Do Theo and Ivy die in The Roses? Speculations explored

The Roses is Jay Roach's recent satirical black comedy-romantic film, based on Warren Adler's 1981 novel The War of the Roses, which was also made into a 1989 movie. The film features Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as Theo and Ivy, a couple whose once-steady marriage begins to spiral when Theo’s professional ambitions suddenly collapse.

While Theo and Ivy started as a lovely and compatible couple, their marriage started showing cracks as their respective roles in the household were reversed. The same storm that wrecked Theo's passion project and destroyed his self-designed building flourished Ivy's restaurant after a positive review by a food critic.

In the final moments of the movie, as Theo and Ivy literally try to kill each other in their newly built home, a gas leak seals the fate of the couple. Although Theo and Ivy reconcile by the end of The Roses, the gas leak suggests a tragic twist that their home went up in flames, likely claiming their lives. However, the movie ends without revealing the exact fate of the couple, concluding with an open ending.

What happened in The Roses' ending?

In The Roses ending, while Ivy's career took flight and her humble restaurant transformed into a successful franchise business, Theo plunged himself into building their dream house. Theo managed to build an impressively unique home for them, but the process ruined their marriage.

After Theo had an epiphany and decided to get a divorce from Ivy, he had only one condition: to keep the house. However, Ivy was cross with Theo for suggesting a divorce before she was ready and thus refused his condition, deciding to leave him with nothing.

The Roses' climax was an intense battle between the couple, who were trying to sabotage each other's lives to get the deed to the house for themself. In a shocking moment, Theo tricks Ivy into eating a raspberry dessert and uses her allergy to coerce a signature from her. While his plan backfires, Ivy pulls out her home defense gun and starts to aim at Theo, destroying the interiors of their house in the process. In a moment of rage, Theo destroys Ivy's beloved Julia Child stove, unknowingly initiating a gas leak. However, in their scuffle, the couple realizes that they still love each other and start to make out when Theo orders their smart system to turn on the fire, unaware of the gas leak; the screen then cuts to a white screen.

The Roses leave Theo and Ivy's fates uncertain

A snippet from the movie (Image via Instagram/@therosesfilm)

While The Roses leaves the couple's fate uncertain and ambiguous, the ending strongly implies that Theo and Ivy died in the house fire. Julia Child's stove acted as an impressive Chekhov's gun throughout the movie, with multiple mentions by different characters. Theo even expresses his hatred for the vintage stove in their modern house, calling it dull. There are even moments in the movie that highlight the fragility of the ancient stove and close shots of Ivy igniting it, foreshadowing the couple's fate in the final moments. One could say that these thematic metaphors imply that Theo and Ivy most likely died in their house fire.

Theo and Ivy had a rocky marriage throughout the movie, but just as the two realized their love for each other and reconciled, tragedy happened, and they likely perished in the fire. However, as some solace to the viewers, The Roses did show an emotional and heartfelt moment between the couple before the end credits rolled.

The metaphorical ending of The Roses

While the literal meaning behind The Roses is rather tragic, one that confirms Theo and Ivy's dark fate as they die in the fire, a metaphorical meaning might give a different layer to the story.

In the movie's climax, the house acted as a silent antagonist, bringing out the worst in both Theo and Ivy, even compelling them to kill each other literally. However, the burning of the house symbolized the couple's reconciliation after they realized their love for each other. Since the house represented the couple's ego and hatred towards each other, its burning offers a slight hope. One could imagine Theo and Ivy surviving against all odds and looking at a second chance at life.