What is the meaning behind the film’s ending twist?

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What actually happens in the ending twist

1. R.M.F.’s Survival and Mundanity After being killed, resurrected, even run over in different stories, the character R.M.F. reappears in the mid-credits scene alive, eating a sandwich outside a snack bar and accidentally spilling ketchup onto his shirt.

2. Robert’s Violent Climactic Act In the first segment, Robert murders R.M.F.—the driver—at Raymond’s command, hoping to win back Raymond’s favor.

3. Second Story’s Ambiguous Return In the second story, after extreme self-harm and manipulation by Daniel (her husband), Liz dies—or appears to die—and then another “Liz” arrives and embraces Daniel. It’s unclear whether this is a literal resurrection, a hallucination, or a metaphor for something else.

4. The Prophecy and Tragedy in Emily’s Story In the third part, Emily kidnaps a supposed miracle-worker named Ruth, but while rushing to present her to her cult, she crashes the car; Ruth dies. Then, over the credits, R.M.F. shows up, alive.

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What the twist means

These twist endings are tied together by Lanthimos’ exploration of control, desire, identity, and the distorted forms kindness takes. Some likely meanings:

• Kindness as Control: Each character seeks approval, love, or authenticity from someone specific (their boss, spouse, cult leaders). Their “kindness”—or the kindness they offer or accept—is never neutral; it’s transactional, coercive, tied to power dynamics.

• Distorted Self and Sacrifice: Robert kills to prove loyalty, Liz mutilates herself to show love, Emily is expelled and obsessed with a supposed miracle. Their sacrifices reveal how far kindness—or love—can push someone toward losing themselves.

• Inevitability of Chaos and Detachment: The mid-credits scene of R.M.F.—who undergoes seeming death, violence, resurrection, only to return to something as ordinary as eating a sandwich—underscores how life, even after horror, reconnects with the mundane. It suggests chaos is always present, even for those we think are peripheral or symbolic.

• Ambiguity and Interpretation: Lanthimos has said R.M.F.’s initials “don’t really stand for anything,” and that he wanted the connections to feel open so viewers could make their own meanings. He avoided giving a single “correct” interpretation.

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Why the twist matters for the whole film

• It completes the thematic arc: the numbered stories all revolve around flawed version of kindness, showing what it costs and how it can break people.

• R.M.F. across all stories is a through‐line of suffering and survival: though harmed in every story, he returns, untouched by the emotional wreckage the protagonists endure. That juxtaposition highlights how kindness/persecution aren’t distributed evenly, how trauma and damage can accumulate on certain characters.

• The ending refuses catharsis. Rather than tidy resolution, the film opts for absurdity and grind — the messy spill of ketchup, a banal moment following grand symbolic gestures — implying real life lacks narrative neatness.

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If you want, I can walk through each story’s ending and what choices (and symbols) you might want to focus on for a deeper personal interpretation.