Sicario 2 Ending, Sicario 3 Final Scene and Setting Explained

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is the next chapter in the dark and intense franchise with Sicario 2The ending brings big twists, interesting developments, and a setup for more. After an insider attack, the US government declares drug cartels a terrorist threat. Josh Brolin’s Matt Graver and Benicio del Toro’s Alejandro Gillick kidnap the daughter of Carlos Reyes, leader of one of the cartels, with the intention of framing it as an act by a rival gang, only for the plan to go wrong , leading to Sicario 2is ending.

Like the first Sicario film, Sicario 2 is a complex look at the war on drugs, its flaws, and the ambiguity of good and evil within it. While it’s a tense and brutal thriller for most of the runtime, the ending poses some more compelling questions while also delivering moments that will likely catch audiences off guard. As a result, it may be beneficial to take a step back and examine the end of Sicario 2 as a whole and everything it reveals.

Why does Matt save Isabela?

Act of Mercy Doesn’t Fit Josh Brolin’s CIA Agent

Josh Brolin returns to the Sicario sequel as shady agent Matt. Although he is once again a close ally of Alejandro, Matt is placed in a difficult position that leads to the Sicario 2 end. When Alejandro activates his tracking beacon, he expects rescue to arrive, but instead puts himself and Isabela in danger, as Matt has been tasked with cleaning up the mess, which includes eliminating them both. Matt leads a task force to eliminate him and Isabela.

However, during his attempt to cross the border as a Mexican migrant, Alejandro is identified by a new smuggler he crossed paths with previously. He tries to escape, but ends up being taken to the desert, where he is shot in the head. For Matt, this is both a relief and a horror. He was struggling with the order to kill Alejandro due to the pair’s close working relationship and the fact that he was the one who called the sicario in the first place, which frees him from the task of killing.

However, he still sees his friend murdered, a loss that weighs heavily on him, to the point that, when attacking the smugglers to get to Isabela, he takes her instead of killing her as instructed. That’s it the guilt over Alejandro’s death that leads Matt to spare Isabela’s lifean act that proved completely out of character for the calculating CIA man.

In both Sicario and Sicario 2Matt was personified by his willingness to do whatever was necessary, regardless of typical morality. The rules exist for the illusion of protection, but what he does exists beyond them. In fact, he opens the film by saying he could kill a suspect’s family, one by one, all day long. However, seeing that insensitivity applied by others so close to home, he is forced to control himself. Matt’s final scene in the film shows the conflict on his face, pondering whether allowing Isabela to live is a righteous act or a huge mistake.

Isabela is saved, but she is still a pawn in the war

Isabela’s character in Sicario 2 represents collateral damage

Isabela Reyes makes one of the most interesting trips from the beginning to the end of Sicario 2. She starts out as a dangerous teenager, fighting with classmates and successfully threatening teachers, but the moment her boss father’s protection disappears, she is forced to fend for herself. She is in danger from everyone, and in Alejandro, she begins to see the human cost of her privileged life. The world she inhabits is unexpectedly fragile, especially with the involvement of the US government, and so Isabela must seek safety elsewhere.

After saving Isabela at the end of Sicario 2Matt says he’ll put her in witness protection. The act says more about your journey toward compassion, but it also summarizes Isabela’s final powerlessness, changing hands as much as a commodity as the immigrants the cartels trade. She’s a character caught in the middle of the war on drugs, which would be an interesting avenue to explore in Sicario 3.

Matt’s tactics fail in Sicario 2

The Brutal Approach to the War on Drugs Collapses

The first Sicario made a big deal about the questionable legality of the interagency mission, yet approved by Washington, with Emily Blunt’s Kate Mercer in Sicario He’s only involved because the CIA needed an FBI agent. Sicario 2 approaches the story from another angle. With Kate absent and Matt in the lead, it’s a matter of knowing – and in doing so, having less concern for public face – until it falls apart.

In Soldier’s DayThe way the US is trying to silently influence the cartel’s balance of power is revealed to the public through the failed mission. The President loses confidence and everything falls apart. It is the fulfillment of what Kate threatened at the end of Sicario and highlights how fragile the brutal approach to international relations is at a time when it is outside of silent conversations in dark rooms.

The first Sicario The film showed the moral gray area of ​​this type of approach to the issue. Sicario 2 shows what happens when the direct approach fails and there are political consequences. Denis Villeneuve should return to Sicario 3, It would be interesting to see him explore the response to the tactic used next.

How Alejandro survived

Is Alejandro a changed man at the end of Sicario 2?

As he is the main character of the film, Sicario 2The ending including a scene where Alejandro is shot in the head was quite shocking. Although he is presumed dead, the shooting of Miguel Hernandez – the up-and-coming smuggler seen throughout the film – turns out to be simply a close call. It is not explicitly stated, but it appears that Miguel spared Alejandro’s life by shooting him in the jaw and leading to serious blood loss, but nothing fatal.

In SicarioAlejandro was working with the CIA mainly so he could kill Fausto Alarcón, the man who murdered his wife and family. Although there is a sense that the audience wants Alejandro to take revenge, when he does, he makes the shocking decision to murder Alarcón’s family as well. Soldier’s Day explores Alejandro starting to question his choices and whether he is becoming the kind of man who insists on hunting. Sicario 2 ends with him truly “free” — he was presumed dead by the CIA and therefore able to operate without any supervision.

What does Alejandro want with Miguel?

Is the final scene revenge or the beginning of a new chapter?

The final scene of Sicario 2 takes place a year after the main events of the film, with Miguel now fully embodying his position as a gang member: his arms are covered in tattoos, his hair is crew cut and his clothes are plaid. He goes to visit his cousin’s work at the mall, but is confronted by Alejandro, who only sports a small scar as a reminder of their previous encounter. At first scared, it becomes clear that Alejandro has no plan for revenge against Miguel.: “Do you want to be a Sicario?— he asks and closes the door.

Even through the frank presentation of Sicario 2, this is a highly ambiguous note to end on. The implication, of course, is that Alejandro recognizes the act of compassion and sees Miguel as a potential student. After all, he has the stomach to oppose authority, even as he tries to be part of it, just as Alejandro did in the previous two films.

How the Ending Sets Up Sicario 3

Three main characters need to cross paths

The end of Sicario 2 suggests that between Sicario 3, Alejandro will have an apprentice of sorts, someone to help him in his search for Reyes from the inside. This mission is the true overarching narrative, and now the titular killer has truly been let loose. Of course, this will also put him on a collision course with the authorities, as Alejandro now operates on his own.

The really interesting hook for Sicario 3however, it is the reintroduction of Kate Mercer. The producers want Emily Blunt to reprise her role, and the narrative almost demands it. Sicario 2 saw Matt question her place in the crime-fighting world in a direct mirror of how she fared in the first Sicario. The two films brought two very different people together, much more ideologically than they ever thought possible. This relationship and potential confrontations or partnerships are as exciting as a gang war.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado It’s a darker film than Sicarioboth in its presentation of the American drug war and in the way it discusses its themes. This is mainly because the message is less clear and so the film struggles to fully define itself. What it does with incredible success, though, is move the pieces into position for a third film, while still feeling like a standalone film. There’s a sense that the third film could see the war fought on three different terms: Kate’s idealistic approach, Matt’s morally dubious, government-sanctioned tactics, and Alejandro’s no-rules war.

The true meaning of the ending of Sicario 2

The United States government is lethal in the war on drugs

The true meaning of Sicario: Day of the Soldado the end is just that the United States government will do anything to win the war on drugs. This includes killing your own people, your own agents, and even innocent bystanders if it means achieving whatever your goal is at the time. The minute government officials ordered Matt to kill his own killer just to cover up what they were doing, they proved that there are no good guys in this war and that it’s really just every man for himself.

The ending also showed that Miguel’s choice not to kill Alejandro means he has more integrity as a bad guy than the US government’s so-called war heroes. Matt crossed the line to protect Isabel, which could lead to punishment from his take-no-prisoners commanders. Still, he would have easily murdered Alejandro in cold blood if he was forced into this situation under CIA orders, so he’s no better than anyone on either side of the border.

When Alejandro offered to take Miguel under his wing, the Sicario: Day of the Soldado the ending also had another hidden meaning. While the United States has no problem ordering the murder of even innocent civilians to cover up its role in the drug war, these murders often help create new enemies in the future. Alejandro, once a loyal ally of US CIA forces, was resilient, and now he and Miguel could prove to be great enemies of the US if their hands are forced in the future.