Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Watchers

The Watchers ends with the revelation that one of the characters is not who they initially appeared to be. Written and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, in her directorial debut, the supernatural horror is based on the book by A.M. Shine. The Watchers reviews have been mostly negative, though it’s possible this may not deter the moviegoers from seeing the film in theaters. After learning about how to escape from the bunker, Madeline, Ciara, Daniel, and Dakota Fanning’s Mina follow the birds to the edge of the forest.

Although Mina, Ciara and Madeline manage to make it out alive, Daniel is killed by a Watcher who’s taken the form of Ciara’s dead husband, John. Back in Galway, Mina visits Professor Kilmartin’s office to destroy whatever information he had on the changelings. There, she learns about halflings and discovers the real Madeline has been dead for years. Madeline, a halfling, has taken on her form. Mina goes to Ciara with the information and is confronted by Madeline, who plans to kill them. Mina convinces her that she could find other halflings like her, and Madeline decides against killing her.

Madeline Was A Halfling All Along In The Watchers’ Ending Twist

Madeline hid the truth from everyone and almost got away with it

The biggest twist in The Watchers was that of Madeline being a halfling the entire time. The twist explains how she knew so much about the watchers, their history with people, their burrows, and the rules to stay alive in the forest. Unlike the rest of the watchers, however, Madeline was different because she was part human. Long ago, when the watchers were still living alongside people, some of them had children together. While it’s unclear which of Madeline’s parents was human, it’s possible the other watchers resent her because she represents, in part, the very people who banished them.

The Watchers’ ending also reveals that Madeline’s halfling form can walk in the light, and has a soft spot for humans despite wanting to kill Ciara and Mina at the end of the film. What’s more, Madeline wanted to escape the changelings just as much as the rest of the characters. She was treated like an anomaly, and made to feel like she wasn’t truly a watcher like the rest. Madeline ultimately used Professor Kilmartin’s desires against him, transforming into his dead wife only after she killed him. Madeline was able to leave her old life behind to start anew.

Who Are The Watchers? Supernatural Creature Mythology Explained

The Watchers have been around for a long time

For most of The Watchers, the supernatural creatures remained in shadow. A long finger here or a glowing eye there were the only indications of their true form. It wasn’t until Madeline explained who they were that their presence in the forest began to come into the light. The watchers — or changelings and fairies, as they were also called — are ancient creatures who had wings and magic. They once lived in harmony with humans, but an eventual war between the two led the human population to banish them to the burrows underground in the forest.

Having been below the earth for so long, the watchers lost their ability to use magic and their wings fell off. The Watchers doesn’t explain how the war came about exactly, or how the humans were able to lock them away, but they became vengeful, killing the people who found their way into the forest. Madeline’s wings return at the end of The Watcher, so it’s possible the watchers’ wings could sprout again eventually, but that might depend on whether they will ever be able to leave their forest prison.

Why Madeline Doesn’t Kill Mina & Ciara In The Watchers Ending

Madeline left them alive despite killing Kilmartin before

Madeline took Ciara’s form with the idea to kill Mina and Ciara after the former found out the truth. Madeline wanted to kill Mina and Ciara because their knowledge of her existence threatened her ability to live in the human world. Mina, however, had some compassion for Madeline. Mina knew what it was like to be lonely and to live separate from one’s family. Mina pushed Madeline to see outside of herself. Madeline had been by herself for so long that the idea of potentially finding other halflings like herself was substantial enough to get her to back off from killing Mina and Ciara.

What’s more, Madeline was also half human, which meant she felt all the things people felt — sadness, love, protectiveness — and that played into her not killing them. Deep down, Madeline had a soft spot for people, or she wouldn’t have tried to protect Mina, Ciara and Daniel from the other watchers the whole time. She wanted desperately to believe that she could find other halflings, but she might also have believed she couldn’t do it alone. Mina and Ciara could help, if Madeline actually let them.

The Reason Madeline Keeps The Bunker A Secret From The Humans

Madeline may have wanted to continue watching them

Madeline knew all along that Professor Kilmartin had a bunker. She was the watcher trapped in the video Mina and the others did, so she knew it existed and deliberately chose not to tell the others. If Madeline ultimately wanted to escape the forest and live in the world of people, why not let Mina and the others learn about the bunker earlier? It’s possible Madeline kept the bunker a secret so the other watchers could continue learning from them. If they were to also rejoin society, the creatures needed to master their mimicking so they wouldn’t get caught.

Perhaps Madeline felt that she owed at least that to the other watchers, despite their poor treatment of her. If they could continue getting what they wanted, maybe they would leave her to live her life. At the same time, there’s no indication that Madeline was coming back to free them at the end of The Watchers. Madeline seemed very protective of Mina, Ciara, and Daniel, and it would’ve made more sense had the halfling hid them in the bunker for better safety. It could also be that Madeline was simply playing the long game to keep up her ruse.

How The Watchers’ Ending Sets Up A Horror Sequel

The horror film leaves the door open for the watchers to return

The Watchers’ ending leaves Madeline’s story open-ended. While she doesn’t kill Mina or Ciara, the film concludes with Madeline being open to finding other halflings. Mina and her twin sister, Lucy, have also reunited. Both of these story endings suggest there may be more to come. Madeline leaves Mina alive and continues to watch her, which teases the changeling asking her for help in The Watchers 2. It’s possible they will use the remainder of Kilmartin’s research to search for clues, with the film leaving space to explore what’s next for Madeline now that she’s in the human world.

The Watchers Book Is Getting A Sequel

A sequel might depend on how well The Watchers does at the box office, but there is already a sequel to The Watchers novel. A second book, Stay in the Light, is on the way from A.M. Shine, and it’s one that will continue to focus on Mina following her escape from the watchers’ forest. According to the sequel book’s summary, Mina will attempt to stop the watchers’ power from growing, even as people she knows start to disappear (via Harvard Book Store). With The Watchers sequel novel, Ishana Shyamalan will have plenty of content for another film.

What The Watchers Changes From The Book

The Watchers makes a few major adjustments

While there are bound to be certain changes, The Watchers stays fairly loyal to Shine’s book. However, one of the biggest changes from the book is in its ending. Madeline is still revealed as a watcher at the end, though in the book she warns Mina of the power of the watchers. Crucially, Shine doesn’t describe what the watchers look like, whereas in the film Shyamalan gives audiences a visual shot of them — at least from the back. Their faces may change, but the horror movie paints a picture of their original state before transforming.

The Real Meaning Of The Watchers’ Ending Explained

The Watchers posits that people are never who they appear to be. This theme is especially pertinent for Mina and Madeline, who are both good at mimicking and hiding things from others. Mina, with her wigs and voice mimicking, pretends to be people she’s not at the start of the film. Madeline also spends the majority of the movie being someone she’s not. The Watchers explores them both, but it isn’t until they’re both afraid and vulnerable that their true selves bubble to the surface. If anything, the film warns that people aren’t always who they say they are.