With such lofty themes as “good” and “evil,” it was inevitable that The School For Good And Evil would have an eventful ending. Based on the novel of the same name by Soman Chainani, the Netflix movie follows two childhood friends, Agatha and Sophie, who attend the titular school. Despite Agatha being called a witch in their hometown and Sophie’s princess-like qualities, the two are sorted into the schools of Good and Evil, respectively. Believing that they are both in the wrong schools, Agatha and Sophie attempt to prove their true natures to get sorted into the correct schools, but instead they end up uncovering the truth behind their school.
Although Agatha and Sophie initially believed they were in the wrong schools, they eventually discover that they were where they were supposed to be. They not only grow as a result of the Netflix movie’s events, but challenge the notions of good and evil altogether. The friends undergo several trials and tribulations over the course of the movie, meaning there are lots of loose ends to be tied by the movie’s ending. Here’s the ending of The School For Good And Evil explained.
What Happened At The End Of The School For Good And Evil
The School For Good And Evil’s action-packed ending ending is set in motion when Sophie and Tedros begin to fall for each other, which leads to an intervention from the school. The pair insist that Sophie is actually Good, and the Headmaster (Laurence Fishburne, known for Morpheus in The Matrix) tells them that they must undergo a Trial By Tale to prove it. In the Trial, the two must survive dangerous monsters in a forest and find each other by dawn. Agatha sneaks into the forest to aid Sophie. Tedros forfeits the Trial By Tale when he realizes Sophie isn’t actually Good and was being helped by Agatha, despite Agatha’s insistence that she acted of her own accord. Sophie blames Agatha for everything, and she finally embraces Rafal’s evil temptations.
Using the new powers Rafal has endowed her with, Sophie (played by Sophia Anne Caruso, who was in the Broadway adaptation of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice) crashes the Evers Ball. Tedros attempts to stop her, but since Good is not supposed to attack, only defend, Sophie declares that Good and Evil have switched sides, causing the Evers and Nevers to transform into each other. Sophie tries to confront the Headmaster, and it is revealed that the Headmaster was actually Rafal in disguise. Though Sophie initially sides with Rafal, she changes her mind when she realizes he will destroy the school and everyone in it. Agatha arrives to help Sophie fight Rafal, and Sophie sacrifices herself to save Agatha. After vanquishing Rafal, Agatha sobs over Sophie’s body, and her tears heal Sophie’s wounds. Although the school has been restored, Agatha and Sophie choose to go home, returning their lives to how they were before.
How The Trial By Tale Reveals Sophie’s Truth
During the Trial By Tale, Sophie and Agatha witness Tedros being attacked by a Reaper, and he loses Excalibur. Agatha urges Sophie to grab the sword and help Tedros, but Sophie doesn’t heed her advice, leading Agatha to intervene and save Tedros. Since Sophie chooses not to defend Tedros, something fundamental to being Good, the truth that Sophie is Evil is revealed. Agatha’s choice to aid Sophie in the forest during the Trial (something against the rules) supports this, demonstrating that Agatha doesn’t truly believe Sophie is Good. Ultimately, the Trial By Tale serves its purpose, revealing that Sophie is really Evil and therefore is in the correct school.
Why Agatha Doesn’t Change During The Evers Ball
When Sophie crashes the Evers Ball, she declares that Good and Evil have switched, which causes the Evers and the Nevers to change into each other, with the Evers now dressed in black and the Nevers in white. However, when the rest of the School of Good transform, Agatha (played by Sophia Wylie of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fame) does not change in appearance. Although this seems like some sort of mistake on the surface, there is a reason why Agatha doesn’t change into a Never. During the entirety of The School For Good And Evil, Agatha has asserted that she doesn’t believe in Good or Evil, advocating for a more gray view of the world. This is why Agatha remains the same when her other classmates switch: she is neither Good nor Evil in the first place.
What Agatha’s Wish Really Means
Earlier in The School For Good And Evil, the School Of Good take part in a lesson with Professor Dovey (played by Kerry Washington) that involves them being shown their true desires by Wish Fish. During her turn with the fish, Agatha wishes “for home…for all of us,” which in this scene manifests as her helping several students who failed out of the School to return to their human form in the real world. Though this scene shows that Agatha is different from her classmates and belongs in the School Of Good due to her selflessness, it has a deeper meaning.
Agatha wishing for everyone to go “home” set the ending of the Netflix movie in motion. When Sophie sacrificed herself for Agatha, they restored their friendship and affirmed that they would always be there for each other. After Sophie was healed by Agatha’s tears, the two choose to return to Galvadon rather than remain at the school. Therefore, Agatha’s wish to the Wish Fish manifested the Netflix movie’s ending, helping her and Sophie find “home”: both Galvadon and each other.
Rafal’s School For Good And Evil Motives Explained
When the Headmaster is revealed as Rafal, the villain’s true motives during The School For Good And Evil are explained, adding context to earlier scenes in the movie. Rafal and his brother, Rhian, were entrusted to run the school, balancing Good and Evil, which in turn made them immortal. Rafal became discontent with the arrangement and decided to duel his brother. This was depicted in the opening scene of the movie, although Rafal reveals that he killed Rhian and assumed his identity. As Rhian, Rafal destroyed the balance between Good and Evil by corrupting Good’s values. He informs Sophie that everything she has experienced up to this point has been a test, and she has demonstrated she is “chaos” (which he told his brother during the duel he preferred over balance). Rafal (played by Kit Young from Shadow And Bone) reveals that he is behind everything that happened during The School For Good And Evil, as he was training Sophie, who he thought was his true love, to embrace Evil.
The Real Meaning Of The School For Good And Evil’s Ending
Although the title of the Netflix movie implies a natural dichotomy between good and evil, the real meaning of The School For Good And Evil‘s ending is that there is no fundamental good or evil, rather, there are only good or evil choices. Sophie’s steadfast belief that she is Good and her desire to change schools leads her to make selfish decisions with no regard for the ramifications, which is what makes her turn Evil. Agatha never believed in the idea of a fundamental dichotomy between good or evil, which allowed her to make uninfluenced, organically selfless choices to help others (including Sophie). This theme is reinforced by Sophie renouncing Evil and helping Agatha at the end ofThe School For Good And Evil, demonstrating that no one is locked into a specified fate and that people are not defined by their choices.
