Content Warning: This article discusses mass shootings and sensitive topics surrounding PTSD, grief and trauma.
Megan Park's The Fallout ends in tragedy, and the final scene of Vada (Jenna Ortega) crying has several meanings. It's not long into the movie that a school shooting occurs at Vada's school. The rest of the film examines the aftermath, including how Vada deals with grief and processes the trauma of such an awful event. The Fallout prompts a conversation about life after experiencing such a tragedy and how long the cycle of mass shootings will continue before action is taken.
It's a topic that has been discussed in great detail over the past couple of years, and yet few movies and shows have attempted to portray it. In The Fallout, Park focuses on viewing the tragedy of school shootings through a teenage girl to display what it is like for a young person to deal with something that no child should have to experience. Jenna Ortega's portrayal of Wednesday in Netflix's Wednesday has been a huge success, and it will hopefully encourage people to revisit her performance in The Fallout and continue an important conversation.
How Vada Crying At The End Of The Fallout Had Multiple Meanings
Nothing captures the importance of this conversation better than The Fallout's final scene. Vada is waiting outside for Mia while on her phone, until she is interrupted by a notification informing her of another school shooting that left twelve students dead. Vada experiences a panic attack paired with tears which lead into the end credits, where the sound of her sobbing continues. Similarly to how going back to school triggers her PTSD throughout the movie, the panic attack during The Fallout's ending is caused by the school shooting news and its impact on Vada's trauma.
In addition, Vada is crying because others at a different school will have to experience all the pain that she has gone through. This brings up a deeper idea the ending is conveying, that the heroic actions taken by her friend Nick and others at her school has not been able to prevent another shooting from happening. Her crying illustrates how difficult it is for a child to be hopeful in a world with so much for them to fear. It emphasizes how the cycle of mass shootings continues, and how dealing with her experience will be an ongoing battle for the rest of her life.
How The Fallout's Ending Accurately Depicts Grief Through Jenna Ortega's Vada
The Fallout's ending is one of many moments throughout the film that accurately depicts grief. The grieving process occurs throughout the entire film. In a touching moment between Vada and one The Fallout's other characters Carlos, her father, she yells, "I'm scared to go to school every day." This is a moment of acceptance and vulnerability that allows her to be comfortable later on in a therapy session before the ending, where she can express her emotions how hard it is for her to move on. This is then reiterated in the final scene. It captures the weight of her grieving for her classmates and their families, as well as grieving the person she once was.
The ending is incredibly sad, and young people will struggle to watch it and remain hopeful. However, young people in the United States are also brave, and changing the world in a way that other generations weren't able to. Their persistent efforts being made are cause for optimism. Movies like The Fallout start conversations that are a step in the right direction if meaningful change is going to happen.
