The Ending Of Inception Explained
video description
Nolan has created a movie which creates a great deal of ambiguity - whether by mistake, through story driven fast edits, or intentional dream state fast edits to allow the viewer to decide for themselves whether he has made it back to reality or not. By the end of the move we can see that Cobb is no longer interested in his totem, he is convinced that all the decisions and actions he has made have lead him back to reality. But we, as the viewers, now have the decision based on our interpretation of preceding events as to whether he has made it back. The first time I watched this movie I left the theatre feeling as though I was playing catch-up with the storys complexity, but having seen multiple viewings my personal take is that he is still in a dream state. The mombassa maze, the spinning top totem which both Ariadne and Saito know about and could recreate, the fact that Cobb wants to believe in the last reality also renders the spinning top completely worthless, hence, he ignores whether it continues to spin, or falls over.
Along with these points we have a number of scenes that occur, both in reality and the dream states, that further push the ambiguity: - Early in the film, Dom Cobb's phone conversation with his son and daughter include ambiguous dialogue, where his son asks is mommy with you, to which Cobb responds mommy's not here any more. His son responds by asking Where. This in itself is a strange question. A normal response would be Where is she. Asking just Where? tends to infer that the question is aimed at where in existence is she.
Nolan himself points out that one of the most important pieces of dialogue in the movie is when Mal suggests to Dom - admit it, you don't believe in one reality anymore. We have already seen proof of this multiple times - any moment where he sees his children, or hears breaking glass, or sees Mal, he momentarily loses his grip on reality. The most notable scene is in the third level dream where he has her in his sights but won't shoot, even Ariadne cannot convince him by this stage. He only takes action after he sees her shoot Fischer in an attempt ruin the plan and then drag Cobb into limbo to be with her.
Cobb also has a tendency to create dream memories, something he warns others NOT to do due to the fact that it is the quickest way to lose your grip on reality. He thinks he has it under control and wants to be able to fix these regrets, but can he really do that in the real world? Or would it take a dream state to allow him to regret nothing. As the wise-old-geezer in Mombassa states - they come to be woken up, who are you to say otherwise. Any dream state can be created to allow a person to experience catharsis or happiness.
Another point that has already been mentioned: - Cobb's son - As stated previously, the movie jumps around as much as your typical dream state might. Why does the film open with the limbo scene, where we first see Cobb's son building a sand castle on a cliff, to then switch to Cobb inside Saito's house on the cliff, then to be shown all the events that lead us back to the same moment in limbo at the end, in the same house on the cliff. We see Saito reach for the gun, but we are not shown whether this gun is capable of bringing them back to reality, or leaving them in a further limbo state, one where Cobb has re-created a dream life with his family. A clue to this is the residual memory that his son says in the very last scene whilst we, the viewers, are concentrating on his spinning top. The son says look what I've been building, it's a house on a cliff!
Date: 2020-07-14
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 9
Showry
Personally i dont think cobb is in reality at the end of the movie, but it can be the other way round as well.
First to think he is in dream we have the totem spinning, and cobb see's the kids same as he see them in the dream or the way he saw them the last time he saw them, if the ending was a reality kids would have grown up may be and would have been in a different dress, wearing the same dress would just be a unbelievable coincidence, also siato waking up and calling someone which means all the charges against cobb are waived off and that too in a fraction of second? Caine can be cobb's projection, in the entire movie caine is not seen in cobb's dream and that doesnt mean he cannot be in cobb's dream!
Now secondly for us to think that the ending is a reality, we can think saito picked up the gun to shoot himself and that he woke up in aeroplane but it could also be like he took up the gun and shot cobb waking cobb in another dream (this could be a possibility because for both of them to wake up from limbo at same time both should die at the same time in dream, we see mal and cobb do that on railway tracks to wake up) and cobb dreams saito also came back to fulfill his agreement with him. however we see the all wake up in the same dress they wore before they went in to the dream, if it was a dream cobb would have woke up in a different dress which happend throughout the movie!
Also If we think that the inception was successful he must be in reality but we r not shown in the movie whether Fisher had ruined his fathers company or not.
And as per some the wedding ring totem theory can also mean he was in reality, but no where in the movie we see cobb mentioning an other totem apart from the spinning top which could again suggest that he was in dream.
What do u think guys?
reply
Personally i dont think cobb is in reality at the end of the movie, but it can be the other way round as well.
First to think he is in dream we have the totem spinning, and cobb see's the kids same as he see them in the dream or the way he saw them the last time he saw them, if the ending was a reality kids would have grown up may be and would have been in a different dress, wearing the same dress would just be a unbelievable coincidence, also siato waking up and calling someone which means all the charges against cobb are waived off and that too in a fraction of second? Caine can be cobb's projection, in the entire movie caine is not seen in cobb's dream and that doesnt mean he cannot be in cobb's dream!
Now secondly for us to think that the ending is a reality, we can think saito picked up the gun to shoot himself and that he woke up in aeroplane but it could also be like he took up the gun and shot cobb waking cobb in another dream (this could be a possibility because for both of them to wake up from limbo at same time both should die at the same time in dream, we see mal and cobb do that on railway tracks to wake up) and cobb dreams saito also came back to fulfill his agreement with him. however we see the all wake up in the same dress they wore before they went in to the dream, if it was a dream cobb would have woke up in a different dress which happend throughout the movie!
Also If we think that the inception was successful he must be in reality but we r not shown in the movie whether Fisher had ruined his fathers company or not.
And as per some the wedding ring totem theory can also mean he was in reality, but no where in the movie we see cobb mentioning an other totem apart from the spinning top which could again suggest that he was in dream.
What do u think guys?
reply
James
My theory is that Cobb was in his own Limbo throughout the entire movie. He stated that him and his wife were doing research into dreams inside of dreams. Him and his wife entered into a dream that lasted the entirety of their remaining lives so it must have been heavily induced. According to the logic of the movie that was explained, you cannot be kicked out of such dreams by dying in the dream. This would only place them in a Limbo. He had to plant the thought in the mind of his wife that if they died in the dream, which was certainly going to eventually happen, they would be reunited in the real world. He did this in the hopes that this would give her peace. Leading her to falsely believe that they would escape Limbo but this was a good hearted lie. There was no escaping Limbo for either of them because through their research they had made the mistake of trapping themselves in a dream deep within many dreams. When they both died on the train tracks, they both were then unfortunately forever doomed to Limbo.
reply
My theory is that Cobb was in his own Limbo throughout the entire movie. He stated that him and his wife were doing research into dreams inside of dreams. Him and his wife entered into a dream that lasted the entirety of their remaining lives so it must have been heavily induced. According to the logic of the movie that was explained, you cannot be kicked out of such dreams by dying in the dream. This would only place them in a Limbo. He had to plant the thought in the mind of his wife that if they died in the dream, which was certainly going to eventually happen, they would be reunited in the real world. He did this in the hopes that this would give her peace. Leading her to falsely believe that they would escape Limbo but this was a good hearted lie. There was no escaping Limbo for either of them because through their research they had made the mistake of trapping themselves in a dream deep within many dreams. When they both died on the train tracks, they both were then unfortunately forever doomed to Limbo.
reply
Sam
Actually, the top was NOT Cobb's. It's his WIFE'S totem, the one she locked away. His totem is never explicitly revealed, but I personally believe his totem is his children. His singular goal in the movie is to see his children again, because he doesn't while he's dreaming. We see his children running away from him repeatedly while he is dreaming. When Cobb sees their faces in limbo at the climax of the film, he flinches because he recognizes that they aren't real.
Also, in an earlier scene showing the backstory, it shows him trying to convince his wife that his children are real, but she doesn't believe him. In the final scene, when he sees their faces (note this also the only time the audience sees their faces, he recognizes them as the real thing, and thus watching to see if the top fall down becomes irrelevant.
reply
Actually, the top was NOT Cobb's. It's his WIFE'S totem, the one she locked away. His totem is never explicitly revealed, but I personally believe his totem is his children. His singular goal in the movie is to see his children again, because he doesn't while he's dreaming. We see his children running away from him repeatedly while he is dreaming. When Cobb sees their faces in limbo at the climax of the film, he flinches because he recognizes that they aren't real.
Also, in an earlier scene showing the backstory, it shows him trying to convince his wife that his children are real, but she doesn't believe him. In the final scene, when he sees their faces (note this also the only time the audience sees their faces, he recognizes them as the real thing, and thus watching to see if the top fall down becomes irrelevant.
reply
zen
You have all been incepted by Nolan. Everything up until he wakes up in the plane is a dream. Which is why on the plane he wakes up as you do from a tremendously deep dream. No one acknowledges him as he exists the airport because they are strangers that subconsciously made it into his dream. When you start a dream, you randomly wake up in a random place. Cobb woke up randomly in so called limbo.
Nolan put the idea in your head to question whether the ending is reality or a dream. When all long it was a dream that he woke up from. He incepted the audience.
Cobbs wife in real life killed herself because she went crazy. He wasn't around to stop her because hes a workaholic. Due to work and travel he regrets not seeing his kids enough. All of those things seeped into his dreams.
reply
You have all been incepted by Nolan. Everything up until he wakes up in the plane is a dream. Which is why on the plane he wakes up as you do from a tremendously deep dream. No one acknowledges him as he exists the airport because they are strangers that subconsciously made it into his dream. When you start a dream, you randomly wake up in a random place. Cobb woke up randomly in so called limbo.
Nolan put the idea in your head to question whether the ending is reality or a dream. When all long it was a dream that he woke up from. He incepted the audience.
Cobbs wife in real life killed herself because she went crazy. He wasn't around to stop her because hes a workaholic. Due to work and travel he regrets not seeing his kids enough. All of those things seeped into his dreams.
reply
Ty
I've thought of this from multiple perspectives.
1. With subtitles on it clearly states [TOTEM RATTLING] indicating it was going to stop spinning.
2. Though the little boy appears to have the same clothing on the little girl does not. At the end she has a white shirt under her dress. That wasn't there before. She also appears to be a tad bit older when she looks at him.
3. He can recall how he got there.
4. No one speaks to each other at the airport. Seemed weird and dreamlike.
5. Who was home with the children while grandpa was at the airport?
6. The kids are playing in the exact same spot with their backs turned the exact same way as before.
My conclusion is that the writer wanted no definite answer but wanted the answer to remain in LIMBO.
reply
I've thought of this from multiple perspectives.
1. With subtitles on it clearly states [TOTEM RATTLING] indicating it was going to stop spinning.
2. Though the little boy appears to have the same clothing on the little girl does not. At the end she has a white shirt under her dress. That wasn't there before. She also appears to be a tad bit older when she looks at him.
3. He can recall how he got there.
4. No one speaks to each other at the airport. Seemed weird and dreamlike.
5. Who was home with the children while grandpa was at the airport?
6. The kids are playing in the exact same spot with their backs turned the exact same way as before.
My conclusion is that the writer wanted no definite answer but wanted the answer to remain in LIMBO.
reply
Dark
I think he ( Cobb ) is in his own limbo, because he never wakes up from being underwater in the van and I remember one character asking another; Do you think he'll be alright? Then she responds; Yeah. I think he'll be alright. (something like that. After that' Cobb wakes up on a plane and seems forgetful? Like he recognizes all of the other characters he met, but can't quite put a finger on it? And from the plane to the airport. You can tell that the people he teamed-up with knew exactly who he was, as if they were saying goodbye to him without actually saying it. They knew what he wanted and gave it to him eventhough it wasn't real. That's why I think he was in his own Inception, but free of the guilt of his wife.
reply
I think he ( Cobb ) is in his own limbo, because he never wakes up from being underwater in the van and I remember one character asking another; Do you think he'll be alright? Then she responds; Yeah. I think he'll be alright. (something like that. After that' Cobb wakes up on a plane and seems forgetful? Like he recognizes all of the other characters he met, but can't quite put a finger on it? And from the plane to the airport. You can tell that the people he teamed-up with knew exactly who he was, as if they were saying goodbye to him without actually saying it. They knew what he wanted and gave it to him eventhough it wasn't real. That's why I think he was in his own Inception, but free of the guilt of his wife.
reply
Ergasiaki
For if the ending is a dream or reality, Jimmy David already explained it, as the person is just suddenly there in where they appear in the dream, they don't remember how or when they got there, they just suddenly popped in. But, with the Cobb remembering the events and actually boarding the plane and waking up in it and all, this means that he is not in a dream, and is in reality.
But, that aside, let's talk about what the ending symbolizes instead. I think the ending means, to be more specific, that the character is moving on from his tense and traumatic nightmare of a life [see what I did there? ]. How he is moving on from his wife's death and the dreams in order to live his life a new man. A free man.
reply
For if the ending is a dream or reality, Jimmy David already explained it, as the person is just suddenly there in where they appear in the dream, they don't remember how or when they got there, they just suddenly popped in. But, with the Cobb remembering the events and actually boarding the plane and waking up in it and all, this means that he is not in a dream, and is in reality.
But, that aside, let's talk about what the ending symbolizes instead. I think the ending means, to be more specific, that the character is moving on from his tense and traumatic nightmare of a life [see what I did there? ]. How he is moving on from his wife's death and the dreams in order to live his life a new man. A free man.
reply
TRNQUL
Okay so what about the scene where Cobb spins the top inside the safe? And since it was a dream it won't stop spinning right? So till this day the top must be spinning there. And hence Cobb shouldn't be having the top at all. So I think his totem is not the top even though he thinks it is. Moreover, it is said the if someone else touches the totem, it defeats the purpose of the totem. So when Cobb touches the top, it probably defeated the purpose of being a totem and is just an ordinary top to Cobb.
Bottom line, it was all probably a dream because that's the only reason Cobb still has the top because it's a dream and in reality the top is still spinning in the safe.
reply
Okay so what about the scene where Cobb spins the top inside the safe? And since it was a dream it won't stop spinning right? So till this day the top must be spinning there. And hence Cobb shouldn't be having the top at all. So I think his totem is not the top even though he thinks it is. Moreover, it is said the if someone else touches the totem, it defeats the purpose of the totem. So when Cobb touches the top, it probably defeated the purpose of being a totem and is just an ordinary top to Cobb.
Bottom line, it was all probably a dream because that's the only reason Cobb still has the top because it's a dream and in reality the top is still spinning in the safe.
reply
Licia
I know I'm late but oh well, Cobb isn't dreaming when he finally meets with his children. Why? Because all throughout the movie he has spun the totem spinner top, in reality it falls and dreams it stays spinning. In the movie we seen Cobbs, Mal and Saito spin the totem top in a dream and when has it ever shook like it did in the end. It hasn't, because it was going to fall signaling that Cobb was indeed in his reality and not in a dream. Plus his kids shoes changed and Phillipa now has a white shirt on under her pink dress opposed to the same pink dress and black flats she was wearing in his dreams.
reply
I know I'm late but oh well, Cobb isn't dreaming when he finally meets with his children. Why? Because all throughout the movie he has spun the totem spinner top, in reality it falls and dreams it stays spinning. In the movie we seen Cobbs, Mal and Saito spin the totem top in a dream and when has it ever shook like it did in the end. It hasn't, because it was going to fall signaling that Cobb was indeed in his reality and not in a dream. Plus his kids shoes changed and Phillipa now has a white shirt on under her pink dress opposed to the same pink dress and black flats she was wearing in his dreams.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
