Eternals Ending Explained: How Does Sersi Stop the Emergence?

Eternals sure pulled a fast one when they revealed that the real threat wasn’t the now-evolved Deviants, but rather a Celestial itself.

After Ajak’s death, Sersi is chosen as the Prime Eternal and has an audience with Arishem, their Celestial boss. Here she finds out that the Eternals’ true purpose was to facilitate the birth of a new Celestial.

This birth first requires a Celestial’s seed dropped into a planet full of potential intelligent life. The Deviants are then sent to the planet to wipe off any threats to this intelligent life, after which the Celestials are sent to end the Deviants and ensure the planet grows fruitfully.

Once the planet is teeming with an appropriate amount of intelligent life, the new Celestial will break through its core in an event called the “Emergence.” For us humans, the more appropriate term would be the apocalypse, given that Earth and any life on it would be destroyed in the process.

How do the Eternals stop the Emergence?

Color me devastated when I realized that not only did Ikaris know about and support the Emergence, but his actions had caused the deaths of Ajak and Gilgamesh. Sprite chooses to join Ikaris’ side while Kingo washes his hand and leaves the fight.

Phastos devices a mechanism called the Uni Mind, theorizing that the Eternals could be linked to each other and then to the Celestial Tiamut. Once linked, Druig could mind-control Tiamut into going back to sleep, and stop the Emergence.

During the fight, however, Druig is disposed of, and it is up to Sersi to come up with an impromptu plan. Earlier in the film, we see her manipulate an organic being (the Deviant) for the first time, turning it into a tree. As the Celestial Tiamut emerges from Earth’s core, Sersi attempts to do the same.

Sersi realizes that during the Emergence, the new Celestial aims to protect its Eternals with another Uni Mind kind of connection. This is why she is once again able to connect all the Eternals together, harness new powers, and use the connection to turn Tiamut into marble.

Having defeated the other Eternals, Ikaris arrives within moments to stop Sersi. Although it’s not too late, his earnest love for Sersi stops him from hurting her, and he unwittingly allows her to stop the Emergence.

What Happens to the Eternals After the Emergence?

Poor Ikaris is taken over by guilt and decides to punish himself by flying straight into the sun… he took that lore quite literally. The film portrays his death as both ambiguous and final.

With a little bit of Celestial Tiamut’s powers still inside her, Sersi grants Sprite her wish and turns her human.

It is a mildly happy ending for about two minutes, after which Arishem pulls up Sersi and the other Eternals from Earth and condemns their actions. The movie ends with the cliffhanger that Arishem will now scan through the Eternals’ memories to “judge” whether Earth is really worth saving. 

When will the Eternals Return?

The Eternals will return for sure, but in what form is not set in stone. The most likely option is for a team-up in Avengers 5, perhaps when Arishem returns with his final judgment for Earth.

Other possibilities include an Eternals sequel itself or “spin-offs” chronicling Thena, Makkari, Druig, and Eros’ journey aboard Dono to find other Eternals like themselves, and another about where Arishem takes Sersi, Kingo and Phastos.

But the character we’re most likely to see sooner than the others is Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman/Black Knight. Mahershala Ali’s voice as Blade in the end-credits scene confirms that Black Knight might be involved in the 2022/23 movie.

About Eternals

Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics of the same name. It is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo.

In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants.

It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie.