The Ending of Jordan Peeles Nope Explained

The Ending of Jordan Peele’s Nope Explained

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re explaining the ending of Jordan Peele’s “Nope.”

For this list, we’ll be looking at the themes, symbolism, and twists of this sci-fi horror film’s grand finale. If you haven’t seen the film yet, this video contains something much scarier than UFOs and monkeys: spoilers!

Do you agree with our interpretation of “Nope’s ending? Leave us a nope or yep in the comments.

Based on the marketing for “Nope,” most audiences will enter the theater expecting an alien invasion movie. Two-thirds into the film, it indeed feels like Jordan Peele has made his answer to “Close Encounters.” By the final act, though, “Nope” plays out more like another Spielberg film, “Jaws.” Instead of a shark, it’s a UFO. No, not a flying saucer as the characters initially suspect, but a creature that sucks up people like a giant vacuum. Instead of the sea, the sky belongs to this aerial phenomenon, which is nicknamed “Jean Jacket.” Like Jaws, it does two things: fly and eat. Peele has stated that he set out to make a “spectacle.” So, it’s only fitting that the ending would borrow from what’s considered Hollywood’s first summer blockbuster.

Just as Amity Island hires fisherman Quint to catch the shark, our heroes enlist cinematographer Antlers Holst to get the “impossible shot.” Although Antlers gets a shot that would make Roger Deakins envious, he refuses to stop there. He tells Angel that he doesn’t “deserve the impossible shot” before rushing into the open with his camera. Even Angel notes that Antlers’ words are cryptic. In Antlers’ eyes, the true “impossible shot” could be inside the beast, which is why he gets too close and sucked up. The UFO discards metal objects like coins and keys. Maybe Antlers’ camera will also fall from the sky, but it’d be miraculous if the footage survived. Like Quint, Antlers doesn’t make it, leaving someone else to finish the beast.

Keke Palmer’s Emerald rises up as the film’s Martin Brody, getting her “smile you son of a…” moment at Jupiter’s Claim. Where Brody makes use of a rifle and scuba tank, Em improvises with the camera at the bottom of the park’s well and the Jupe balloon. This confrontation mirrors the flashback to Jupe’s childhood when Gordy the chimpanzee loses it on the sitcom set, attacking the cast. Hiding under the table, little Jupe eventually comes face to face with Gordy, who attempts to bump fists before being taken out.

It’s suggested that a balloon popping is what set Gordy off. Of course, Jean Jacket’s presence also causes animals to behave strangely. Could Jean Jacket share a connection to the Gordy incident? In any case, a balloon still plays an essential role in the UFO’s defeat. By unleashing the balloon resembling Jupe, Em draws Jean Jacket away from the ranch and to Jupiter’s Claim. Much like how young Jupe locked eyes with Gordy, the creature stares down his balloon. Jean Jacket goes in for the kill, consuming the balloon while Em uses the winking well to snap the “money shot.” While the creature swallows up humans like a bounce house, the Jupe balloon doesn’t agree with the belly of the beast, making it burst.


Although Em spends most of the movie trying to get the “impossible shot,” the film doesn’t end with her looking at the photo as it develops. Staring into the camera, it’s revealed that the teary-eyed Em is looking at her brother OJ (Daniel Kaluuya), mounted on a horse like a western hero. OJ had remained at the ranch to distract Jean Jacket, allowing Em to get away on a motorcycle. While this ending implies that OJ survived, there could be a more bittersweet sentiment behind it. What if the beast did swallow OJ and a traumatized Em is seeing her brother as she’d like to remember him?

We may be reading too much into it, but there are a few possible hints that OJ has ridden off into the sunset. The first horse that gets away in the film is named Ghost. OJ and Em’s father dies early on, but his presence still looms over the ranch like a ghost. The sign above OJ reads, “Out Yonder,” perhaps suggesting that he’s forever beyond reach. It’s also questionable if OJ could’ve ridden from the ranch to Jupe’s Claim on horseback in that time. Whether OJ survived or not, the closing images speak to the growth of both siblings.

OJ has lived in his father’s shadow, lacking the charisma and confidence to keep the ranch going. While Em possesses her father’s showmanship, her life lacks direction. You also get the sense that she never quite achieved her father’s respect, despite her efforts. Em even memorized her father’s “skin in the game” monologue, but she didn’t feel like part of the family business. In the beginning, OJ and Em want to capture the UFO on film to make a profit… and get an interview with Oprah. By the end, the hunt for the “Oprah shot” turns into something much deeper for the siblings.

Usually when danger rears its ugly head, OJ turns away saying, “Nope!” Honestly, this is how most people should behave during a horror movie rather than wander toward certain death. However, it gets to a point where OJ can’t run and hide anymore, facing Jean Jacket head-on. With the final image of him on the horse, OJ emerges as the rugged cowboy that everybody doubted he could be. Em also comes into her own, using her wits to make the creature go pop. The final look that OJ gives Em seems to be one of approval, telling her that she’s not a screw-up. The fact that Em is more focused on her brother than the photo also ties into humanity’s obsession and monetization of spectacle.

The opening of “Nope” references Nahum 3:6, which reads, “I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.” OJ and Em’s great-great-great-grandfather was turned into a spectacle with “The Horse in Motion” picture, but his name has been largely lost to time. Gordy the chimp becomes a spectacle of a sitcom, which backfires. Rather than learn from his experiences with Gordy, Jupe makes a profit off it. Jupe also tries turning the UFO into a spectacle, calling “King Kong” to mind. This not only costs Jupe his life, but the lives of several bystanders. Although OJ and Em initially set out to make money off a spectacle, the photo of Jean Jacket feels somewhat inconsequential in the end.

When all is said and done, seeing her brother on the horse is the true “impossible shot” in Em’s eyes. It also brings things full circle with OJ resembling their great-great-great-grandfather on the horse, another shot once considered impossible to attain. In an interview, Peele said that the film is about “the nature of spectacle, our addiction to spectacle, and the insidious nature of attention.” He then added, “And it’s about a brother and sister, and healing their relationship.” The ending encapsulates all of this.

After continually risking their lives to capture the creature on camera, Em and OJ aren’t concerned with how the photo came out. They’re more concerned with each other’s well-being, valuing family over monetization. They overcome the addiction and insidious nature of spectacle, finding something more important in one another and themselves. Instead of spending so much time looking up at the skies, the ending encourages us to look at what’s right in front of us.