It Ends With Us
This article includes discussions of domestic violence and rape.
They meet again months later after Lily unknowingly hires Ryles sister at her flower shop.
Ryle wears down Lily, and the pair start a relationship.
After a rape attempt, Lily goes to the hospital with the help of Atlas and learns shes pregnant.
This revelation leads toIt Ends With Usemotional and hopeful ending that shows the strength of abuse survivors.
When she physically leaves Ryle, its out of fear for her life.
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Her decision appears instinctual and driven by a flight response.
She later decides not to go back to him, mentally leaving Ryle because of her daughter.
Luckily, she chooses to announce the divorce in a public space, mitigating some of the risk.
Image via Sony Pictures
The two met when they were teenagers.
Because of their relationship, Atlas saw and heard the abuse happening at Lilys house.
He also was nearly killed by Lilys dad.
Image via Sony Pictures
Lily also has a heart tattoo that represents a hollow wooden heart Atlas carved for her.
To be clear,theres no acceptable reason to abuse someone.
Even if Lily were cheating with Atlas which she wasnt Ryles abuse would still be wrong.
Lily and Atlas past simply allows Ryle a way to justify his abhorrent behavior.
One of the most significant examples of this is the parallels between Ryle and Lilys dad, Andrew Bloom.
Ryle and Andrew Bloom are both powerful men with high-profile jobs that lead to praise.
Ryle literally holds the lives of people in his hands when he goes to work.
Meanwhile, Andrew Bloom had the ability to influence the lives of everyone in his town as the mayor.
Both characters have jobs that give them power and control, which primes them for domestic violence.
Like these twoIt Ends With Uscharacters, abusers dont typically abuse everyone around them.
Did Ryle’s Family Know About His Abusive Nature?
The source material makes it unclear whether Allysa knows that Ryle is capable of abuse.
This change makes Allysa less culpable in enabling her brothers actions.
Additionally, its symbolic that Ryle bites the tattoo thats based on the heart made from the oak tree.
Does It Ends With Us Fix The Book’s Controversies?
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The first trailer made it clear that the movie was trying to rectify the issues with the source material.
Luckily,the movie followed suit by correcting the other problematic elements.
Ryle isnt portrayed as the good guy abuser like he is in the book.
He also shows more red flags from the start.
At the end of the movie, Lily also doesnt let Emerson spend unsupervised time with Ryle.
Firstly, the movie shows the time between Lily giving birth and her meeting Atlas again.
This addition shows that its possible to live a fulfilling life after abuse.
The trauma may always be there, but it doesnt have to define Lily.
Lily is giving her daughter the life she would have wanted at the end ofIt Ends With Us.
Secondly, the ending of the movie adaptation has Lily raising Emerson seemingly alone rather than co-parenting alongside Ryle.
This change offershope that people can escape their abusers and give their children a better life than they had.
Her daughter wont be exposed to her father, who has a history of violence.
The team behind the movie recognized that.
Lively’s performance and the change to the ending combined madeIt Ends With Uswork for the movie audience.
However, a traumatic incident compounded with her former high-school sweetheart re-entering her life complicates her plans.
