Companion Ending Explained

Companion's convoluted storyline never deviates significantly from the movie's central ideas. Companion, which was written and directed by Drew Hancock, centers on Sophie Thatcher's Iris. For Companion's cast of characters, a weekend getaway with some of Josh's old friends quickly devolves into chaos, involving a sweet-natured woman who is madly in love with her boyfriend. Companion mostly focuses on the main plot of a woman discovering her ideal relationship isn't what it seems, even with some unexpected sci-fi elements and story twists.

Companion provides additional information about the supporting cast along the way, particularly in contrast to the interactions between Iris and Josh (played by Jack Quaid). The actual meaning of Companion, which is reminiscent of abusive relationships and emphasizes the various ways people can be coerced into unhealthful relationships, is thus set in motion. Companion's conclusion even subtly lays the groundwork for future films that delve deeper into Iris and her world, which might expand the metaphor's meaning.

Why Iris Kills Josh at the End of Companion

Iris' character arc is completed when Irish confesses in Companion's opening monologue that she will ultimately murder her boyfriend Josh, which serves as the movie's climax. Iris is initially presented as Josh's girlfriend, but it quickly becomes apparent that she is a robotic companion who lacks free will. Iris first tries to make amends with Josh, even after realizing her true nature. But he gradually shows himself to be a tyrannical and domineering man who would kill her to hide his illegal activities.

Josh gradually gives up his worst traits as the movie goes on, and Iris gradually gains independence from him. As the movie comes to a close, Josh and Iris are the only cast members still alive and are engaged in a life-or-death struggle. Despite having many reasons to despise Josh, Iris only ends up killing him when he is attempting to kill her, saving her own life in the process. Iris uses a mechanical wine cork, which was hinted at earlier in the movie, to accomplish this. Although it's a violent scene, the movie had been building to it the entire time.

An explanation of Josh's companion plan

The actual nature of Josh's scheme is one of Companion's major plot twists. Josh and his friend Kat made the decision to murder her boyfriend Sergey and embezzle his money prior to the movie's events. Based on Kat's descriptions of Sergey as a "bad guy," they believe he is a criminal. They intend to have Josh hack into Iris, remove the restrictions that prevent her from hurting people, and create the conditions necessary for Iris to kill him. When Sergey tries to attack the "malfunctioning" Iris, she kills him, proving that the first part of the plan is successful.

But when Josh tries to explain the situation to Iris rather than just shutting her off, things quickly get out of hand. Additionally, he learns from Kat that Sergey wasn't a criminal after all. Iris, who is now conscious of her robotic nature, has an opportunity to get away because of this. The majority of the deaths in the movie result from this, which then gets out of hand. Though Iris kills Eli in self-defense and then Josh, the robotic Patrick executes the majority of the other deaths at Josh's direction, both intentionally and inadvertently.

How Josh Is Turned Against Patrick by Iris

Only halfway through the film is it revealed that Patrick is the other robotic companion. Josh swiftly rewires Patrick into a willing accomplice for the second half of the movie, after he was Eli's romantic partner and robotic companion. But Iris manages to liberate Patrick from Josh's hold by taking advantage of his sincere affections for Eli. This culminates a previous scene in which Eli and Patrick publicly acknowledged their deeper affections for one another, stating that their love was genuine despite the "memories" of their first encounter not being.

In stark contrast to Josh's casually cruel and domineering manipulation of Iris, this provides a thematic thread for the tragic relationship between Patrick and Eli. Patrick has the opportunity to destroy himself rather than continue to be used by Josh after Iris is able to make him remember his feelings. Patrick accomplishes this by short-circuiting himself with a stun baton, destroying himself, but allowing the pleasant memories of his time with Eli to sustain him in his last moments.

How a Sequel Is Set Up in Companion

When viewed through a robotic sci-fi lens, Companion effectively functions as a stand-alone movie, concentrating on Iris' gradual escape from her abusive relationship and her development as an individual. But the movie also doesn't subtly open up a wider range of possibilities. He implies that some people, including himself, have been attempting to give the machines more autonomy when Iris is set free in the climax and saves one of the companion engineers from Patrick. Future expansion of this could lead to a revolution in robots.

Despite one of her arms being fully revealed as a robotic appendage, the movie concludes with Iris escaping with Sergey's money. She even cheerfully waves to a woman in a different car, who might be another robot or simply a human woman trapped in a toxic relationship. A possible Companion sequel might go back to Iris and show where she has gone since the movie's events, or more significantly, what she has chosen to do with her life. Companion ends intriguingly, and Iris could easily carry another movie.

What Companion Really Means

Even though Companion is a dark comedy with a sci-fi twist, its themes are ultimately very relatable. In the movie, a young woman faces the realization that her boyfriend, who seems ideal, is not at all what she thought he was. Josh actually shows himself to be abusive in a variety of ways. He is controlling her by disregarding her feelings and shoving aside any of her own thoughts or desires. As the movie goes on, he steadily escalates his anger and defiance, becoming a physical threat. Iris represents countless individuals who have been ensnared in abusive relationships.

Even though Iris has been forced to kill people, this gives viewers even more reason to support her, especially after Patrick demonstrates that a real romance between humans and robots is possible. There might have been a romance if Josh hadn't been so terrible. Iris must first overcome Josh and his deceptive methods before she can truly become her own woman. Companion emphasizes this by having Iris kill Josh at last, referring to it as one of the most significant days of her life since it allows her to be independent of her robotic upbringing.