How does ‘Furiosa’ end and tie into ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’? We unpack the ending for the new Mad Max Saga installment.
Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
The Big Picture
- Furiosa becomes a battle-hardened warrior to survive the wasteland, leading to her creation of the War Rig.
- Furiosa takes sweet revenge against Dementus, cutting off her arm and seeking retribution for her mother’s death.
-
Furiosa
ends as
Mad Max: Fury Road
begins, showing how Furiosa helps Immortan Joe’s wives escape before embarking on her journey.
George Miller returns to the Mad Max franchise once again with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The focus shifts from the franchise’s longtime Byronic hero, Max Rockatansky, and now centers on Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), the Imperator of Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), and the War Rig driver from Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa depicts the eponymous character’s origins and backstory hinted at by the previous installment. The Odyssey-like tale illustrates how Furiosa was taken from her home and separated from her family at a young age. Imprisoned by the wasteland and its barbarous gangs and warlords, Furiosa seeks to keep a promise to her late mother (Charlee Fraser) to return to her precious homeland, the Green Place, at any cost. But how does the movie end? It’s time to unpack the ending of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with Mad Max.
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
- Director
- George Miller
- Cast
- Anya Taylor-Joy , Chris Hemsworth , Tom Burke , Alyla Browne , Nathan Jones , Angus Sampson , Daniel Webber , Lachy Hulme
Furiosa Becomes a Battle-Hardened Warrior to Survive the Wasteland
Furiosa is kidnapped from her home, the Green Place, by marauders who work for the charismatic, barbaric warlord, Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). While Furiosa’s mother attempts to rescue her daughter, she’s unsuccessful, strung up on a tree and tortured to death in front of her daughter to keep the hidden secrets of the Green Place. Later, Furiosa is traded to the captivity of Immortan Joe to be raised to become one of Joe’s breeding wives at his citadel. In exchange, Dementus is granted dominion over Gastown. After escaping the clutches of Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones), she hides with the mechanics of Immortan Joe’s Citadel, pretending to be mute and concealing her gender. Eventually, she and the other mechanics construct the formidable War Rig.
During a cargo run across the Fury Road, Furiosa’s escape attempt is thwarted by a raiding party on the War Rig by the Octoboss (Goran D. Kleut). Thanks to Furiosa’s help, skilled driver Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) manages to survive the raid. Seeing her potential, Jack takes Furiosa under his wing to make her part of his new road crew for the War Rig and teaches her how to survive the Wasteland. Jack and Furiosa form a close bond and genuinely care for one another. Jack does attempt to help Furiosa escape and find her way home. Unfortunately, that escape is interrupted when Dementus gains control of the Bullet Farm and declares a Wasteland War against Immortan Joe, leading to the final act.
Furiosa Takes Her Sweet Revenge Against Dementus
After Dementus takes over the Bullet Farm, Furiosa and Jack are forced to flee from Dementus’ raiders. Furiosa’s arm, where she tattooed a map back to her homeland, is grievously wounded, while Jack is slowly tortured to death by Dementus’ marauders. Furiosa cuts off her arm to escape, barely returning to the Citadel. Furiosa warns Immortan Joe and his generals that Dementus is attempting to draw him out to gain control of the Citadel. Now, Furiosa is out for revenge and looks to bring an end to Dementus for all the treachery he has brought upon her.
Some weeks later, Furiosa acquires the gas-powered, bionic arm she used in the previous film and goes on the hunt for Dementus, who managed to escape a battle with some members of his crew. Furiosa steals the vehicle belonging to one of Joe’s sons, stalking Dementus across the Wasteland. She systematically takes out the main members of his biker crew, tracking Dementus through a brutal sandstorm. Sometime later, Dementus awakens from his sleep, realizing that his weapons are gone, and his bike is sabotaged. Nowhere left to turn, Dementus surrenders to Furiosa, who shackles him and asks Dementus if he remembers killing her mother. Furiosa unleashes her anger on Dementus, demanding that he return her childhood and mother to her. Dementus eventually recognizes Furiosa as the young girl whose mother he had killed. He attempts to persuade Furiosa into believing that they are the same, the “already dead,” and they can only feel alive from the sensation of committing horrendous acts.
The fate of Dementus is left somewhat ambiguous, as the film depicts multiple alternative versions of his fate. However, the History Man (George Shevtsov), who serves as the narrator for the story, reveals what was told to him firsthand by Furiosa as the “true” fate of Dementus. Furiosa shoots out Dementus’ vocal cords and uses his still living body as “human soil” to plant a peach tree, given to Furiosa by her mother, in the gardens of Immortan Joe’s Citadel. For an unknown amount of time, Dementus survives in the soil of the new peach tree, and Furiosa picks the first ripened peach fruit over Dementus’ living, emaciated body.
‘Furiosa’ Ends as ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Begins
An epilogue for the film depicts Furiosa secretly helping Immortan Joe’s wives escape their captivity in the Citadel and hiding them in the new War Rig. Furiosa brings them the ripened peach fruit she picked from the tree planted over Dementus’ body, symbolizing hope for the future. After becoming Imperator Furiosa, she’s now ready to leave the Citadel with the wives and find her way home. The film ends mere minutes before Mad Max: Fury Road begins. Of course, Fury Road reveals the tragic fate of Furiosa’s homeland and the remaining survivors who once lived there. The closing credit sequence is interspersed with footage of Fury Road, connecting the two films.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga acts as a strong companion piece to Fury Road, expanding and fleshing out the world of the Mad Max franchise. Moviegoers who enjoyed the previous film will enjoy a more expansive look at places that were only briefly glimpsed beforehand. Anya Taylor-Joy proves to be a formidable replacement for Furiosa, taking over the role from Charlize Theron. The prequel acts as a powerful Odyssey, depicting how Furiosa became the grim, hardened warrior who captivated audiences in Fury Road.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now playing in theaters.
This article was originally published on collider.com