George Miller has a fast and furious ending for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga that reiterates how toxic masculinity made the Wasteland even worse.

For some time, Mad Max fans have been waiting on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Many were admittedly skeptical about a prequel for Mad Max: Fury Road, especially after the brutal war that saw Charlize Theron’s Furiosa and Tom Hardy’s Max prevail over Immortan Joe. However, the trailers shut down that cynicism, indicating that director, George Miller, would indeed be charting another intense ride in the Australian Wasteland.

This movie finds Anna Taylor-Joy as a young Furiosa, trying hard to survive in the wilderness that human society has devolved into. Unfortunately, she gets kidnapped and ends up at Joe’s Citadel. As Furiosa embarks on a vendetta of her own and a case of pure revenge, the movie builds to a riveting, violent and explosive climax.

Furiosa Kills Off Praetorian Jack

Furiosa was kidnapped as a child by Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus. His Biker Horde killed her mother, Mary, after trying to find the lady’s home, the Green Place. However, Furiosa wouldn’t talk. It resulted in the child being traded to Joe to work in his machine shops, all in exchange for supplies. Dementus considered her a daughter, but he was too selfish to refuse the goods. In his eyes, the commercial pact made him more powerful. As the movie proceeds, Furiosa becomes the co-driver of Joe’s War Rig. She follows Praetorian Jack’s lead. He’s humble, kind, and after losing his own family, he wants Furiosa to fulfill her service and get back to hers.

No one but Jack knows she has tattooed a map to get back to her home on her hand. All she needs is to be liberated to make the trek. As fate would have it, she and Jack fall in love. They decide to elope to the Green Place, with hints that maybe they’d even start a family. Sadly, they fall prey to Dementus’ descent into madness on their final run. The villain mismanages the Gastown fuel center he overtook to launch a coup on the Bullet Farm. Once he can control fuel and ammunition, he’ll have more sway to demand things from Joe. The civil war results in his men trying to hijack the War Rig. A chase ensues with Furiosa rescuing a wounded Jack and escaping in a muscle car.

Dementus’ team pursues them with some on motorcycles, and the king himself in a monster truck. Dementus crashes into the duo. Furiosa’s arm becomes mangled, which means she loses the map. Dementus has his crew drag the body of Jack around while his dogs eat the hero and murder him. It takes hours, but this is Dementus sending a message as the dust circles into a man-made storm. This world took his family, so he has to be cruel to those who offend him. Even after discovering this victim is the step-daughter he once tried to create.

Furiosa’s Mad Max Cameo Saves The Heroine

Many might say this isn’t a Mad Max movie. Mel Gibson’s Max lost his family and went on a hunt in the older movies, while Tom Hardy’s Max was also a survivalist tale. Without Max’s presence, how could Furiousa be part of his saga? Furiosa’ story is in line with Max’s. She lost her kin and needs to navigate this post-apocalyptic terrain. She also has to bend her ethical and moral code to do so. Part of her doesn’t want to become a monster, but this is a cautionary tale where people are left with no choice.

While Dementus’ crew celebrate in the dusty cloud, they have no clue Furiosa has ripped her map arm off and commandeered a bike to speed off into the hills. They pursue but fail to catch her. She is very much seeking vengeance the way Max did. Ironically, when she gains distance and ends up roaming the desert on foot, the person who watches her collapse is none other than Max. Fans see him from the back as he rocks his iconic leather jacket. He’s next to his V8 Interceptor car, eating a snack. Max is not played by Hardy this time around, but Hardy’s Fury Road stuntman, Jacob Tomuri.

The movie cuts to black, with the next scene showing Furiosa in a refugee camp where an old lady tends to corpses and flesh wounds. It’s implied Max found Furiosa, felt sorry for her and dropped her off. This is done to connect their warrior energy and prove they are kindred spirits. This isn’t a coincidence as they would find each other and partner up after Max was used by an ill Nux (a War Boy) for his blood in Fury Road. Serendipity does exist in the Wasteland, however, and this rescue is quite important. Furiosa flees the camp, unites with Joe’s workers and returns to Joe’s Citadel.

There, she elaborates on Dementus’ plan: to bait the army to Gastown, but hit them from the side, as they aren’t supposed to know he’s taken the Bullet Farm. Joe’s legion makes a preemptive strike, although this turns into a 40-day war. Many lives are claimed, but it allows Furiosa to shave her head and fit herself with a robotic arm to seek her target out. While Max isn’t directly involved in the war, he is the catalyst for the finale. This further ties into his journey where he suffered trauma from failing to save people he met along the way. Luckily, Furiosa is one of his miracles.

Furiosa Hunts and Tortures Dementus

The final showdown has Furiosa stealing a dune buggy from Joe’s sons, Scrotus and Rictus. She murders Dementus’ crew and captures the dictator. Furiosa struggles with what she has become. She wants Dementus to beg, scream and cry like her mother did. Furiosa thinks this will make her whole again and provide closure and resolution for her soul. But Dementus isn’t apologetic. As he’s battered and bruised, he views this as nature running its course.

Miller keeps it vague as to what happens next. The narrator who records the Citadel’s history mentions maybe Furiosa tortured and murdered Dementus the way he did others, or maybe she put a bullet through his child’s doll and his head. This particular hypothetical ending is Furiosa’s feminine rage, as if to reiterate the loss of his kin was no reason to turn into a vicious villain who lacked compassion and love. However, the narrator says he knows the truth.

Furiosa brought Dementus to the Citadel, hid him in a cave, and planted a seed for a peach tree to go through him. It’s said that it sucked the nutrients dry, leaving a frail, emaciated Dementus watching as Furiosa picks the first peach. Hope springs eternal from a Dementus who couldn’t nourish life before. It’s ironic, because all he ever wanted was the Green Place. Now, he is part of it, at least in this vision.

Furiosa Steals Immortan Joe’s Wives to Kickstart Mad Max: Fury Road

There are two keynotes to Furiosa’s actions. The seed is what her mother left her with, adamant if she didn’t make it home, she needed to rebuild the Green Place. This never came to pass in Miller’s Fury Road, as their haven went extinct. Thus, there is added agony here for those who know the future of the franchise. Secondly, when Furiosa picks the first fruit, she divides it into pieces and gives them to Joe’s wives.

Furiosa is now the Imperator driving a new rig. But this fruit is the sign of a second chance and a new lease on life. Joe has done to these women what Dementus did to Furiosa. The final scene has her leaving Dementus to suffer, feeding the wives the fruit and then hiding them on the rig. This kickstarts Fury Road where she’d try to help them escape the Citadel, with Joe’s caravan left chasing them. Ultimately, now fans know why Furiosa did this: to ensure the women wouldn’t lose their identities to toxic men like she did.