Inception Ending Explained
Chris Nolan’s new movie Inception was said by some media to be too cerebral for general audiences. While I think that doesn’t give movie audiences enough credit an interesting point in the debate has been Google Trends this weekend revealing tons of Inception movie goers immediately going home and searching for an explanation for Inception’s ending. Join us for **SPOILERS** after the jump where we’ll discuss Inception’s ending.
By now if you’ve seen Inception you know that the ending is ambiguous and leaves the audience with as many questions as answers. Ultimately I think it’s up to the movie goer to decide for themselves if Cobb is still in a dream or if he’s made it back to reality, but here are some of the points in favor of each:
Points that favor Carter still being in a dream:
- Cobb’s children are wearing the same clothes in their reunion that they have been wearing in Cobb’s dreams throughout the movie.
- Cobb’s children also haven’t aged in comparison to his memories of them. This seems impossible as time has clearly passed since he was forced to leave the US.
- Cobb’s top is still spinning as the movie cuts to credits. (But is it about to topple?)
- CinemaBlend points out that Cobb is shown wearing a wedding ring at the beginning of the movie, and that throughout the movie he is shown wearing a ring during dream sequences but not during reality sequences. At the end of the movie he is not wearing his ring.
Point that favors Cobb being awake:
Of course if Cobb is still in a dream at the end this doesn’t necessarily mean the entire movie was a dream. It could just mean he didn’t make it back out of limbo after Ariadne left him. Another possibility, one with legs I think, is that Cobb is actually having an extremely elaborate inception performed on him (possibly for the purpose of helping him get over his guilt concerning his wife Mal), and that the Fischer storyline is simply a part of it.
Inception is an exceptionally complex movie that I believe is going to be debated for years, so this is an extremely preliminary look at the ending of the movie. This is a movie that needs to be gone over with a fine toothed comb, because knowing Christopher Nolan and his history I’m sure every scene is infused with meaning.
I’m guessing the internet will produce more than one thorough explanation for Inception and it’s tricky ending as time goes on, but for now what do you think the ending of Inceptions means?
Written by William on July 18th, 2010 | Tagged as: Popular Culture
On July 18th 2010, vegasnow wrote:
Couple other angles (like we needed more).
- Perhaps Inception was the teams work in Saito’s mind on the plane for him to make the phone call. So, Fischer was a part of the team. Saito was manipulated to give them the work.
- Cobb and Saito kill each other (since Saito died few minutes early – inside the dream – he spent much longer) – then in the second layer – they drown – and die – and eventually wake up in the plane.
On July 20th 2010, Alex wrote:
As far as the ring situation that he only has his ring on during dreams, has anyone considered that him not having his ring on in “dream land” could suggest that he has finally let go of his wife and ‘subconsciously’ not be wearing the ring?
On July 22nd 2010, Nathan wrote:
After meeting the chemist, Cobb tries a bit of the sedative, and he has an intense dream of his wife, and he wakes up rather vividly on his own, no kick, no dieing. The chemist says something along the lines of “Pretty potent stuff, right?”
Cobb’s then immediately goes to the washroom, washes his face to help wake him up. He pulls out the top and spins it to see if he is still dreaming or awake. Someone walks over, and Cobb conveniently knocks over the top onto the ground, and picks it up, and we never see it top fall from then on.
Cobb could still be dreaming inside the chemist’s chair. Not saying I side with this theory but its a possibility.
On July 26th 2010, anonymous wrote:
I think that if Cobb was in a dream at the end, that could meen one of two things. That the whole movie was a dream, or that we never know if the job was successful or not. I want to believe that he is in reality at the end. But who knows!!
I like all of your theories so keep writing. I would say more but is a bit hard for me to write in english.
On July 26th 2010, anonymous wrote:
I think hes still in the dream and that, now that he’s let Mal go, he can let go of the wedding ring which would explain why hes not wearing it at the end. Along with that, if u recall when Ariadne enters his memories at night, he shows her the memory of his children and how he didnt call out to them. He told her with deep regret that he could not change these memories as much as he tried therefore stating that he’s more or less hanging on to them. When he lets go of Mal, he now has free range to manipulate his memories and become and architect again. He does this by changing his limbo into his memory of the house and calling out to his children this time, having no distractions to keep him from doing so. Therefore, he is still in Limbo, but at least hes happy.
On July 26th 2010, Vance Jones wrote:
The meaning of ‘Inception’ is ‘How to Make More Money off of a Movie than Actually Deserves to be Made”. Leave the movie’s central issue unresolved so that many audience ‘suckers’ will go back to see it numerous times trying to figure out a undisputable resolution. These same ‘suckers’ and their followers will undoubtedly buy the dvd in pursuit of their ‘dream’ of a solution, thereby further enriching the owners of the film. Wake up everybody.
On July 26th 2010, anonymous wrote:
With regard to the comment a few above mine:
“I think hes still in the dream and that, now that he’s let Mal go, he can let go of the wedding ring which would explain why hes not wearing it at the end. ”
He is also wearing the ring at the beginning of the movie and when he meets the old Saito. This is after he had let go of his wife, but he is still most definitely dreaming.
I suspect the end is meant to be ‘real’ because of this, though it’s certainly designed to try and force at least a sliver of doubt upon you.
On July 27th 2010, Tommy wrote:
@Vance Jones
I’d prefer this as a way to gaining audiences than most movies employ (RE anything with Megan Fox). But I disagree, I think if you spend 10 years writing something, you’re not going to go “Well, lets just put this ending in. It’ll probably make me a bit more money.” I’m sure Nolan is doing fine in terms of cash and I don’t think he would comprimise his artistic integrity just to make a bit more money.
On July 29th 2010, zak wrote:
So I’m almost certain that the final scene with the children is in reality. If you remember earlier in the film it is said that in a dream you arrive somewhere you do not know how you got there. In the final scene Leo gets off the plane into a taxi walks down the drive and though the house… He KNOWS how he got there thus it cannot be a dream! Also why else would they show us this journey as apart from this nothing else really happens so it is purposeful.
On July 29th 2010, Prathish wrote:
In the ending of inception, it appears as if he is in a limbo as he did not get jump of the building in the fourth layer in time to get a jolt before the other three jolts ( remember they all happened at the same time) . but it was explained in the beginning of the movie that a limbo is when you are stuck in a dream where there is no one else u know . in the recap of the first limbo cobb had, mal was only there with him because she was connected to the machine along him. So in the end i doesn’t make sense if he was in a limbo because he meets people he knew (all the ppl in the plane, his father…… ). But it would not also make sense if he wasnt in a limbo because he would have drowned in the car as he did not get a jolt in time to get out the car before he drowned.
Confusing Isn’t it?!
On July 29th 2010, Donna M Freeman wrote:
MY SPIN>>>>
The ending: Cobb has no wedding ring on as dream sequence, child actors are older but dressed similiarly ( check end scroll of actors names are different..no longer 3 and 20 months are now 6 and 3yo) their shoes are different, to…p spins but cuts away as begins to topple or wobble at least, signifying reality. Having enormous quilt from the death of Mal, his wife, I think the whole thing is a dream from the chemist chair onto the wash room washing his face after the first or only dose of a drug. I think Michael Caine, his father, who always enlightens in every movie as a teacher it seems, covertly arranges for a life lesson to his con loving son. A businessman, who is a con artist and manipulator, wakes to real love..his children. He walks away from the totem not even caring if a dream or reality in the end ( isolated time…the rest of movie he is obsessed with the totem). Always deterred from seeing their faces from his escapades placing his con and business first, he finally ‘knows” true reality. The love for his children forces him to want to live and through the dream sequences relieves his quilt, chaotic emotions and confusion to live peacefully with them and himself finally.. without his wife.
On August 1st 2010, Timmy wrote:
TIMMY!!!
On August 2nd 2010, josepj wrote:
Im starting to think that the start of a movie where he is on the train and making his team was actually reality but at the end was a dream cuz maybe everyone else made it out except for him and all of it including him seeing the kids and spinning his totem was actually limbo because earlier in the film in reality he spun the totem and it stopped where as at the end it did not.
On August 2nd 2010, victor wrote:
are you sure it didnt stopped?!,bacause it was shaking,and there are to posibilites he either died in dream and lost conscience or he was back at reality
On August 2nd 2010, steve wrote:
“On July 26th 2010, anonymous wrote:
I think hes still in the dream and that, now that he’s let Mal go, he can let go of the wedding ring which would explain why hes not wearing it at the end. Along with that, if u recall when Ariadne enters his memories at night, he shows her the memory of his children and how he didnt call out to them. He told her with deep regret that he could not change these memories as much as he tried therefore stating that he’s more or less hanging on to them. When he lets go of Mal, he now has free range to manipulate his memories and become and architect again. He does this by changing his limbo into his memory of the house and calling out to his children this time, having no distractions to keep him from doing so. Therefore, he is still in Limbo, but at least hes happy.” +1
On August 3rd 2010, EKMC wrote:
I thought his father and girl had created another level for him and that living with his kids was a dream. Why was his dad at the airport? To me that was the oddest part.
On August 4th 2010, Luka wrote:
Has anyone considered tthe point that in a dream u dont know the beginning(how u got to the place u are) ?u just get there without knowing how.. well there was a beginning.. he got to the airport and his father was there and didnt anybody notice that the memory of his children changed … he saw their faces and the position in the house was changed and that his clothes changed( the memory of his children changed)
On August 4th 2010, Victoria wrote:
He is still dreaming. Where is grandma the one who was caring for the children. You don’t leave children outside that young alone. The second time he was on the plane it didn’t show how he got there plus he was wearing a different suit the second time. The longer your in a dream remember its starts to look more real if you don’t mess or create layers.
On August 6th 2010, Diana Freedman wrote:
For those of you still confused by the levels and kicks of the mission, I’ve created an infographic to explain the mission visually: http://ustandout.com/free-designs/inception-explained-infographic.
As for Cobb being in a dream vs. reality at the end, I think he was in reality. I think his true totem was his wedding band, which he was seen wearing in dreams but not in reality. And at the very end, he wasn’t wearing the ring, meaning he was in reality.
On August 6th 2010, Aldo Emilio wrote:
The movie has a name, “the inception”, and a clever, simple, effective and beautiful resource as the vehicle for the inception: the little gift into the safe and the meaning of it. The idea is so great (the “gift”), so neat, that I refuse to believe that the movie is not about the inception. The end coud be either way, does not matter.
On August 6th 2010, Reid wrote:
I’ve seen numerous postings on various sites stating that IMBD lists 2 actors each playing a role as Cobb’s children with different ages. While this is true, it doesn’t have anything to do with their age in the film. Remember: Cobb talks to his children on the phone, I guarantee these two voice actors are not the same actors playing the children we see in the film. This explains why there are 2 actors listed each as his children, nothing to do with their age in the film.
On August 8th 2010, tj mcgee wrote:
has anyone considered the fact that he had ample time to spin his totem before reaching the house i mean isnt that the first thing he would of done when he woke up in the airplane. maybe he already knew that he wasnt dreaming he was just so shocked he had to spin it almost in a “pinch me” type way
On August 10th 2010, Architect wrote:
The Inception was made to Cobb. The inception of the film is the moment when the seed was left in his mind. He then believes he is dreaming since the beginning which then make he finally believes that when he woke up in the plane he is in the reality. The Architect (Ariadne) is the key. She is a lot more skilled than Cobb, she knows how to manage gravity (so the totem) and made Cobb and all spectator believe that the inception mission to Fischer was the reality. Observe also that Ariadne learned a lot about Cobb’s psychology and Limbo, she is the only one allowed or that had succeeded to enter his Limbo so whenever she got that she would be able to architect the “reality” Cobb was looking for.
On August 12th 2010, Bolto1986 wrote:
I believe Cobb is in a dream the entire movie… and actually that the inception that carries the title of the film is not the one conducted on Fischer but on Cobb himself by Ariadne… the inception of the idea that the world is not real.
That would explain why the top stops in the beginning and not in the end, Cobbs mind is convinced that the world it percieves is real until Ariadne shows him his memories of Mal and makes him confront them. I believe this is supported by the idea that dreams are like labrynths since in greek mythology Ariadne was the one who gave Thesseus the thread that would allow him to exit the Minotaurs maze, in this sense Ariadne would have to plant the idea that the world Cobb was in is not real and thus giving him the “tools” to escape his dream (Or maze).
On August 13th 2010, Dude wrote:
Great ending, but I liked it better the first time when it was called Total Recall.
On August 13th 2010, Christian Knudsen wrote:
Cobb IS in a dream at the end. And he KNOWS this because HE BUILT IT. That’s why he sets the top to spin infinitely. To remind him that he’s in a dream so he won’t get completely lost in it. He’s basically using the infinitely spinning top to do an inception on himself, just like he did to Mal!
I’ve made a blog post that explains it:
http://laserbrainstudios.com/2010/08/my-interpretation-of-inceptions-ending/
On August 14th 2010, Diddy wrote:
Did anyone notice at the end when they get of the plane at the airport…. All the people there to pick up passengers are holding up signs with the same name! He’s still in a dream.
On August 16th 2010, edvald wrote:
what about the first scene being the same as the scene when he stayes to get saito ???
On August 17th 2010, Ed wrote:
For many other reasons, I think he is still in reality at the end. But here’s a wild theory that he isn’t in reality and is stuck in limbo:
Ok, so the whole movie is inside limbo. The original limbo. The one that Cobb and Mal put themselves in at the get go. However, Cobb’s idea that he and Mal escaped from that limbo was wrong. A train never really did come and run over them. Mal didn’t let it. She was still not fully convinced that she was in the dream. She “builds” them out of it just before it actually hits, but Cobb doesn’t realize this. He thinks the train actually hit them and woke them up. When Mal changed the dream and stopped the train, Cobb became convinced that he was back in reality. When Mal killed herself, she was actually escaping limbo (the inception that he had planted in her had finally worked its course). The reason why Cobb continuously encounters her over and over again is because she keeps trying to rescue him from limbo. In the end, she finally gives up after countless attempts. She lets Cobb down easily by letting him continue to believe that his fiction is real. She goes back to reality to raise the kids in real life without a father while he gets to raise the kids in the dream without mother. In this way, they both got to live their lives together and they both now will get to live their lives separately with their kids. The obvious weakness in this theory is the bit about the train not hitting, but there can be numerous thousands of explanations for how either Cobb or Mal dreamed up that portion of it.
On August 17th 2010, Ed wrote:
The other obvious weakness is that if Mal really were trying to get him out of the dream, why does she not ever appear when Cobb doesn’t think that he is in the dream? Hmm….
On August 18th 2010, Jay wrote:
I think mal woke up to reality when she jumped off the ledge… and cobb convinced himself with the inception leaving him to believe mal had died! Found it strange the way Saito used phrases which mal did when speaking to cobb like take a leap of faith! just been to watch it the 2nd time and im convinced hes in a dream all along… when you watch it the 2nd time with that in ur head evrything seems to fall into place!
On August 18th 2010, Earthsprite wrote:
RE: Evidence of Children
Hmm, actually, no. Why?
1. The costume designer specifically stated they are wearing different clothing (though similar). http://www.cinemablend.com/new/The-Mystery-Of-Inception-s-Ending-Solved-19931.html
2. There are two different sisters playing the parts of Philippa and two different boys playing James. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/fullcredits#cast
On October 10th 2010, Angelo wrote:
The totem was about to stop. Observe the stability and the sound of the spin. The uniformity of the spin was broken when the film ended suggesting that logically Cobb’s in the real world already. Cutting the film while the totem uniformly spins would confirm that he’s in the dreamworld, but cutting it when the spin loses its stability would mean he’s already in the real world.
On November 2nd 2010, David wrote:
there was a 5th layer.
The guy from the last samurai picked up the gun and shot both of them.
On November 4th 2010, Gavin wrote:
Your evidence in favour of Cobb still being in a dream has been debunked by Jeffrey Kurland, costume designer of Inception wear he confirms that the children are wearing different but similar clothes in the final scene. Also, credits shows that there are 2 sets of actors of different ages for the children alluding that the children did in fact age. Also, as mentioned already then wedding ring being present during dream state but missing during reality. Finally, and probably the most conclusive, the spinning top was losing its momentum before the scene cut to credits implying that it was going to fall eventually. Cheers.
On November 7th 2010, Andre wrote:
A movie that is ambiguous. I think he is in a dream the whole time. Some inconsistencies. Re:kids, if its still a dream, they could be projected as older.
On November 30th 2010, Melodia wrote:
Here I found 6 possible endings – do you think all of them are feasible?
http://www.reviewmaze.com/2010/11/inception-ending-interpretations.html
On November 30th 2010, Ed wrote:
I read in many places about the clothes of the kids being different.
It is actually different!
The girl is wearing a white top at the final scene, and most important the hair of the boy is much longer comparing to the scenes during the movie.
So in fact he is not dreaming at all, it is reality!
On November 30th 2010, Colin wrote:
Adding to the previous comment, the children have in fact aged in the final scene. IMDB lists them as two different ages, (the girl is 3 and 5 years, the boy is 20 months and 4 years).
I’d also like to say that the ending isn’t about whether it’s a dream or not. It’s about Cobb deciding to accept what he perceives as reality, whether it’s real or not. Early in the film he held a gun to his head as he span the spinning top, ready to kill himself if it didn’t stop spinning. In the final scene he walks away from it. He is just happy to be with his children, whether it’s real or not.
On December 6th 2010, Al wrote:
The children do change between the ending and the dreams. The ones in the end are two or so years older, and played by a different actor and actress.
On December 19th 2010, Tim wilkes wrote:
Its one thing to remember thats that is the dream state here, they don’t have to make sense all the while. Once i was having a dream, I was walking in my neighbourghs back garden and when I through the back door my uncle jumped through saying sausages. Now its random isn’t it, my uncle and next doors garden and sausages. Dreams are architecture of life, what we think and take in, feel, our fears, feelings and what we want to happen. I think when he woke up on the plane, thats what he wanted to happen thats what we wanted to see. He wanted to succeed at the mission. Him meeting his kids is what he wanted most dearly. Caine appeared at the end because his mind knew him and possibly being a member of his family it would make sense. That’s if he is of course. I think the others got out of the dream world and Decaprio dream was exactly how it would’ve looked, them getting off and going there separate ways and Murphy not really knowing who he is in reality. The crumbled city was not limbo because you need to die to get there, the two of them went under via drugs to get there. It was a dream state of how he originally remembered it. As I say dreams, are a projection of our personality and emotions and the more you strip at the layers, the sometimes more complex it becomes. What would happen if the two went under in the crumbled city, what would be lower than that ay. SPOOKY, it would’ve been great to have seen that. To me people were coming across like they almost expected a reality ending, but sometimes a big walk off is a bit boring. Nothing wrong with the slight tragic ending, but it was a happy ending as Caine said. Darn you Michael lol. Overall I understood it fully, it was art work of the mind and feelings, it worked beautifully. Take the cell for example, entering the mind of a killer, it didn’t make sense story like, but his personality created this twisted canvas of danger and fright, knives and sliced horses for example.
On December 19th 2010, Tim wilkes wrote:
Again for example was reading a graphic novel on a zombie take over and I had a dream I was in one as an injured civilian. Now I imagined the story in my head and thought of a story scenario, as I am an inspired film writer. That’s how my dream projected it, the way I saw it mentally. If you have a nightmare, its because your mind has horror or anxiety or any other negative emotion.
On December 19th 2010, Tim wilkes wrote:
Does it matter what their wearing, there his children. He’s saw them in different clothes before, so his mind probably projects them differently. Their age his how he would imagine them to be, growing up and looking different.
On December 22nd 2010, georgina wrote:
you are forgetting that the man was picking up his gun after cobbs said lets leave and be young again and then cuts to when he wakes up in the plane.
The thing that gets me tho is that his father wanted him to return to reality right at the start of the film and then gives him an architect. i think the inception was being carried out on cobbs but i think i may have to watch it again and see if there are any signs off cobbs being kicked.
On December 30th 2010, ledia wrote:
i think the end is the reality. first of all the clothes of the children aren’t the same. the girl doesn’t wear the white t-shirt. and as smn has said before he knew how he got too home so it’s not a dream. and according to me the only thing that makes us suspect that the ending is not reality is the spin, but according to me the film makes sense only if it is reality….
On January 23rd 2011, Tom Haggas wrote:
The ending…real or not? It doesn’t matter. The fact is he has resolved his issues with Mal and her death. He spins the totem, but walks away. It’s not about whether he’s dreaming or awake, it’s whether or not he’s living.
If you go back to the basement in Mombassa, the old man says, “They don’t come here to dream, they come here to live…and who are you to tell them different.”