s memorial, then falling into a new routine. It culminates with Ki-woo discovering a morse code message sent by his father via the lights in the home that used to belong to the Parks. Ki-woo copies the message, translates it, then writes a letter back, one that includes Ki-woo’s plan to work hard, become successful, buy the house, and reunite their family. The final shot is of Ki-woo, sitting in the dark of the Kim’s sublevel apartment, while it snows outside. He reads the end of his message, “Take care, until then.” After a pause. “So long.” Then stares into the camera.
Meaning
Ki-Woo
The biggest question people usually have about the end of Parasite is whether or not Ki-woo’s fantasy is real. Short answer: it’s not. The point of the fantasy sequence is to set up the Parasite’s tragic conclusion.
Remember, a few scenes earlier, when the Kim family has to seek shelter after the storm, Ki-woo asks Mr. Kim what the plan is in regards to the family in the basement (Moon-gwang and Geun-sae) of the Park home. Mr. Kim’s answer amounts to “Don’t make plans. Because if you make a plan, it won’t come true.” Sure enough, Ki-woo makes a plan anyway—to bring the prosperity stone to the family in the basement—and it backfires. Geun-sae escapes the basement because of Ki-woo’s appearance, harms Ki-woo, mortally wounds Ki-jung, then triggers Mr. Kim to knife Mr. Park.
So when we hear Ki-woo make another plan, one that involves him becoming rich enough to buy the former home of the Parks and free his dad from the confines of the basement, our response should be, “Oh no. Not another plan.” Bong Joon-ho kind of tricks the viewer by showing us Ki-woo’s daydream. The visual allows us to believe, if only for a second, that maybe this is all actually happening. Again, this is only done to reinforce the grim conclusion. It sets up a brutal contrast between that vision of being “up there” in that house vs. the reality of Ki-woo in the sublevel apartment. Not just in the apartment. But in almost total darkness. His final dialogue even reinforces this hope-followed-by-cruel-reality. “Until then” implies the idea that this will happen, they will meet again. But after a pause, we’re hit with the “So long” which feels completely final.
There’s another layer, too. Parasite’s opening shot is out the apartment window, looking at the street. It’s bright outside. Murkier in the apartment. But the light brings a sense of positivity. The camera then pans down to Ki-woo, on the coach, looking at his phone. Later, during the storm, we get a similar shot of the windows looking out at the street. Except now water has flooded the apartment and everything outside. The camera even slightly submerges. This brings us to the last moment, after Ki-woo’s vision. That final shot out the window is in the dead of night, in the dead of winter. Snow is everywhere.
What you have in these three shots is a sense of beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning, there’s potential and positivity. In the middle there’s water. While water often implies rebirth, it also represents fluidity or the idea of change. Rebirth tends to be positive, while fluidity/change is more neutral. It’s essentially a turning point. In the case of Parasite, it changes the circumstances of the Kim family. Their forward progress comes to a total halt. That’s the implication then of the darkness of the final shot. It marks an overall shadow on Ki-woo’s future prospects. Something the snow only reinforces. The water is no longer fluid. It’s snowing. It’s ice. It’s set. The warmth and light is gone. Instead, it’s dark and frozen.
The larger implication here is that Ki-woo represents the youth of the 99% and their prospects in capitalistic societies that make it almost impossible to climb out of poverty. He’s not just a sad youth in South Korea. He embodies the many young, capable people throughout the world who have their plans go to ruin because of systemic issues and the difficulties in bouncing back in the aftermath of events out of their control. Look at how difficult it has become for Millenials and Zoomers to buy homes. Parasite’s ending will become more and more relevant as the years go on.
Mr. Kim
For Mr. Kim, there are a few potential conclusions. One, he just lives out the rest of his days in the basement of the home and never emerges. Two, he gets caught (probably trying to get food in the middle of the night) and has to flee and ends up in an even worse situation or in jail. Three, some time passes and he eventually leaves and reunites with his family and waits to eventually be recognized and arrested. Four, reunites with his family and they flee to somewhere, hoping he won’t be recognized.
Given that Parasite stressed a connection between Mr. Kim and Geun-sae and we saw how happy Geun-sae was in the basement, I would imagine the “intended” reading is that Mr. Kim just stays in the basement as long as he can. And comes to accept his role as the parasite of the home. Much like Geun-sae did. Mr. Kim may even light the stairs for the family, just like Geun-sae.
What are your thoughts?
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