FURIOSA Ending Explained | Mad Max Easter Eggs Breakdown & Spoiler Review

Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I’m your host Paul, and in this video, we’re breaking down Furiosa.

It’s Furiosa, not Furiosssaaaa, and there’s a lot to unpack. Throughout this review, we’re going to be going through the movie, ending, some of the Mad Max Easter eggs, and our general thoughts on it.

FURIOSA BREAKDOWN

Now the movie basically centres around Dr Dementus going against Immortan Joe and his allies. First introduced during Fury Road, these include several faces that you might recognise. Those are the Bullet Farmer from Bullet Town and the People Eater who eventually takes over Gas Town.

Anyway, Dementus is desperately trying to gain control of Joe’s Citadel, which eventually will be taken by Furiosa down the line. We’ve actually done a big breakdown on Fury Road, including all the Easter eggs, and there we talked about Immortan Joe’s background. Explored during a prequel comic, we discovered that he took the Citadel with his forces. This in itself was a bloody battle in which Joe miraculously came out unscathed. There he was deemed Immortal, hence his nickname Immortan Joe.

We also have his sons Scrotus and Rictus, with the former being the villain in the Mad Max game.

Now Furiosa is tasked with hunting down Dementus, which actually brings things full circle from her past. We culminate with him being turned into a living peach tree planted with seeds that Furiosa was given at the start of the movie. Seeds are something the mothers are obsessed with as they offer the chance to grow something in the wasteland. In Fury Road, we actually had a character known as the Seed Bearer who carried a bag with her wherever she went. Killed on the way to the Citadel, the Dag ended up grabbing them to carry on the legacy.

There we saw the greenery at the top of the Citadel, and due to the abundance of water, plant life is able to grow there. Furiosa ends up defeating Dementus, with there being myths and legends about what happened to him recounted to us by a History Man. Fury Road was actually originally planned to be a story that would be told to us by one of these. The prequel comic featured one originally, and the entire movie was intended to be a story by one that recounted the tale of Fury Road. In the end, this got scrapped, but we do end the film with a quote from one of the first History Men.

So it’s kind of expanding on that with stuff that originally got left on the cutting room floor. Furiosa was intended to be shot back-to-back with Fury Road, but after realising the scope and scale of it, they decided to do the movies separately.

They even wanted to do an anime alongside it that told her backstory, but I’m glad they saved it for a big live-action film.

These two films are ideas that Miller had since 1987, with him conceptualising both films all the way back then. Sigourney Weaver was actually originally in the running for the role, which I think would’ve been insane.

They originally wanted to do them in the early noughties, but after September 11th, the dollar rate crashed, meaning that shooting things in Australia would be way more expensive. By the time they got around to it, the desert there had received rain for the first time in years, and thus plants had started to grow. They then wanted to shoot it in the Middle East, but after the war broke out, that became nigh on impossible. So the movies eventually got delayed with them just shooting Fury Road in the end.

Either way, it wasn’t to be, but what we get is a really solid chapter in the Mad Max Saga.

The History Man says some believe Furiosa shot him in the head, while some think she tortured him in unspeakable ways. However, some believe she turned him into a living peach tree, which grows from his still-alive body.

This is indeed the case, as she grabs a peach from his tree, bringing things full circle from the beginning. We will talk about what this then leads into later on in the video, but the idea of the peach tree and revenge ties into the beginning of the movie.

Early on in the film, we learn that Furiosa was abducted from the Green Place by his gang. Dementus killed her mother Mary Jo Bassa in front of her and forced her to join him. Planning to return to the Green Place one day, we know this eventually becomes a swamp land with the Vuvalini tribe moving away from it. Fury Road also tells us that Furiosa was out there for 7000 nights, which translates to being roughly 19 years.

Dementus is desperate to find the place of abundance, which is said to be a utopia. Running into a war boy in the search for it and after hearing of the Citadel, they come to the conclusion that that’s abundance. Travelling to the Citadel, it’s revealed that the war boy was Bait… that’s bait, and they destroy most of his possessions.

Taking over Gas Town, he has a meeting with Joe, who spots Furiosa. Wanting her to become a breeder, we saw these during Fury Road. It’s here that he also wants to enlist the Organic Mechanic from Dementus’ group, which too ties in with the whole breeding thing. Early on, when he was tattooing Max, we could catch tally marks on his hand, and these showed how many kids Joe had had. That included 72 altogether, but only Rictus, Scrotus, and Corpus Colossus lasted long enough to make it to the movies and games.

Either way, Furiosa goes back with Joe, but she’s desperate to get back to the Green Place. Tattooing a constellation map back to it on her arm and shaving her hair, she masquerades as a war boy after escaping from Rictus.

Attacked by rogue members in Dementus’ gang on the way to Gas Town, only she and Praetorian Jack survive. Praetorian actually pulls from the Praetorian guards of Rome, who were some of the most elite soldiers tasked with guarding the Emperor. Respecting her bravery, the pair decide to build a convoy.

Growing closer to him, she becomes not only a mechanic but also a skilled soldier. Telling him the truth about the Green Place, she and Jack are tasked with taking Gas Town from Dementus.

Unfortunately, things don’t go to plan, and Dementus kills Jack while Furiosa’s arm is caught. Thus she has to tear herself from it, explaining how she ended up with the mechanical one in Fury Road. To make it more devastating, though, this is the arm with the map to the Green Place. Dementus now owns the Bullet Farm too, and it’s a bit of a sore point for her.

Bleeding out and stumbling through the desert, we see Max and his interceptor watching her. The Road Warrior saves her life, and hey, I guess we did need another hero.

Waking up near the Citadel, she tells Joe of Dementus’ plan to control the trifecta of the Citadel, Gas Town, and Bullet Farm.

Now all this leads into some big battles during the 40-day war, and Furiosa builds her arm during this time. Originally, for Fury Road, this was constructed by the production team by using a baby bee to power it. This is an engine for a model airplane, giving you the whole scrappy nature that the world now is.

Eventually, she chases down Dementus, and after he throws everything he has at her, he surrenders. Taunting him, he says she’ll never find peace, but she will find… peach… dear me.

DOES CHARLIZE THERON APPEAR IN FURIOSA?

Closing out on an older Furiosa, we get a scene that perfectly sets up Fury Road. Heading to the vault, we catch her taking the wives to the war rig as they begin to plan their escape.

This vault highlighted the prison that they were kept in and the fact that they were seen as possessions. This is a fate that Furiosa could’ve had as well, with her being kept in the vault and used as a breeder. It was a life of hell, and we learned in the expanded lore that Splendid got her scars through doing it to herself. It was a life of misery, but now Furiosa is seen as a liberator.

As we know, they’ll eventually cross paths with Max, and the events of Fury Road will play out… in that movie… or the credits. This contains a montage of scenes from the movie, which wraps up her story so far.

Furiosa is the Spanish female word for Mad, and thus we have these two mad characters about to come together.

Now, there aren’t technically any post-credits scenes, but we do know that Miller is planning on doing another prequel with Max. I wonder if we’ll segue from the scene with him here, and we might even see him dropping off Furiosa. As we know, he was out in the wild on his own, and I’d love to see another film that leads directly into Fury Road. There we catch him overlooking the wasteland, which I think would be the perfect shot to end that movie on. We, of course, have lots of other directions they can go as well, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve got planned next.

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Now, other Easter eggs in the movie include us beginning with a voice-over discussing how the world ended. This is similar to Fury Road, and upon being captured as a child, Furiosa is made to wear a mask. This is akin to how Max had to don one at the start of Fury Road. The phrase Half-life is used a lot as well. This was initially dropped in Fury Road to discuss the war boys, but it also highlights how those intent on revenge only really get a half-life. The rest of their life is focused on revenge.

Shoutout to Colton for pointing out that there is also this biblical side to the story with it being akin to the Garden of Eden. Furiosa lived in a paradise where we have imagery of her picking fruit from a tree. At this point in the movie, Furiosa insisted that the pair return home, but she was tempted by the fruit and stayed there to pick it. This curiosity led to her being cast out much in the same way that Eve was.

Valkyrie also featured in Fury Road as well. On top of that, though, the name Valkyrie ties into the Valhalla legends which Joe used to use to get his war boys to die for him.

Thoriosa is also in the movie as well. That’s a reach, however, he does ride a chariot calling back to the Roman times. Colours and what characters wear symbolically highlight their change throughout the film. For example, Nux in the first film started off covered in war paint because he was loyal to Joe. However, this was stripped away throughout the movie, showing his transition away from him. That’s the same here too, with Furiosa starting off as a young, clean kid before being corrupted by the wasteland and being covered in oil. Dementus also starts off with a white cloak, but this turns red due to the amount of blood on his hands. Everyone is having to unfortunately leave behind who they were in order to progress. This is highlighted perfectly in Furiosa losing her arm, which contains the star map back to the Green Place. Dementus also sheds his humanity when he gives his quote-unquote daughter over to Joe. Furiosa says “remember me” after beating Dementus once more, calling back to what she said just before killing Joe.

The “remember me” there, though, is more of a question, with him, of course, forgetting who she was. On top of this, we also have the Doof Warrior, who appears for a second, and Furiosa is given a broomstick. This is Max’s signature weapon, with his catchphrase appearing too.

Dementus says, “You wanna get out of here? Follow me.” With Mad Max saying:

There’s so many different things going on with it, and symbolically, the movie works really well.

Anyway, that kind of takes me into my thoughts on the movie, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Mad Max is one of those franchises that kind of comes and goes, but every time it appears, it feels like a timepiece. The original, Road Warrior, Thunderdome, Fury Road, and now this.

They all have their key characteristics, and though this ties in great with Fury Road, it also feels perfect as a standalone. It’s another spot-on tie-in that feels distinct with its own style. Though the characters and style are the same, there are key differences in the story.

Fury Road was initially pitched as a movie that’s a race and then a chase. Furiosa is far more in-depth, with the movie taking place over 10 years. Because of that, the pace is completely different to Fury Road. That felt like it was all taking place in real time, with us pretty much not really cutting away from the characters other than a few moments.

This, however, helps to really flesh out the backstory of the characters in Fury Road. That was always designed as something that was basically meant to be understood without an audience needing to know English. Miller shot it with the idea in mind that even if you spoke Chinese, you could understand what was going on. They didn’t even really take a script when making it and instead used storyboards to tell the tale.

Because of this, the character development was kind of minimal, whereas here it’s the opposite.

FURIOSA: ENDING EXPLAINED AND REVIEW

You really get to know how the world operates, the people in it, and because of that, it works as a companion piece perfectly. Not only does it flesh out that world, but it also makes Fury Road better.

Now that doesn’t mean the action scenes aren’t good, and there’s definitely a lot of incredible carnage we witness on screen. It will, of course, be compared with Fury Road, but it’s a different movie, and I think depending on your sensibilities, it depends on how you’re going to feel about it.

Miller does a fantastic job of matching it action-wise, though, but he adds something that makes this unique. The timeline might be off slightly with some stuff, but I dunno… like in general… I feel most of the Mad Max movies didn’t really care that much about making sure stuff was lined up.

Either way, I think most people will enjoy it, and it’s aided by the incredible cast that we get along the way. Recasting actors can always be a big swing, but Anya Taylor-Joy nails it. She perfectly captures the pleas, desperation, and fierceness that Charlize had, and we really watch her grow as a character. We too have Alia Brown, who plays her for a big chunk, and we get these three great performances of Furiosa in the saga.

There’s also Chris Hemsworth, who could’ve been terrible as this literal moustache-twirling villain. I’m happy to say he does a fantastic job and shows the range that he’s got. The guy never plays villains, but he nails it and yeah, plays a unique villain in this universe. Immortan Joe was worshipped like a god, and he had followers that would go to their death for him. Dementus is kind of trying to gain respect, and he leads a lot of things exposition-wise. Furiosa reflects Max in her silent, withdrawn performance, with most of the stuff coming from their expressions and actions. It’s the villains that really lead it in terms of lines. I hope that makes sense.

Now, on the negatives, I don’t feel like all of the visuals are as sharp as we got 9 years ago. There seems to be a weird thing in terms of VFX the last couple of years where stuff seems to have gone a bit backwards in terms of how it looks. I genuinely think a lot of effects today look worse now than they did back then.

Now that might be me looking back with rose-tinted glasses, and there could be a number of reasons. Obviously, a lot of movies were worked on from home during the pandemic, so they may not have had the oversight those movies did. A lot more films now are shot against green screens, whereas back then they would’ve been shot on either sets or locations. The second you shoot against a green screen, that shot then becomes something that needs a CGI artist to work on it, and if you do a lot of a movie like that, you can see how it mounts up. So when we have lots of movies being shot like that now, then there’s a lot more work that needs to be done.

There’s probably not as many VFX staff members in terms of the ratio of what there used to be as well. For example, if you maybe used to have 50 people working on 5 movies, whereas now there’s 50 people working on 50 projects.

Anyway, that’s a big segue, but I just keep seeing people talk about why VFX look worse now than they did back then. It’s not across the board here, but yeah, there are a couple of shots that will possibly take you out of it.

It’s a nitpick, and it’s rare that VFX make or break a movie for me. Minus One has some dodgy stuff in it, but when the film’s that good, you don’t care. That’s what I feel here too, and yeah, I think the movie still works excellently.

Overall, this was another fantastic film by George Miller, and the guy shows he’s still got it.

Anyway, I’d of course love to hear your thoughts on the movie, so make sure you drop them in the comments section below.

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