The Watchers Ending Explained

What exactly are the creatures in The Watchers?

By Jamie Jirak

The Watchers is being released in theatres tonight, and the new film was directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, who also wrote the screenplay that was adapted from A.M. Shine's novel of the same name. The film stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, a woman "who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland." Mina eventually finds shelter, but she "unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night." At the time of this writing, the movie is up on Rotten Tomatoes with a 29% critics score, and many critics have complained that the movie has too many endings. If you're curious about how things unfold in the new film, we've got you covered. Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

What Are The Watchers?

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(Photo:

Georgina Campbell, Dakota Fanning, Oliver Finnegan, and Olwen Fouéré in The Watchers. 

- Warner Bros.)

After being trapped by the Watchers for a long time, Mina, Ciara (Georgina Campbell), Daniel (Oliver Finnegan), and Madeline (Olwen Fouéré) discover a secret bunker beneath the room they were being kept in. They learn the bunker once belonged to Professor Kilmartin (John Lynch) who was researching the Watchers. 

Kilmartin discovered that the creatures were fairies and changelings known from Irish folklore. They possess the ability to morph into people, and they once lived peacefully with humans until a war broke out and the creatures were banished to the forest. This led them to resent humans, which is why they began trapping those who wandered into their woods.   

Who Lives and Who Dies in The Watchers? 

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(Photo:

Dakota Fanning in The Watchers.

- Warner Bros.)

The trapped foursome finally discovers a way to escape the forest, but Daniel dies after being tricked by a changeling who takes on the form of Ciara's dead husband, John (Alistair Brammer). Mina, Ciara, and Madeline all survive and decide to destroy Kilmartin's work to prevent anyone else from looking into the Watchers.

Mina goes to Kilmartin's preserved office. There, she learns the truth that Madeline had been a Watcher the entire time, taking on the form of the Professor's dead wife. Kilmartin had initially trapped Madeline, which is how she ultimately found her human form. Eventually, Madeline killed him while they were still underground. 

Mina goes to tell Ciara the truth, but she is Madeline in disguise. The real Ciara shows up, and a fight with Madeline ensues. It's revealed that Madeline is a halfling, which means one of her parents was human. Madeline explains that she was unwanted by the Watchers, and Mina ultimately encourages her to find more of her kind. Madeline lets them live and ventures off to search for more halflings. 

While Madeline was a Watcher in disguise, it seems she had a complicated relationship with both the changelings and the humans, and the movie implies she genuinely did care about Mina, Ciara, and Daniel. 

As for Mina, the film ends with her reuniting with her twin sister as she starts to forgive herself for causing the car accident that killed their mother when they were kids. 

Related:

Will The Watchers Get a Sequel?

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Dakota Fanning in The Watchers.

- Warner Bros.)

A.M. Shine has another book coming out later this year called Stay in the Light, which will take place after the events of The Watchers. The sequel is expected to follow Mina as she "attempts to stop the Watchers' power from growing, even as people she knows start to disappear." It's currently unclear if the film will get a follow-up, but based on the movie's Rotten Tomatoes score, it would take a big success at the box office for Warner Bros. to greenlight another installment. 

The Watchers is now playing in theaters. 

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