The Netflix original movie The Mother sees Jennifer Lopez step into a new role as a bona fide action star, but the film’s ending left a lot of questions to be answered.
The story follows Lopez, simply known as “Mother,” a former extraordinarily successful military operative with over 40 confirmed kills from two military conflicts. It also helps that Mother is great at hitting a target with a sniper rifle from over 1,300 kilometers away.
After her discharge, she went to work with illegal arms dealer Adrian Lovell and connected him to Hector Álvarez. Mother then decided she wanted out, trying to strike a deal after being eight months pregnant.
After attempting to make a deal with Special Agent Cruise, Adrian infiltrates the safe house, killing agents and stabbing Mother in the stomach. Mother saves herself by making a makeshift bomb that injures Adrian. The authorities rescued her and placed her child into witness protection.
Mother goes on the run, living in Alaska, until her former employers use her now 12-year-old daughter, Zoe, as a pawn to lure her out of hiding.
Is Adrian Zoe’s father?
Whether Adrian is Zoe’s father is never answered directly, but there is enough evidence to conclude he is, in fact, the father. This all despite stabbing Mother in the stomach with a large, sharp knife to kill her and the unborn child. For one, at the 57:31 mark, Adrian attempts to kidnap Zoe after her initial rescue and holds her head in his hands lovingly.
At the 38:17-mark, Mother arranges for Hector and Adrian to work together. She challenges him that he cannot dance as well as Hector in a flashback, where Adrian then grabs her ass. She tells Cruise she became pregnant, which hints at Adrian being the father.
How does the Mother save Joe?
Mother saves Zoe from Adrian in Alaska by shooting him in the head with her sniper rifle while trying to drive away from him. After being bitten by a wolf puppy, Mother takes Zoe to a clinic but gives the doctor her real name. The Mother knows that Adrian will be shown that information because it was put into a public database.
Mother leaves Zoe with her former commander, who lives nearby, but Zoe escapes and returns to Mother. Adrian’s associates then capture Mother.
However, after killing a dozen or so bad guys on snowmobiles, Mother gets her back. Adrian holds Mother at gunpoint, but Zoe shoots at both of them, trying to defend her biological parent.
The bullets, however, are packed with salt, which are used to scare away wolves.
Adrian is injured but grabs Zoe and throws her into a truck. From a couple of football fields away, with her arm injured, Mother takes a shot, killing Adrian and saving Zoe after the car stops.
Does the Mother regain custody of Zoe?
No, the Mother does not regain custody of Zoe. After rescuing her, Mother returns Zoe to her adoptive Mother. However, the Mother rents an apartment to watch Zoe play outside at school.
One day, Zoe stops skating and looks up at the apartment window, making a fake rifle-shooting sound with her mouth and hands. Mother touches her heart, revealing a bracelet with the word ‘mom.’
Final Shot of Mother Explained
With Adrian and his team of trained goons defeated, The Mother finally felt safe enough to return Zoe to her adoptive family. They were reunited at a church, and as The Mother left, she passed a statue of an angel carrying a cross.
The very next scene showed the Mother keeping a close eye on Zoe from a nearby apartment, and on her wrist, she was wearing a handmade bracelet that said “mom.”
Not only did the final shot imply that The Mother would always protect Zoe like a guardian angel, but it also revealed that she had finally accepted the emotional aspects of being a mother to Zoe.
What is the Real Meaning of Mother’s Ending?
Although the film passed The Mother off as an unstoppable hero of epic proportions, the ending proved there was more to being a mother than being a protector. After her tumble down the hill, The Mother saw the wolf standing on a rock, looking down at her.
It acted as her inspiration to carry on. It was also meant to teach her a lesson that softness could sometimes be just as powerful as strength. Zoe had taken pity on the stranded wolf pups earlier in the film, and it stood in stark contrast to The Mother’s necessary cruelty.
Action films need their heroes to be killing machines with no emotions. However, The Mother’s new-found connection with her daughter Zoe taught her more than she could ever teach her child.
Her life in the military had trained her to be an efficient weapon, but genuine compassion was the aspect of her life that she lacked. The ending of The Mother showed that her character arc was complete and that she had found a balance between her role as protector and as a loving figure for Zoe.
About The Mother
The Mother is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by Niki Caro with a screenplay by Misha Green, Andrea Berloff and Peter Craig, from a story by Green. The film stars Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci, and Gael García Bernal.
The film revolves around a mother who has to protect her daughter Zoe from her foes at all costs. The Mother was released on May 12, 2023, by Netflix to mixed reviews from critics.
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