Chaos Walking Ending Explained

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Chaos Walking.

The ending of Chaos Walking  wrapped up some plotlines, but left a few open-ended with many questions still unanswered. Directed by Doug Liman from a screenplay by Patrick Ness and Christopher Ford, Chaos Walking was in development for a long time. Originally announced in 2011, the film adaptation, which is based on the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Ness, was revised and didn’t begin filming until 2017. Reshoots and the filming schedules of stars Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley delayed the movie even further. Now that it’s finally been released in theaters, the film’s finale can be further explored. 

Set in the year 2257, humans have abandoned Earth, with a first wave of space settlers landing on a new planet that afflicts the men with “the Noise,” a strange phenomenon that allows everyone to hear their every thought. Todd Hewitt (Holland) is the youngest man living in a settlement called Prentisstown, run by the nefarious Mayor Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen), where the women have all been killed. When a mysterious woman, Viola (Ridley), crashes onto the planet, Todd, who is fascinated since he’s never met a woman, helps her escape the mayor and aids her in a bid to send communication out to her ship. 

Todd and Viola spend most of their time together on the run from the mayor and the townspeople under his control. Prentiss is hellbent on killing Viola, convinced that all women must die and that it’s in the nature of men to deliver the final blow. The film’s ending leaves one hopeful that things will be better for Viola and Todd moving forward and it leaves the door open for a potential sequel. Here’s the ending of Chaos Walking explained.

Why Viola’s Thoughts Are Suddenly Being Heard

Throughout Chaos Walking, it’s established that only the men’s thoughts can be heard aloud. Viola’s inner voice remained private, which frustrated and fascinated Todd. However, the audience does become privy to Viola’s Noise in the final scene of the film. When speaking with Todd, Viola says that she’s staying. Then, her thoughts take the form of Noise as she voices the promise she made to her people to find a better life on the planet despite it not being what she’d originally imagined. Out loud, she simply tells Todd that the new world is growing on her. 

Considering that women aren’t affected by the Noise, one can assume that the sudden shift to showcase Viola’s thoughts is for the viewer’s benefit. To be sure, there’s an imbalance in Chaos Walking due to the nature of the Noise. While Todd’s thoughts are out there for all to hear, Viola’s mind is more of a closed book. In the final scene, however, audiences can see that what she says out loud is the opposite of what she actually feels. She looks a bit sad that she has to stay in this new world, likely due to nearly being killed for being a woman. Viola doesn’t seem convinced that she will “find a better life” despite her promising to do so. 

While she never gives voice to these words, Viola seems unsure of what the future brings. Perhaps it’s why director Doug Liman decided to showcase her thoughts despite the rules of the story. The audience needed to know Viola’s thought process, too, even for a brief moment. It’s possible that she doesn’t want to alarm Todd any further, so she says something simple and straightforward rather than what’s actually inside her mind. Though the abrupt inclusion of Viola’s thoughts is an odd and confusing choice, there’s no reason to assume the Noise has suddenly changed to include women. The moment could be hinting toward something changing in the future, but it’s more than likely a narrative tool to convey what Viola is actually feeling versus what she says, while also providing information about her immediate next steps.   

What The New Settlers Could Mean For The Future

The end of Chaos Walking confirms that Viola’s ship, which is carrying 4,000 people, has officially landed in the new world. Through the window of the ship, it can be seen that the Second Wave of settlers is already unloading their resources and gear, ready to establish a new home for themselves. Their arrival could go one of two ways: the Second Wave of settlers could potentially clash with the humans already living on the planet, or they could work together with the citizens of Haven and Farbranch to make a better world for everyone. That said, it’s unclear how the new settlers will interact with the native peoples of the planet, called Spackle by humans, but they’re more likely to work with them than Prentiss, who falsely accused them of killing the women in his town. It’s possible that Viola’s people have a lot more resources and knowledge about what’s been going on and will use it to create better living circumstances for everyone. All told, the Second Wave of settlers suggests a much brighter future for the people of the new world than was previously established.

Why All The Women Attacked Mayor Prentiss

If it wasn’t already obvious, Mayor Prentiss is a murderer responsible for the deaths of the women in Prentisstown. Most capable of controlling the Noise that has afflicted all the men on the planet, the mayor encouraged the men in Prentisstown to kill the women. Per Karyssa, Todd’s mom, Prentiss “taught those men to killbecause you couldn’t stand the thought of all those women seeing you for what you really are.” Karyssa’s arrival is an interesting turn for Chaos Walking because it shows the audience the extent of violence Prentiss enacted and then covered up. Karyssa and a group of women verbally attack Prentiss, calling him a coward over and over again. 

They’re nothing more than memories now, however, apparitions appearing from within the mayor’s own mind. While it makes sense they would charge him because he was behind their deaths, their physical appearance acts more like Prentiss’ own conscience finally rearing its head, digging into the guilty and cowardly thoughts he could no longer control. He hid himself from the world, murdering the women for fear of being labeled a coward (at least according to his own mind). Their continued existence threatened his reign and he couldn’t have that. The dead women screaming at him are essentially a manifestation of Prentiss’ Noise, probably a breakdown of his mind as he struggles to physically fight Todd and keep the escaped thoughts at bay. It’s the one moment in the film that reveals the Noise he’s long since kept hidden from others, a momentary loss of the control he so proudly extolled. 

The Real Meaning Of Chaos Walking’s Ending

Chaos Walking presents themes about toxic masculinity, the measure of a man through his use of violence, power and hierarchical control, and gender politics. Aaron, the preacher of Prentisstown, sneers at Todd for his thoughts and his inability to control them, calling him “weak like a woman.” This alone establishes the townspeople believing men are inherently superior to women and that women are not as strong as men. While obviously untrue, this line of thinking drives the actions of Aaron, Prentiss, and the rest of the men in town, who are quick to reach for their guns and other weapons in the hunt for Viola. 

There’s an underlying idea that men must rise to the occasion of violence and lean into what they believe to be in their nature. This is how they assert themselves constantly throughout the film, willingly accepting something they could, in fact, control if they wanted. Viola’s arrival and the discovery of other towns that include both men and women living amongst each other proves how warped the thinking of Prentisstown’s men actually is. The fact that Farbranch is governed by a woman dispels the very ideas they work to uphold without thought. Plus, without Viola, Todd would have never bothered to learn the truth and her presence helps him discover that the things he was taught growing up are wrong. Prentiss wields his abilities with the Noise and encourages the use of violence so long as he’s leading the charge, keeping him in power. Chaos Walking’s use of toxic masculinity and ideas regarding violence being innate are seen as the root of the town’s problems and critiques them as such, offering commentary on the ways in which it can harm and destroy. 

About The Author

Mae Abdulbaki
(1080 Articles Published)

Mae Abdulbaki is a movie reviews editor with Screen Rant. She previously wrote about a variety of movies and TV shows for Inverse, CinemaBlend, Pajiba, and The Young Folks, where she wrote reviews, features, news pieces. Her other work can be found at The Mary Sue, Film School Rejects, UPROXX, Heroic Hollywood, Looper, The List, and Bam Smack Pow, among others. Mae has also appeared on television segments, podcasts, and panels to discuss all things entertainment.

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