Foe Ending Explained: What That Final Hen & Junior Twist Means

WARNING! This article contains spoilers for Foe (2023)

While Foe’s ending might seem pretty hard to decipher, the sci-fi movie’s twist is actually quite predictable for longtime genre viewers. Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan star in Foe, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Iain Reid. Reid’s earlier book I’m Thinking of Ending Things was brought to life onscreen in 2020 by director Charlie Kaufman, although that trippy psychological horror movie took numerous major liberties with the source material. Foe director Garth Davis offers viewers a more straightforward adaptation of Reid’s sophomore effort, but the mixed reviews received by this 2023 release prove that this strategy may not have been entirely successful.

Although Foe changes the book’s story slightly, the sci-fi drama sticks remarkably close to the novel’s storyline. Both the book and the movie revolve around a couple named Junior and Hen who live on a desolate, remote farm in 2065. When Mescal’s Junior is selected to take part in a program that will see humans colonize another planet, Hen is informed by Aaron Pierre’s Terrence that she will be provided with an AI clone to accompany her during his two-year absence. In the months that follow, Terrence interviews Hen and Junior to ensure Junior’s clone is as accurate a recreation as possible before a pretty obvious revelation occurs.

Foe’s Ending Reveals That Junior Was A Clone All Along

Paul Mescal’s character was never Hen’s real husband

In a twist that will be obvious to any viewers familiar with classic sci-fi beats, Foe’s ending reveals that Junior has been a clone all along. Until the ending, it is implied that Mescal’s character has not yet left Earth and his interviews with Terrence are designed to make his robot replacement unerringly similar to his human self. However, Foe’s ending instead reveals that Junior was actually the clone all along as Junior left before the movie began, and his interviews with Terrence were compliance checks to see whether his AI was still functioning and his relationship with Hen was successful. The real Junior returns and his clone is put in storage.

Why The Real Junior Replaces Hen With A Clone

Hen is replaced after Junior returns since she no longer loves him

A horrified Hen cries as Junior’s clone is packed away, proving that she ironically prefers the clone to her real husband. This proves a problem for the pair in the ensuing weeks as Hen shuns the real Junior’s attempts to reconnect with her after his two-year trip. In a twist that would have worked better if Black Mirror season 6 didn’t beat Foe to this storyline, Hen leaves Junior after realizing that she loved his clone more than him. She is then promptly replaced by an uncanny Hen clone who reassures Junior that she won’t leave, although it’s not clear who ordered this replacement.

Does Junior Know Hen Is A Clone In Foe’s Ending?

Junior doesn’t seem too comfortable around his new wife

Since Hen left Junior, it would make sense if he requested an AI clone to replace her. However, Junior looks at her with an uncertain stare, though one that doesn’t necessarily appear to be concerned. Since she is uncannily programmed to pass for her old self, it is hard to tell whether Junior is aware that Hen has been replaced. Hen may even have asked Terrence to replace her with an AI without telling Junior, as opposed to Junior asking for an AI Hen from Terrence. Finally, Terrence might have created the new Hen without any intervention from the couple.

Why Junior Was Sent to Space in Foe

Junior was sent as part of a Climate Migration Strategy

In Foe’s depiction of 2065, the earth is becoming uninhabitable due to climate change. This results in a Climate Migration Strategy that would theoretically transplant people to outer space colonies, which is why Junior is sent into space for two years. Foe’s mixed reviews upon release could be attributed to the movie under-explaining this pivotal plot point. As the apocalypse seemingly encroaches outside, the characters are remarkably uninterested in discussing the specifics of how the earth will be evacuated, when this will happen, and where the other space colonies are.

How Foe’s Ending Completely Changes The Opening Scene

Foe’s first scenes add up when viewers learn that Junior is a clone

When Terrence tells Hen that Junior is going into space for two years, he introduces her to Junior’s clone, not explaining this to her original husband. Junior is already gone, but viewers don’t find this out until the movie’s final scenes. Thus, Foe’s ending completely re-contextualizes the opening scenes as it becomes clear that none of Hen’s interactions earlier in the movie were with her real husband since he was replaced much earlier than viewers were led to believe.

Foe Hinted At Its Twist Ending Earlier In The Story

Hen’s reaction to Junior proves he isn’t human

Hen is uncomfortable around Junior and treats him like a stranger at first, implying he is the clone and not her husband. A canny viewer could easily discern the reason that Hen doesn’t want to share a bed with Junior shortly after she meets Terrence, and this makes the ending twist less of a shock than it might have otherwise been. While this story could have felt like it was borrowed from The Twilight Zone, this sort of foreshadowing makes it tough for Foe to keep its big secret under wraps throughout its almost two-hour runtime.

The Real Reason Terrence Keeps Interviewing Hen and Junior

Terrence isn’t designing Junior’s clone but rather maintaining it

Terrence claims that he is repeatedly interviewing Hen and Junior and spending time living with them to help perfect Junior’s AI clone. However, Terrence is actually there to see whether Junior’s clone knows he is a clone and to monitor his performance in a series of Turing tests. The clone’s jealousy over Hen and Terrence’s increasing closeness also makes more sense when viewers consider that Hen isn’t living with her real husband, so she does not care about the clone’s reaction to her new relationship with Terrence.

What Foe’s Ending Really Means

Foe asks whether two people ever truly know each other

Foe’s ending is about people seeking out idealized versions of each other and relationships subsequently failing when they get to know each other better and their masks slip. Even Hen’s and Junior’s names are an abbreviation and a nickname rather than ordinary names, proving that the pair never saw each other as entirely real, distinct people before they were replaced. As such, it is no major shock when both Hen and Junior decide to give up on their partners after experiencing the allure of AI alternatives at different points in Foe’s dark story.