Rebel Moon Part 2 Ending Explained

Warning: Major spoilers for Netflix’s Rebel Moon – Part Two below!

Summary

• Rebel Moon – Part Two wraps up the current story while setting up future battles to come.
• The finale delivers an extended, bloody battle sequence with losses on both sides, including Nemesis and Gunnar.
• The sequel also reveals Princess Issa is still alive, setting up a new mission for Kora.

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’s ending may wrap up the current story, but Zack Snyder’s space opera sets up more battles to come. Part Two opens shortly after Rebel Moon – Part One’s ending, where Kora/Arthelais (Sofia Boutella) returns with her band of warriors. Sadly, her declaration of victory is short-lived, as she and the village learn the Imperium is returning to Veldt to seize their food, led by the resurrected Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein). Thus, Kora and the others have five days to turn the villagers into soldiers to fight back.

The first half of Rebel Moon – Part Two is essentially a training/farming montage, but the finale delivers an extended battle sequence. This is a bloody fight too, with both the Imperium and the villagers losing and gaining ground as it progresses. Some of Kora’s warriors fall too, as she flies to the Dreadnought ship hovering above Veldt to disable it. Kora succeeds in destroying the battleship from within, saving the day. Rebel Moon – Part Two’s final scene sees the survivors honoring their dead, while Djimon Hounsou’s General Titus drops a game-changing reveal on Kora about her past.

Nemesis & Gunnar Are The Only Rebels To Die In Rebel Moon – Part Two’s Ending

The bodycount among Rebel Moon’s heroes is surprisingly low

There is a tradition among mission-based movies like Seven Samurai or The Dirty Dozen that most of the cast will perish in the finale. The Scargiver’s finale is a refreshing subversion of this format, because while things look bleak during the final battle, most of Rebel Moon’s cast of characters survives. Sadly, Doona Bae’s swordmaster Nemesis and Kora’s lover Gunnar (Michiel Huisman) are the two major characters who die in Rebel Moon – Part Two’s finale.

In Nemesis’ case, she was defending a group of villagers while being attacked by a wave of Imperium swordsmen. Despite putting up a robust defense, Nemesis is overpowered by a soldier who delivers a fatal blow during their fight. A young boy Nemesis befriended working on Veldt comforts her as she passes, with the warrior finding a degree of peace following her years of vengeance against the Imperium. This child also reminds Nemesis of her own children, who were slain during a strike in a village not unlike Veldt.

Gunnar is straight-up labeled “the heart” of Veldt by the villagers during Rebel Moon – Part Two, and he and Kora become lovers after some simmering tension. Despite his well-professed fear of death, Gunnar accompanies Kora on her mission to the Dreadnought and is fatally wounded during a gunfight with Noble. He survives just long enough to tell Kora he loves her and to see Devra Bloodaxe’s (Cleopatra Coleman) resistance fleet arrive in time to help the village. His body is later cremated alongside Nemesis.

Princess Issa Is Still Alive In Rebel Moon – Part Two

Kora is revealed to Issa’s would-be assassin

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire kept parts of Kora’s past a mystery, including exactly what happened to Princess Issa. Kora was charged with protecting the young Princess, who was considered a divine being able to bring life back to the dead. A tragic flashback in The Scargiver has Kora explaining what happened, with Rebel Moon’s main villain Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee) having lured the King (Cary Elwes), the Queen (Rhian Rees) and Issa into an ambush. The King and Queen are stabbed to death, while Balisarius forces Kora to shoot Issa to prove her loyalty.

Rebel Moon – Part Two underlines that the royal family’s assassination is the key trauma of Kora’s past, since she completely betrayed Issa to serve her evil foster father, Balisarius.

Before Kora pulls the trigger, Issa says “I forgive you,” while her bullet wound is bathed in whilte light before she dies. Rebel Moon – Part Two underlines that the royal family’s assassination is the key trauma of Kora’s past, since she completely betrayed Issa to serve her evil foster father, Balisariu.. However, Titus reveals in The Scargiver’s ending that Issa is alive, so Kora and the others must seek her out.

Given that Princess Issa is some kind of live-giving, elemental being in human form, her survival makes sense. Even though she still pulled the trigger, Issa being alive should lift some of the burden off Kora’s shoulders, with her next mission being to find the Princess and earn redemption for the King and Queen’s deaths.

Rebel Moon – Part One
and
Part Two
are streaming exclusively on Netflix, and are both rated PG-13.

How Kora Finally Kills Ed Skrein’s Admiral Noble

Rebel Moon’s chief villain got ahead of himself

Rebel Moon – Part Two proved that Kora’s defeat of Noble in the first entry only bought her some time. While she did succeed in killing the Admiral, his body was recovered by the Imperium and resurrected. He thus returns to Veldt seeking vengeance, while Noble even keeps the scar Kora gave him, honored to be marked by “The Scargiver.”

Noble may have survived Rebel Moon – Part One, but his beheading in Part Two suggests his demise is permanent this time.

Unfortunately for Noble, he failed to learn any lessons from his first battle with Kora, so his arrogance and belief in the Imperium’s superiority leads to the defeat of his forces and his second death. After a prolonged sword battle in the exploding Dreadnought, Kora traps the villain using a door before beheading him; his happens offscreen though, to keep the PG-13 intact. Noble may have survived Rebel Moon – Part One, but his beheading in Part Two suggests his demise is permanent this time. Plus, it would be tedious if Snyder kept resurrecting the villain.

The Rebels Reveal Their Tragic Backstories

Rebel Moon’s band of misfits bare their souls

An issue with the first Rebel Moon is that the recruitment section moves so fast, that the warriors Kora hires barely have time to get developed. The Scargiver gives the story more breathing room, showing the newcomers embracing life in the village as they prepare for battle. Around Rebel Moon: Part Two’s midway point, Titus insists they open up about their pasts to each other before they fight together.

Titus reveals that he led his men into rebellion against the Imperium, after questioning their attempts to squash a rebellion on the planet of Sarawu. Titus was later forced to surrender, but despite trying to save his men, they were all executed by the Imperium as punishment. Titus remains haunted by the event, which pushes him to fight for Veldt – even though it appears to be a lost cause.

Staz Nair’s Tarak is the next Rebel Moon hero to reveal his past. Tarak was a prince on his homeworld, whose father was slain by the Imperium for daring to demand terms with them. The Imperium soon invaded Tarak’s planet too, resulting in the death of his mother, while the prince himself was forced to flee to preserve the royal bloodline. Tarak feels overwhelming guilt over what happened, claiming he was robbed of a chance to defend his planet. In defending Veldt, he intends to make up for that.

Nemesis’ peaceful little fishing village was wiped out by Imperium forces years before, with her entire family being killed. She then cut off her arms and replaced them with her ancestor’s gauntlets, whose “bloodlust” causes her swords to burn red-hot. Rebel Moon – Part Two’s resident swordmaster has been living for revenge, but in Veldt, finds something worth fighting for again.

Why Kora Almost Surrenders To The Imperium

Rebel Moon – Part Two’s ending could have been way more peaceful

Kora now has a family and people worth dying for, so she accepts Noble’s deal and surrenders herself.

Rebel Moon takes its cues from films like The Magnificent Seven, where part of the fun is watching the heroes set up a defense for the inevitable showdown. Kora and the others are more than willing to die fighting off the invasion, though in the finale, Kora has a moment of weakness. The Imperium can’t fire on the village without destroying the food they came for, so Noble offers her a deal. If Kora surrenders herself and the food, Noble and his forces will leave with no bloodshed.

This tests Kora’s will, since she has come to accept Veldt as her home. Kora now has a family and people worth dying for, so she accepts Noble’s deal and surrenders herself. Gunnar knows the Admiral can’t be trusted, so he takes matters out of Kora’s hands. He shoots the village bell, leading to Rebel Moon – Part Two’s extended final action sequence. Of course, had Kora simply surrendered, Noble probably would have leveled the planet out of spite anyway.

Ray Fisher’s Rebel Moon – Part Two Cameo Explained

Darian Bloodaxe makes an all-too-brief appearance

Ray Fisher’s Darian Bloodaxe made a late entry and then an early exit in Rebel Moon – Part One. Bloodaxe was a resistance fighter who pledged to aid Veldt but was soon slain in battle during Part One’s finale. In the second chapter, Elise Duffy reprises the role of Millius, one of Bloodaxe’s rebels. During the story, Millius recalls how their farm world was taken over by the Imperium, with the planet forced into slave labor.

Ray Fisher previously played Cyborg/Victor Stone for director Zack Snyder in
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
and
Justice League.

This is where they first met Bloodaxe, whose forces liberated the work camp. Ray Fisher’s Bloodaxe gets a suitably badass closeup during this flashback as Millius remembers seeing him for the first time, though the freedom fighter doesn’t get any actual dialogue. This scene further explains why Millius was so devoted to Bloodaxe, while the struggle of Veldt reminds them of what happened to their own planet.

Jimmy Saves The Day During Rebel Moon – Part Two’s Final Battle

The Anthony Hopkins’ voiced mechanical knight makes an epic comeback

JC-1435 (AKA Jimmy) is a combat android created to save the royal family. When the King was slain, Jimmy was left with little purpose, but in Rebel Moon – Part One, he helped overpower the Imperium men left on Veldt when they turned violent. Having taken a life weighs heavily on the android, so Jimmy isolates himself throughout The Scargiver despite seeing the villagers prepare for battle. He even speaks with Kora about the upcoming fight, but seemingly wants no part in it.

During Rebel Moon – Part Two’s finale, the rebels are on the verge of losing as the Imperium sends in a tank. When all appears lost, Jimmy suddenly appears, and using his superior combat skills to kill dozens of soldiers before disabling the tank. In this moment, Jimmy regains his sense of self-worth and decides he can still be of service, despite what his original programming might claim.

Anthony Hopkins voices
Rebel Moon’s
Jimmy, while Dustin Ceithamer provides the motion capture.

How The Ending Sets Up Future Rebel Moon Movies

Zack Snyder is planning six Rebel Moon stories

Zack Snyder raised eyebrows when he proclaimed he had six movies in mind for Rebel Moon (via Radio Times), but The Scargiver’s ending reveals there is more story to tell. The final scene reveals Princess Issa is still alive, so Kora and the other survivors set out on a new mission to find her. Once news of the rebel victory on Veldt spreads, it will no doubt inspire uprisings on other planets too, in addition to the Imperium itself seeking revenge.

Balisarius is the overarching villain of Snyder’s
Rebel Moon
universe, so the saga won’t end until he is defeated.

More than that, Regent Balisarius is still around, so a showdown between Kora/Arthelais and her foster father is inevitable. The flashback to Balisarius slaying the royal family reveals he set Kora up to take the fall, which is why she fled in the first place. Despite this, when she had the chance to kill Balisarious, she could take the shot. Balisarius is the overarching villain of Snyder’s Rebel Moon universe, so the saga won’t end until he is defeated. The question remains whether Kora has the will to kill him next time, however.

The Real Meaning Of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’s Ending

Rebel Moon’s heroes are more than just weapons

Kora’s arc across Rebel Moon’s first two chapters involves accepting Veldt as her new home, and that she deserves to feel loved. Decades of fighting numbed her to the notion of love, but in becoming part of the village and falling for Gunnar, she embraced her humanity again. Kora learns to forgive herself for the past and “killing” Issa, and proves she is more than a killing machine for the Imperium by saving her new homeworld.

The same is true for all of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’s heroes, most of whom felt immense guilt or shame for their past actions. They all stay and fight, despite defeat feeling certain. The nice thing about the sequel’s ending is that the rebels don’t have to die to earn redemption either. Gunnar and Nemesis meet their end, but most of the rebels live to fight another day, their faith in the cause rewarded.

Source: Radio Times