Leave The World Behind ending explained: Here's what its 'Friends' subplot means

Leave The World Behind is a psychological thriller film with an apocalyptic setting. Written for the screen and directed by Sam Esmail, the film is an adaptation of Rumaan Alam's novel of the same title. The film stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon, and was released on Netflix on November 22, 2023.

The producers include Julia Roberts, Lisa Gillian, Chad Hamilton, Esmail, and Marisa Yeres Gill. Here is the official synopsis, as mentioned in Letterboxd,

A family’s getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices - and two strangers appear at their door.

Let us explore the film's climax, and the Friends subplot that is shown toward the end, which left many viewers puzzled.

How does Leave the World Behind end?

Leave the World Behind is about a couple, Amanda and Clay (Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke), on a getaway with their kids, Archie and Rose. However, soon after they arrive at the rental home, their phones, television, and other electronic devices stop working. Later, the owner, G.H., and his daughter, Ruth, arrive.

Towards the end, Archie loses one of his teeth, which G.H. attributes to the tick infection. Clay takes Archie with G.H. to Danny for medication. Meanwhile, Rose is nowhere to be found, so Ruth and Amanda start looking for her. Subsequently, the two see a massive herd of wild deer. As Clay and G.H. try to ask Danny to give medicines to Archie, the tension all around escalates. This leads to a conflict between Danny and G.H., but Clay douses the tension.

Danny tells them that the noises must have led to Archie's teeth falling, and they are coming from some kind of microwave assault weapons of their neighbor. G.H. informs them about a coup and or a civil war that is currently going on in the country, adding that he got the information through military sources.

We see that Rose has found a bunker inside their neighbor's residence and finds a message on the computer that talks about rogue military attacks on the White House and in different cities. This might also possibly increase radiation in the regions. On the other side, both Ruth and Amanda watch as bombs are dropped on New York.

The film ends with Rose finding a DVD of the sitcom Friends, which she starts watching. The final episode of the series, titled The Last One, unfolds as the credits roll.

What is the Friends subplot in Leave the World Behind?

A still from Leave the World Behind (Image via Netflix)

The ending of Leave the World Behind seems to denote that Rose is trying to escape from all the carnage and bleakness that surrounds her. She is tired of living life on her toes and wants to escape into a realm of the unreal. Hence, she decides to watch the Friends finale.

Speaking to Netflix, the film's director Sam Esmail explained the Friends subplot and said,

“To me, it represented pure escapism. In moments of crisis when we’ve lost sight of our common humanity, when we feel isolated, we do want to escape to comfort. And for Rose, I thought her journey wouldn’t be complete until she watched the final episode of her favorite show.”

Esmail further spoke about the message of hope in the end scene:

"There’s a painting that’s hung up on the end of the hallway before Rose goes down into the basement that says ‘Hope begins in the dark'. I think as much as this film is a cautionary tale and it’s meant to be a warning, it’s not meant to give us an answer as to what to do next - but it is meant to say, ‘As dark as it could get, as bleak as it can get, we can always strive to find some hope.’ ”

Leave the World Behind is streaming on Netflix.