The Next 365 Days Ending Explained

The Next 365 Days' conclusion has drawn even more attention than those of its predecessors because it concluded Netflix's contentious 365 Days trilogy. The trilogy is not at all predictable, despite the fact that the 365 Days films are unquestionably rife with clichés. Ironically, the most unexpected aspect of The Next 365 Days' conclusion is that it is the most grounded episode to date.

With its concentration on a love triangle between Nacho, Laura, and Massimo that never degenerates into gunfights, murders, kidnappings, or even a brawl between the two possible love interests, The Next 365 Days abandons the ridiculous, extravagant soap opera plotline of the previous 365 Days films. In a genuinely surprising turn of events, Massimo and Nacho choose to honor Laura's desires and let her make her own choices regarding her romantic life. In the Netflix movie's conclusion, Laura seems to favor one suitor over the other, but her life isn't in danger—a first for the 365 Days films.

What Takes Place At The End Of The Next 365 Days

Following the dramatic, life-threatening events of 365 Days: This Day, Massimo and Laura spend most of The Next 365 Days drifting apart. At the conclusion of the first 365 Days, Laura finally tells Massimo that she lost her pregnancy in a car accident, and Massimo is upset that she didn't tell him sooner.

This causes tension between the two, and finally, while Laura is in Portugal on business, she has an affair with Nacho. Massimo gives Laura room to decide what's best for herself. She goes to see her parents during this time, returns to Massimo, and fantasizes about a threesome with Nacho.

What follows may comfort critics appalled by the well-liked but poorly received 365 Days films and their portrayal of glitzy, idealized dream representations of violent relationships. Sitting on the beach, Massimo, the mob boss who previously kidnapped Laura and made her fall in love with him by holding her captive for a year, declares that he only wants to be with her if that is what she really wants.

How the Plot of the Book Is Modified Over the Next 365 Days

The Next 365 Days' unclear conclusion does seem to suggest that Laura and Massimo will remain together, but this is by no means the most significant alteration made to the book for the film. Massimo sends Laura the dead body of her favorite dog in the mail after Laura leaves him to be with Nacho in the book The Next 365 Days.

In a strange turn of events that seems to have been lifted from Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Massimo says Nacho killed her dog, retrieved Laura, and then locked her up in his mansion once more. After Laura finds out that Massimo killed her dog, she quickly seduces him, flees, and takes Nacho with her.

Unexpectedly, Massimo then agrees to a divorce, so Laura and Nacho lead a happy life together and the insane mob boss merely accepts that his ex-lover is no longer with him.

Will Laura and Massimo remain together for the remainder of the 365 days?

Whether Laura and Massimo remain together permanently is not confirmed by the conclusion of Next 365 Days. Nevertheless, it appears likely that the couple will stay together once the Netflix romance trilogy's credits have rolled. In The Next 365 Days, Massimo finally asks Laura if she wants to be with him or Nacho, in contrast to the fake-out Laura deaths in the first two 365 Days films.

Despite not having a formal reconciliation, Massimo asks Laura if she is "back" at the end of The Next 365 Days after she shares a heartwarming anecdote and a valuable lesson he learned from his late father. It appears that Massimo Senior told his son that the best way to determine whether a relationship is meant to be is to let go of something you love and see whether it returns. The conclusion of The Next 365 Days suggests that Massimo did just that when he came to terms with Laura's desire to be with Nacho and waited for her to come back.

What Does the End of the Next 365 Days Actually Mean?

The trilogy's views on consent change toward the conclusion of The Next 365 Days. Critics criticized both 365 Days: This Day and the original 365 Days for what they saw as the glamorization of poisonous, hazardous relationship dynamics. Supporters of the franchise pointed out that the films were campy, extravagant fantasies that weren't meant to be taken seriously. The Next 365 Days ending, on the other hand, does take the story rather seriously, abandoning the absurdly ridiculous storyline of the first book in favor of a (relatively) subdued, adult conclusion to the franchise.

In addition to demonstrating that Massimo can comprehend the idea of consent and giving Laura some agency at last, the franchise portrays both of its male love protagonists as individuals who value their partner's needs over their own. Unexpectedly, the much more grounded The Next 365 Days does address the most popular concerns of the franchise, even though it doesn't exactly fit the tone of the previous films.

The last 365 Days film applies fundamental concepts of consent and agency to the problematic framework established by the previous films in the series, whereas the first contentious 365 Days was denounced as a celebration of poisonous stereotypes (and defended as a whimsical, ridiculous fantasy). The conclusion of The Next 365 Days leaves viewers in suspense as to whether Laura and Massimo ended up together, but it does reveal that they will make the decision together, which may be the biggest surprise of the entire 365 Days trilogy.

How Fans Feel About the End of the Next 365 Days

The conclusion of The Next 365 Days did not exactly sit well with critics. Variety's Jessica Kiang even referred to the movie's narrative and the trilogy overall as "bone-tired." The films are still quite popular to watch on Netflix, even if they have received negative reviews. However, YouTubers' reactions to the film—and they have a lot to say—are partly responsible for its popularity.

It is predicted that a fourth movie would just draw inspiration from the novel's last chapters, putting Massimo and Nacho to fight with each other in the process, using the last few chapters of the books to create another successful Netflix original.

The Netflix film has also been reviewed and discussed by pop culture podcasters, and Daniel Barnes of the Dare Daniel podcast mostly agrees with the YouTubers' reactions. The Next 365 Days, according to Barnes, was "completely devoid of new story developments." Once more, Barnes only viewed the film because a podcast listener asked him to and because he had previously seen the first two.

Despite the success of the 365 Days films, it seems like Netflix may have extended the plot a bit too much to satisfy the viewers. A difficult decision and ambiguity at the end of The Next 365 Days may be the final straw for some moviegoers.

How The Next 365 Days' Resolution Differs From Other Movies

While not universally disapproved of, the conclusion of The Next 365 Days was highly contentious among fans. The fact that it changed tone so drastically from the 365 Days and 365 Days: This Day endings was a major factor in this. From start to finish, the first two films in the trilogy were filled with storyline twists that resembled soap operas and almost implausible happenings.

For instance, Massimo and the audience were honestly led to believe that Laura had been murdered by a rival Mafia family at the conclusion of 365 Days. It was implied that she had been the victim of a mob hit deep in the tunnel's depths when she was spotted entering it and failing to emerge. Laura made it back for 365 Days: This Day despite losing a baby in the process. After a gunfight between Massimo, Anna, and Adriano, Laura may have died from a bullet wound in his arms in the sequel's equally ostentatious conclusion.

Given that The Next 365 Days marked the conclusion of the trilogy, many fans had anticipated that it would take a similar course. However, The Next 365 Days opted for a more realistic stance, maybe in an attempt to make amends for the shortcomings of the first two films, which were criticized by numerous critics. Sadly, this was too little, too late, and it only served to enrage a lot of fans who had been attracted to the corny, almost ridiculous trilogy for the exact same reasons that many critics criticized it.

Regarding The Next 365 Days' conclusion, the majority of critics believed that not enough was done to dispel claims that the show glorifies rape, kidnapping, and sex trafficking. According to NME critic Nick Levine's critical assessment of the movie, "This threequel at least gives Laura some semblance of agency, but she never comes close to feeling like a real person."