The Dark Knight Rises: Selina Kyle Proves The Ending Is Real

The ending of The Dark Knight Rises has been debated as to whether it’s real or not, but the presence of Selina Kyle confirms that it indeed is. As the third installment in The Dark Knight trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises acted as the final chapter of the Batman story it told.

In The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne emerges from his eight-year retirement as Batman after the arrival of Bane (Tom Hardy) in Gotham City. Determined to finish what Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson) started, Bane and the League of Shadows take the city hostage with a fusion reactor counting down to detonation. With the help of thief Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and several other allies, Bruce stops the League’s plot and saves Gotham.

Batman seemingly sacrificed himself transporting the bomb away from Gotham. He’s later spotted by his former butler Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) in an Italian café. The scene parallels a fantasy of happiness for Bruce that Alfred had earlier shared. This led to some debate as to whether Alfred was really seeing Bruce alive and well or if this was an ambiguous ending similar to Nolan’s previous film Inception. However, Selina being with Bruce in this scene is the biggest indicator that it is real.

Selina’s entry into The Dark Knight Rises involved her posing as a maid in order to obtain Bruce’s fingerprints. Using them, Bane and Wayne Enterprises businessman Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) bankrupt Bruce at Gotham’s stock exchange. Selina’s involvement in the plot came with the intention of obtaining a device known as the “clean slate” to erase all records of her criminal life.

Bruce was forgiving towards The Dark Knight Rises‘ amoral cat burglar Selina in light of her difficult life and manipulation by Bane and Daggett. Still, this established a very adversarial relationship between them in Alfred’s eyes. Alfred also didn’t approve of Bruce’s return as Batman, believing it to be a bid to die as the Caped Crusader during a dark chapter of his life. This led Alfred to part ways with Bruce, with Alfred not returning until Bruce’s would-be funeral. This meant that Alfred missed the major events of not just Bane’s takeover of Gotham, but Bruce teaming up with Selina to stop him. There’s also no evidence in the film that Alfred was ever filled in on Selina’s role in saving the city. Because of that, he would have had no reason to envision Bruce and Selina as romantic partners on good terms. That fact shows that Alfred’s spotting of Bruce in The Dark Knight Rises‘ ending was indeed real.

Batman’s apparent sacrifice would continue to inspire heroism in Gotham City cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon Levitt). Bearing the legal first name “Robin,” Blake is left the coordinates to the Batcave by Bruce, setting him up as Gotham’s new hero. Meanwhile Alfred’s vision of eventual happiness for Bruce finally came true, with Selina showing it to be a dream realized at last at the end of The Dark Knight Rises.