Netflix's I'm Thinking Of Ending Things Ending EXPLAINED

Everything we’ve seen in this film has been leading to this, the final scene. But, just like everything else in this film, the ending doesn’t exactly make anything clearer. In fact, it only raises more questions.

The finale sees an older, sharply dressed Jake accepting a Nobel Prize for his life’s work in front of an audience containing older versions of the other characters encountered in the film. The imaginary girlfriend, his parents, and his fellow high school students that ridiculed him; everyone is here for his final performance.

Delivering an impassioned and heartfelt speech in front of a background from the stage production of Oklahoma! while the melancholic score swells, Jake bursts into his own rendition of “Lonely Room”, a song from – you guessed it – Oklahoma!. A hopeful ballad sung by the ostracized Jud about his unrequited love, this song draws a striking parallel between these two tragic characters who both meet their end due to their loneliness.

Rather than being ridiculed, the audience gives Jake a standing ovation. He finally feels accepted as the screen transitions to a vibrant blue. This is Jake’s grand Broadway curtain call as he moves on to the afterlife.