Sadly, school shootings have become all too common in the United States in recent decades.
Every time they go to school, far too many youngsters live in fear of a gunman murdering
them and their classmates.
However, while the world watches for a week or so after each awful incident, the TV crews
eventually leave, leaving the students and their families to deal with the emotional
fallout.
Megan Park's latest film The Fallout, which premiered on HBO Max today, deals with the
aftermath.
Jenna Ortega plays Vada Cavell, a high school student who, although not being physically
hurt, deals with the mental trauma of a school shooting.
Despite the serious subject matter, there is a surprising amount of comedy in the picture.
The Fallout's ending, on the other hand, is an emotional gut-punch that will leave viewers
reeling.
If you just finished watching The Fallout on HBO Max and are having trouble processing
the ending, keep reading for a plot summary and explanation of The Fallout's ending.
There are some spoilers ahead.
SUMMARY OF THE FALLOUT PLOT:
Vada Cavell (Jenna Ortega) is a laid-back high schooler who enjoys her life.
She grabs a cup of coffee with her best friend Nick (Will Ropp) before school, counsels her
younger sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack) on how to deal with her first period, and mocks her
school's local Instagram influencer Mia (Maddie Ziegler) for contouring on picture day.
Then there's a tragic event that makes it difficult for Vada to maintain her composure:
a shooting at her school that kills an unknown number of her classmates.
When it happens, Vada is confined in the school bathroom, sharing a stall with Mia the influencer
and, later, a blood-soaked kid named Quinton (Niles Fitch).
They try not to cry too loudly as they listen the awful sounds of gunfire and screams, unsure
if this is their final moment.
Everyone in the bathroom makes it out alive, but Vada is shaken to say the least.
She experiences nightmares and is numb as a result of the shooting.
While her BFF Nick transforms into an activist overnight, Vada is unmotivated to march or
lobby her representatives.
Instead, she gravitates toward Mia, the influencer, and the two form an odd friendship after being
united by something so heinous.
Mia's parents are extremely affluent and frequently out of town, so the girls spend their days
at Mia's enormous, empty mansion, sipping wine and using pot.
Vada has no desire to return to school, but she eventually does so due to her mother's
push.
Even yet, she can't bring herself to go into the bathroom where she hid from the shooter
at school, so she holds it.
She makes it to the end of the day until she trips over a can on her way home and wets
herself.
The next day, she self-medicates with Ecstasy at school, resulting in ink all over her face
and a fall down the school steps.
Even while she attempts to maintain her cool-girl air, it's evident that she's falling apart
at the seams.
She assures her parents that she is alright, and she tells her therapist (Shailene Woodley)
that she is simply "a very low-key person."
But she withdraws from her family, shouts at her sister, and spends increasing amounts
of time with Mia, eventually sleeping with her.
Her mother is beside herself since she's been gone all night.
(Her customary alibi of spending the night at Nick's comes apart when Nick contacts her
mother to inquire about her whereabouts.)
Quinton rejects her kiss when she tries to kiss him.
Everyone in her life seems to have turned against her.
EXPLAINED ENDING
Amelia, Vada's sister, confronts her in the middle of the night and apologizes emotionally.
Amelia believes Vada is upset with her since she contacted her right before the shooting,
forcing her to leave the classroom and placing her in more danger.
Vada recognizes how much she has damaged her sister by withdrawing, and this is a watershed
moment for her.
Vada pays a visit to Mia after a cheesy, cathartic screaming-into-the-wilderness session with
her father.
Mia thinks she's upset with her since she's avoided her since they had sex.
Mia is passed out in her sauna, surrounded by empty wine bottles, when Vada arrives.
Mia admits she is terrified to leave her house, but she intends to resume dance classes since
she knows it will benefit her.
Vada then makes amends with her mother and has a breakthrough session with her therapist.
Vada waits for Mia outside of her dance class in the film's last scene, and the two have
an easy, playful text interaction.
Vada seemed to be content.
Then she receives a news push message on her phone: 12 students have been slain in a school
shooting in another state.
Vada looks at her phone, stunned, and then begins to hyperventilate.
As we listen to the sounds of Vada's panic episode, the screen turns white.
Phew.
It's a gut-punch of a conclusion that suggests that, while Vada is beginning to recover from
her trauma, she is still suffering and may never fully recover.
She'll almost certainly need to be treated for PTSD—this isn't something that heals
in a matter of months.
Vada, on the other hand, has her family and friends to support her, so she should be fine.
Someday.