10 Movie Endings You Definitely Misunderstood The First Time
6. The Green Knight
David Lowery's mesmerising medieval epic The Green Knight is an admittedly bewildering experience, and one where you can't really be blamed for not fully getting it the first time.
The film ends with Gawain (Dev Patel) finally facing the Green Knight (Ralph Ineson), removing his protective green girdle, and preparing to be beheaded by the Knight.
At this moment, the Knight praises Gawain for his bravery, runs a finger across his throat, and playfully says, "Off with your head," before smiling as the film suddenly cuts to the end credits.
Many took this ending at pure face value, that Gawain was indeed decapitated by the Knight and Lowery simply stopped short of showing us.
But taking a closer look at the Knight and his amused reactions, it certainly seems like he wasn't about to kill him. Rather, he surely lets Gawain go because he passed his final test, by removing the girdle and accepting that his life is finite.
"Off with your head" is basically the Knight cheekily saying, "Off with you and be gone," and absolutely lines up with the original tale, where the Knight merely nicks Gawain's neck before letting him go free.