Netflix’s ‘The Son’ Ending Explained: Did Nicholas Die?

First premiering in 2022, The Son is an emotional drama that features a controversial and twisty ending. The movie is a prequel to Florian Zeller’s The Father, which won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Adapted Script, and follows two divorced parents as they struggle to care for their teenager. The emotional movie recently found its way to Netflix on May 20, 2023 after a limited theatrical release and world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. 

The drama flick stars Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby and newcomer Zen McGrath, along with a brief cameo by Anthony Hopkins, who led the predecessor. As of now, the movie is climbing Netflix’s Top 10 charts after failing to garner attention during its theatrical release and subsequent awards cycle.

As there are many new eyes watching this flick, we’re here to break down the ending — which many critics dubbed “emotionally manipulative.” However, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure — and boy, do I think the movie offers an ending for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of The Son.

The Son on Netflix Ending Explained:

The Son follows Peter Miller (Jackman) as he welcomes his teenage son, Nicholas Miller (McGrath), into his blended home, which he shares with his wife Beth (Kirby) and their newly-born child. Beforehand, Nicholas lived with his mother, Kate Miller (Dern), but she asked Peter to take him in because his behavior was unmanageable and she was fearful of his aggression.

Nicholas, while a studious child, shows no interest in school or socializing and is battling major depression. His father finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He works hard to discipline his son and understand his withdrawn behavior. Additionally, Beth grows untrusting of Nicholas and restricts his alone time with his baby brother and, once, suspects him of stealing her jewelry. Needless to say, Nicholas is not receiving the support he needs. 

His father has an outburst after figuring out that Nicholas has been skipping school and the young boy attempts suicide. He is placed in an inpatient facility and during supervised visits, he begs his parents to sign him out, insisting that he’s recovered. Peter and Kate are heavily advised to not take Nicholas out of the facility, but they cave into his demands and do so anyway. 

The final moments of the movie are highly emotional and show Nicholas and his parents spending time together, which is a rare occurrence. They arrive at Peter’s home from the institution and Nicholas dots around, making them tea. The parents plan to constantly supervise the teenager with Kate agreeing to let Nicholas move back to her house and Peter deciding to turn down his promotion and have Nicholas join him at work as an intern.

In the final moments, Nicholas delivers tea to his parents and then joins them on the couch. They plan to see a movie, and Nicholas apologizes to his parents and they exchange “I love yous.” The teen excuses himself to take a shower but ventures into the laundry room where Peter keeps a gun, which was established earlier in the movie to be a gift from his father. Nicholas uses the gun to shoot himself dead.

But here’s where it gets confusing. Before it is revealed that Nicholas is dead, the movie has a flashback scene of Peter teaching Nicholas how to swim, which segues into a dream sequence where Peter pictures his son alive. As an unreliable narrator, Peter pictures Nicholas as the author of a book called Death Can Wait. He tells Nicholas, “I’m proud of you,” and looks him in the eyes as they stand across from each other.

Then, the camera pans and shows Peter standing alone in a room. His wife enters and asks him, “What’s the matter? Were you thinking about Nicholas?” As Peter expresses his regrets, Beth reassures him, “You did the best you could at the time.” He breaks down crying while his wife tells him “life goes on.”

The Son is currently streaming on Netflix.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.