Warning: Contains SPOILERS for A Quiet Place Part II.
The John Krasinski death scene was an emotional moment in A Quiet Place, but it’s made even better by the events of A Quiet Place Part II. Given Krasinski directed, co-wrote, and co-starred in A Quiet Place, his death came as something of a surprise. Done as an act of loving sacrifice to save his children, it served as both a real shock and a genuinely poignant twist to push the story into its climax.
Krasinski is back among the cast in A Quiet Place 2, a somewhat risky move given his character was killed off in the first movie. While Lee’s return comes in flashbacks, rather than a convoluted reveal that he was never really dead, it still could’ve upended his sacrifice if mishandled. Mercifully, Krasinski very much knows what he’s doing, and Lee’s return — and how that factors into the rest of the movie back in the present timeline of A Quiet Place — makes things even better.
The John Krasinski death directly affects the opening moments of A Quiet Place Part II. There’s A Quiet Place 2‘s opening scene itself, which shows some of the monsters’ origins and just how the Abbott family responded to the first attack. During the baseball game, Lee is shown to have a close bond with Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and when they’re forced to go on the run, she decides to go with her father. Similarly, Lee quickly picks up on the fact the alien monsters use sound to hunt. It’s never explained just how he knows this, but it seems plausible that, having a deaf daughter, he is particularly attuned to matters of sound and hearing or at least just more likely to consider sonic explanations. This look at his backstory strengthens his connection with Regan, some of which had been lost by the time of A Quiet Place, and makes his sacrifice to save her and Marcus (Noah Jupe) even more moving.
How A Quiet Place II Fleshed Out John Krasinski’s Death
A Quiet Place II cements Lee’s legacy. The opening also shows just how well equipped Lee was to deal with the attacks, and when the family later meets Emmett (Cillian Murphy), he confirms that he saw the signals from Lee but chooses to ignore them. Later still, a radio signal confirms other people are still out there, alive and ostensibly safe on an island, and there’s also confirmation of the monsters’ weakness being water. These are all elements that connect back to Lee, and by proving him right in so many ways. It serves to make the John Krasinski death scene even sadder, yet also ensures that his legacy very much lives on. Lee may be gone, but he still feels like a huge part of A Quiet Place Part II. Nowhere is that more evident than with Regan. While the first movie felt more like it belonged to Emily Blunt’s Evelyn, especially in its ending, A Quiet Place 2 (which starts the same way as A Quiet Place) is very much Regan’s movie — and with that, it confirms that Regan is very much her father’s daughter.
Crucially, Lee’s legacy carries on because of Regan, whose final message to her reassured her of her father’s affection. Following Lee’s death, Regan takes charge in every way, using the skills her father taught her to fight off the creatures and track the radio frequencies. Lee was gone, but he lived on in everything Regan accomplished, empowered by the confidence of his love for her. All of these aspects elevate Lee’s sacrifice, ensuring that his memory and what he meant to his family still touches their lives and are essential to the story, despite his absence in the present day. Regan continues on Lee’s legacy more than anyone else, and given his sacrifice for her life, she now carries the weight of that with her in A Quiet Place 2. What was shocking and emotional in the first movie becomes even more meaningful here, as his death serves a much greater purpose than one act to save his family. By bringing Lee back in a flashback and keeping him “alive” in other ways, A Quiet Place 2 adds much more depth to his death, making it better, and turning him and his family into stronger characters.
Doctor Strange 2 Provides Another Great Reason To Kill John Krasinski In Movies
Doctor Strange 2 proved that a John Krasinski death makes for a good moment. Krasinski showed up in a surprising and unannounced Doctor Strange 2 cameo when he appeared in the Illuminati as Mr. Fantastic — leader of the Fantastic 4. The shocking appearance of Krasinski in the role was ultimately revealed to be a fan-made decision, as director Sam Raimi stated. Even more shocking than his sudden introduction was his more abrupt death. When Wanda kills Doctor Strange 2‘s Illuminati in gruesome ways, Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic meets a particularly horrifying end as a heap of fleshy spaghetti.
What makes the John Krasinski death scene in Doctor Strange 2 the exact opposite to his A Quiet Place demise is that the former is inconsequential. There was no buildup or heroic action on Mr. Fantastic’s part, and he left almost as soon as he came. His onscreen death in Doctor Strange 2 had little to no effect on the movie (or wider MCU, given the many timelines of the Multiverse), other than to reaffirm Wanda’s villainy and showcase her reality-bending power. While many lamented that the demise of Reed Richards cheapened the cameo because of how quickly he died, it worked for the purpose of the film as a whole, and Mr. Fantastic was never meant to be a main player in the movie.
John Krasinski’s death in Doctor Strange 2 set the internet aflame. While differing opinions raged on, the death scene did what it aimed to do by serving as a memorable snippet in the movie. Many were pleased just to see Krasinski appear at all, as he has an undeniable everyman appeal that makes any of his death scenes all the more tragic. While the actor’s death in Doctor Strange 2 meant nothing in the MCU’s first horror outing, it meant everything for the A Quiet Place franchise. Ultimately, dying for the sake of his family made A Quiet Place Part II even better, as it further cemented the reasoning behind his sacrifice.
