Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Night Swim

Summary

• Night Swim's ending leaves the door open with a sad twist, wrapping up the Waller family's story.
• The pool is powered by an ancient spring that grants wishes but demands a sacrifice in return.
• Ray sacrifices himself out of love for his family, ensuring their safety and a future free from the spring water's grip.

Night Swim’s ending leaves the door open, but it also ends on a sad note. After Eve Waller drives to visit Rebecca’s mother, Kay, she learns that Rebecca’s death was no accident. The Waller’s pool was built above a spring that granted one’s heart’s desires, but it came with a sacrifice. Kay wished that her son, Thomas, would heal, so he could go on to do great things. Once possessed, Kay sacrificed Rebecca to the spring water. Eve returned home scared in Night Swim only to find that Elliot had already been taken beneath the pool.

Eve jumps in to save him while Izzy rushes inside to stop Ray, who is now possessed by the spring water. By this point, Ray will do anything to ensure Elliot is sacrificed, including fighting Izzy. Eve is able to find Elliot but is attacked by the water spirits. Rebecca helps her and Eve is able to swim to the surface. But the spring water gets inside Elliot, leading to Ray saving his son. Night Swim's ending then wraps up the Waller family's story and teases the future without a Night Swim post-credits scene.

Night Swim’s Pool Lore Explained

The Pool Is Powered By An Ancient Spring

Night Swim was different thanks to its pool, which fed from the spring water that was once, and still is, there. According to Kay’s possessed form, spring water was a form of magic. It acted like a wishing well in that it granted someone’s desires. But the spring water required a sacrifice in return, as it didn’t simply grant wishes for free. Someone had to keep giving. Before the desire is granted, however, the spring water had to come into with someone who had a powerful wish.

The water was able to manifest an object that would lure people to it before trapping them. Ray was the first one in with the pool after seeing a floating baseball, and that’s when the spring water decided to give him what he wanted. Since the spring water is ancient, it’s unclear when the wish-granting began, but it has taken multiple victims over generations. Once a sacrifice was made, the person whose wish was fulfilled would go on to live a successful life, but the pool would never stop terrorizing families so long as it existed.

Night Swim alludes to another family living there after Kay and Thomas moved out, but the pool remained unused because of Rebecca's drowning.

Why The Spring Water Chose Elliot As A Sacrifice

The Water Chose Elliot Over Izzy

The spring water choosing Elliot to be the Waller family's sacrifice was the fulfillment of his characterization. He struggled with baseball when it was easy for his dad, and Izzy was a great swimmer and excelled in other areas as well. Meanwhile, Eve was the rock of their family and had her own ambitions to teach special education. While the water had with the whole family before turning its full scare tactics on Elliot, he was chosen as a sacrifice because he was lacking where others weren’t.

Elliot was considered a throwaway, whereas Ray was the all-star baseball player who could continue being successful if he returned to the sport. By comparison, Elliot was never going to achieve that, and Ray's wish to return to baseball meant one of his children would be sacrificed for the continued use of the water's power. Ray's difficulty relating to his son and favoring his daughter played a role in ultimately choosing Elliot as the sacrifice, just as Kay's wishes for Thomas meant that Rebecca had to die.

Why Ray Sacrifices Himself & What It Means For The Waller Family

Ray's Death In Night Swim Explained

Ray sacrificed himself in Night Swim's ending because he loved his family more than his baseball career. It was difficult for him to give up his previous life, especially since he felt he no longer had the same purpose that baseball gave him. Ray purging the spring water made him see things as clear as day, and he realized he couldn’t get his wish of playing baseball again if it meant Elliot had to die. Ray was a family man at the end of the day, and his son was more important to him than anything else.

Ray’s sacrifice devastated the family, and they’ll be left to grieve him while picking up the pieces of their life. Remaining in the house not only protected other families from the same fate, but it also ensured the Wallers could remain close to Ray’s presence. Now that the pool no longer proved a threat, the Wallers will be able to go on with their lives, though it won’t be normal. They’ll always be looking over their shoulders, and will most likely have to answer questions about what happened to Ray. But Ray’s sacrifice also means his family is safe.

The Reason Rebecca Helped Eve While The Other Spirits Didn’t

Not Every Spirit In Night Swim Is Evil

Rebecca drowned in 1992, but Elliot heard her voice at one point during Night Swim. While the other spirits were too far gone and corrupted by the water, Rebecca’s situation was similar to Elliot’s. Eve was doing what Kay never did: saving her child. Kay would’ve wanted to be saved by her mom. Rebecca sympathized with Elliot and Eve and understood better than the other spirits what they were going through. Rebecca hadn’t received that same treatment from her mother, so it makes sense that she would help Eve save Elliot so the same thing wouldn’t happen to another child.

What The Spring Water Gains From Long-Term Possession

Kay's Possession Is Different For The Spring Water

Kay was still possessed by the spring water decades after Rebecca's drowning in Night Swim's ending, even though it had already granted her wish. It’s possible the spring water maintains its control over people so they won’t be bogged down by guilt for the sacrifice they make to obtain their heart’s desire. Conversely, it could be that the spring water continuing to possess the wish recipients is simply its way to keep them in line. It's also possible that the more people the water possesses, the more powerful it becomes.

How Night Swim's Ending Leaves The Door Open For A Sequel

Bryce McGuire Hints What A Sequel Could Look Like

Ray may have sacrificed himself at the end of Night Swim, but the fact that his family remained in the house leaves the door open for a sequel to happen. After all, the Waller family could still be at risk of possession by the spring water. Just because they closed the pool and covered it in dirt doesn’t mean the water won’t travel through pipes in the house. What’s more, other people might take interest in what happened and decide to have an encounter with the pool themselves. Night Swim 2's story could ponder the aftermath of a family’s decision to stay after a sacrifice has already been made.

A Night Swim sequel has yet to be officially announced, but director Bryce McGuire has ideas for what could come next. He specifically told GamesRadar+ that there is an early Easter egg in Night Swim that provides a hint, "It would be fun to explore and expand the mythology." Considering the movie begins with the 1992 scenes involving Rebecca and her family, perhaps McQuire's plans for the franchise's future involve Night Swim 2 becoming a prequel instead.

The Real Meaning Of Night Swim’s Ending

Night Swim's Themes Explained

Night Swim is all about change and the ways in which living in the past can greatly affect someone and their family. While the spring water may attempt to grant people their heart’s desire, the idea of getting what one wants comes with consequences. In the Blumhouse horror movie’s case, Ray’s unwillingness to leave his past life behind puts him in a vulnerable position and proves one good thing doesn’t always lead to another.

He had to deal with health issues and lifestyle changes that pulled him out of his career, but the yearning for his previous life and the glory that came with it didn’t have a positive impact. It was pushing him to shift his focus from the new life he now led. Night Swim ultimately underscores the importance of family and the willingness one must have to embrace the most unexpected situations life has to offer. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and with all things magic and wishing, things don’t always turn out how one might expect.