The Abandoned ending explained: The case of a photographer who captured hearts, literally

A dead body saves the life of a dying police woman. That is the gist of the 2022 Taiwanese mystery film called The Abandoned. We used the term "dying" not because the woman was literally dying, but because she was dying from the inside after her fiancé had passed away by suicide.

The woman, Wu Jie, is a police officer who is about to kill herself, but has to put a pause to her plan after some people find a body on a beach. Now, she is assigned to investigate the murder. An interesting thing here is that the dead body is missing a finger and the heart. Certainly, the work of an obsessed psycho killer.

By the end of The Abandoned, we find out that the killer is a photographer associated with the prime suspect in this case. We also discover that this guy has suffered something in the past that prompted him to go on a killing spree for personal satisfaction.

Who is the psycho killer in The Abandoned?

The killer in the film is a photographer named Fan Chang-Fu, a man who worked with Yu-sheng. Yu-sheng is the prime suspect in this case because of his association with the dead worker, whose name is later revealed to be Waree Napho.

Waree Napho was a migrant, and Yu-sheng aided immigrants so that they could earn money to send back home by forging documentation. Fan Chang-Fu, the photographer, helped Yu-sheng forge all these documents, but, as we now know, he had an ulterior motive.

The Abandoned also divulges the past of this photographer, and it is revealed that he was married to another immigrant. However, she left him on her birthday by drugging him and his mother. She poisoned the birthday cake and left both of them abandoned while asleep.

However, another reason seems to be immigrants coming in and taking jobs from the native people, as he is also struggling to find employment.

What happens to Fan Chang-Fu in The Abandoned?

The man brought his death upon himself in the movie. The film's protagonist, Wu Jie, handed him over to the authorities. However, while she is trying to save another woman she identifies as his next victim, a fight ensues, and she shoots the photographer in the chest.

He dies on the spot, and Wu Jie is able to save the woman, whom Fan Chang-Fu abandoned in a chamber filled with carbon monoxide.

Is Wu Chieh still suicidal by the end of the film?

A still from The Abandoned. (Image via Netflix)

It seems like the film's protagonist got some closure after this case. Helping others might have helped. But we can say that she isn't suicidal at the end of The Abandoned.

However, the loss of a loved one can affect even the strongest, and she still has to carry the pain for the rest of her life. But instead of running away from it or avoiding it, it seems like she will be able to handle it now, hopefully.