LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND Ending Explained | Hidden Meaning, Mr. Robot Easter Eggs, Breakdown & Review

Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers show, I’m your host Paul, and it’s time to Leave The World Behind as we break down the brand new Netflix movie.

Set at what seems to be the end of the world, we follow a family as they start to experience what the downfall of humanity is like from an isolated holiday home. It’s a terrible advert for Tesla…and EE…and Netflix, now I think of it, but it’s great for BnBs and collecting physical media. Throughout this video, we’re going to be talking about what happens at the end, the hidden meaning, and some of the Mr. Robot Easter Eggs that we spotted in it. Heavy Spoilers ahead, so if you don’t want to know, then I highly recommend that you leave this video behind. If you enjoy crap puns like that, please hit the thumbs-up button and don’t forget to subscribe for videos like this every day.

With that out of the way, a huge thank you for clicking this. Now let’s get into the movie.

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: BREAKDOWN

Ok, so the movie follows Amanda and her husband Clay as they decide to leave the world behind and take a vacation out with their two kids. At the holiday home, they start to experience strange things like an oil tanker driving ashore and unexpected visitors in the form of George and Ruth. They clearly know more than they’re letting in, and as we watch the film, it seems like there’s something strange going on in the country. There have been cyberattacks, the animals are acting weird, and strange flyers spelling doom have been dropped on the location. As things begin to ramp up, we learn that there may have been an attack on the country which happened in 3 stages.

The movie itself is actually broken up into five phases, and each of these comes with different parts to them.

Now, the first phase of these is the cyber attack which cuts off communication by destroying the internet, cell, and satellite networks. The second of these is through misinformation which spreads fear and paranoia. It’s then believed that this will lead into a civil war in which a country will take itself out. We very much see this happening in the final few scenes with Nukes littering New York and an emergency line being put out from the White House telling people to seek shelter due to radiation levels.

This sees the Daughter Rose hiding out in the shelter about to chill out and leave the world behind as she continues the rest of her friend’s watch through. It’s going to get really confusing when she starts seeing her mother popping up in it.

Hey, don’t slag it off, Ruth, she was in it. Stop it, stop it.

Now you’re probably asking what the hell is going on and what does this all mean?

Well, if we look at the book, it’s pretty ambiguous too, with it not really lining out how things happen. I have been going back and forth on whether this could be foreign invaders, animals rising up, or even ALIENS, but I actually think the movie gives us one big clue about what’s going on.

That comes in George’s conversation about his mysterious friend who works for the Cabal.

In the film, he talks about someone he knows who would jokingly talk about going off to meet up with the evil cabal that runs the entire world. Later on, when things fall down, it’s revealed George had a phone call with him in which he jokingly brought it up, but there was no laughter. George hints that this might have actually been true, and I think the lines in the film for a specific reason. That’s because it is, and what we could be seeing is the results of what happens to the world when those in charge leave it rudderless.

Now George’s entire conversation comes from a famous quote by Alan Moore in which he talked about who was running the world. He believed that conspiracy theorists made up the idea that there’s a secret society is in charge because it’s actually more comforting than the truth, which is that humanity is alone and no one is in charge.

Though this is what George surmised too, I think that the movie may be a result of what happens when those running the show no longer are. Everything starts to fall apart, and we see the world destabilize.

It was revealed by Variety that Barack Obama actually consulted with the creative team for the film, and when talking about it to Vanity Fair, he said:

“In the original drafts of the script, I definitely pushed things a lot farther than they were in the film, and President Obama, having the experience he does have, was able to ground me a little bit on how things might unfold in reality. I am writing what I think is fiction, for the most part, I’m trying to keep it as true to life as possible, but I’m exaggerating and dramatizing. And to hear an ex-president say you’re off by a few details…I thought I was off by a lot! The fact that he said that scared the fuck out of me.”

Thus, maybe George’s client was Obama himself, with him being someone who had been controlling the world from behind the scenes. I told you it was all connected.

Now we’ve actually just launched an It’s All Connected Shirt on our merch store, which is now out just in time for Christmas. If you love these videos, we’d really appreciate the support, and a huge thank you to everyone who supports us through that or our membership program. For 99 cents a month, that will get you early access to videos as well, and it really makes a difference.

Now that’s just a theory about it, and it may be completely off, but that conversation made me consider it could be the case. This person clearly wanted money moved, and this could show that the rest of the world is ok, and that it’s just America that has been made to turn on itself. If that’s the case, then perhaps the head of America fell or was shut out, and thus the country is now on its own.

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: WHAT WAS KEVIN BACON’S ROLE?

We hear from Kevin Bacon’s Danny that Russian contacts were pulled out of Washington the week prior, so this attack had been likely coming for a while. However, that doesn’t mean that things are over, and instead, I think that this is a time of rebirth in which things will be born again, potentially better than before.

Characters like Amanda start off as people that literally hate humanity, and they’re suspicious and distrustful of those around them.

She clearly bases a lot of her judgment on George and Ruth’s race, with her suspecting that they’re actually people that work for the true house owners and not wanting to stay in the house with them. George somewhat knows that race may be an issue to some too, which is why all photos of him and the family are out of sight, and the only things with black people in them are shut off in his office.

Amanda definitely seems like she’s completely distrustful, but as she gets to know them, she realizes that she was wrong. Come the end of the movie, rather than turning against them, she decides to be more optimistic and helpful. You would suspect that humanity would turn on itself and give into our baser instincts, but on the whole, I believe that people are good. Sure the powers that be will fire weapons and wipe out others, but at a ground level, I think that people would help one another.

Amanda is someone who talks about the collective delusion we all have that allows us to commit heinous acts and just act like it’s fine. She sees humanity as being evil, but in the end, still helps others, which I think would probably happen on the whole.

That too is exemplified in Danny, who refuses to help out by providing medicine. Man stands with a shotgun in hand in front of a sign that says no soliciting. In the end, though, even he gives in, and I think that’s the true meaning of the film.

Still, though, to me, the Cabal had a power struggle, and this then ended with America coming down. One of the chapters is titled the curve, and this is in reference to George trying to read the curve and use his knowledge and foresight to control things financially. Being ahead of this has made him rich, and in the end, it’s what saves his life. Strange things happening before major events are something that’s been apparent throughout history, with 9/11 being a great example of this. I remember seeing a documentary about a simulation that flipped a coin over and over and over to test outcomes. Just before 9/11, we had heads landing over and over and over again, and though that might have been some nonsense, these things are believed to have deeper roots in the world around us.

Now, that’s of course a theory time, theory time, theory time, theory time, shirts available too.

But I do think that there are clues in the film that point towards the cabal. Now the movie itself also has nods to Mr. Robot laced throughout, which too dealt with Cyber attacks. Sam Esmail confirmed that the movie is set in the same universe, and the 5/9 attack is brought up as being something that almost broke the economy.

Our editor Matt is a big fan of the show, and he was also thinking that the white rose may have been behind the effects of it. Matt noticed that we too open with a Joey Bada$$ song who played Leon in the show.

On top of this, at the start of the movie, we also get several nods to Confitura industries and the E Corp Logo on Danny’s tub. This too appears on Julia’s Laptop, with Otto Irving’s book Beach Towel appearing at roughly the 35-minute mark.

The Blue Hue of the emergency broadcast also bathes them in a similar glow to Tyrell, and Blue is something that appears repeatedly throughout the movie.

The opening shots are of the earth before we then cut to a shot of the sky. Jet streams and a plane flies through this which also looks similar to the blue wall we cut to above the bed with the crack in it.

After Friends breaks on the tablet, we then pan up to a blue sky and see an ocean and blue sky above the Scotts’ bed. The jeep is also blue, and blue appears on the market signs, with blue also appearing at the beach too. The sky and coast are, of course, blue, Amanda’s dress is blue, and the pool is, of course, blue…daba dee dabadie.

Then we have the buttons on the tablet and the national emergency screen, with the remote also being blue too. Rose’s NASA logo t-shirt, the iMessage colors, radio in the car, garage contents, blue glass, and needle on the record all carry this hue, along with the blue pills. Before the Friends DVD starts up, that’s blue too, with there being blue buttons on the remote, and lastly, blue light on the plants.

Now, what does this all mean? Well, blue is, of course, the color of our planet and water and it often means stability and hope.

Most of the things that provide safety and comfort are basked in blue, which is why it lights up Rose’s face at the end. Think Story pointed out in his video that Clay discussed how media is both an escape and reflection of our world. I definitely think this light represents an escape for Rose, who is now just completely shut off from the rest of the world and enjoying what’s basically going to be lockdown.

Think Story has done a brilliant video on it too, so definitely go check that out.

Either way, this is why I think blue is laced throughout the movie, along with the two other main colors in green and red. Green normally represents nature and that things are safe, whereas Red pretty much always means danger. This to me is why it’s shown on the flyers and why it’s used as the title head for the noise chapter.

Green meaning go has Rose going into the woods, and here she finds safety in the shelter.

The map of America in the Scotts’ basement is also broken up into the colors of green and red, with these two colors becoming more and more dominant. As we move away from the blue and rather the comfort, these begin to take over, and this is why its appearance at the end is so important. The final chapter is called “The Last One,” as is the final episode of Friends. That left things on a high and happy note, which to me hints at how we leave things here.

So symbolically again, I think that this is about rebirth, and the people will return to nature and then build up again from there. Knowing what hurt them in the past will hopefully steer them in a new direction in which they won’t be so quick to judge. All the characters work together in the end to make it through, and it’s a more optimistic message than what normally happens in apocalyptic movies.

Now one of the big questions you probably have is whether the characters made it to the bunker or not. This was actually posed to Julia Roberts by Yahoo, and she had this to say on where we leave things.

Now that ending music is the Friends theme tune about how people will be there for each other. I’ll be there for you, mate…when the rain starts to fall…I’ll be there for you…like I’ve been there before, I’ll be there for y…look, you get it.

Clay makes a joke earlier in the movie that his kids could sleep through the atom bomb, and here we see that sort of playing out with Rose being completely oblivious to it all.

In the end, I believe that they did make it to the bunker as the guys were told about it by Danny, so they’d probably head there next. Amanda and Ruth were out looking for Rose, so they probably eventually followed the tracks to the house, and it was a-ok in the end.

This too was backed up by Sam Esmail, who talked about it again with Yahoo. Also, I don’t just want to keep ripping off Yahoo, so I’ve left a link to the video in the description. Look at me, shouting out Yahoo, giving these…giving these up-and-coming mega-famous places a chance, mate. That’s how we do at the Heavy Spoilers show.

So, in the end, I think that’s what happened, and the movie is basically meant to document the fall and rise of humanity with a better, kinder mindset.

Think Story also pointed out that there’s a store called The Huxleys, which is likely a reference to Aldous Huxley, whose work explored the dangers of technology.

I think that’s basically what the movie’s real meaning is, and overall it’s about how we are stronger on a personal level in which we can interact instead of this digital world that we’ve crafted for ourselves. We are now so reliant on that, that if it goes away, we could go into a meltdown and turn on each other to the point that we blindly fire

away in case the other is attacking us.

Throughout there’s the constant suspicion that it’s Cuba, or the Koreans, Chinese, or Russians doing this, along with even the Iranians being suspects due to the flyers. In the end, though, I think those nukes come from America itself, which is the civil war that George hinted at.

Now, had there not been this suspicion and paranoia, then this never would’ve happened, and everyone in those cities would still be alive. If we’ve just been able to talk it out, then things may have de-escalated, and I think the film’s about how humanity can keep going; we just need to work together.

I know a lot of the interpretations are bad, but I get the feeling that this is more optimistic than damning us to death. Sure…millions and millions of people will die, but those that stick together and work it out all have a chance of coming out on top. There’s safety in numbers, and I think the survivors could go forth with this mentality and start something new that’s better than before.

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: DEER SYMBOLISM EXPLAINED AND REVIEW

We also have the constant deer throughout that pop up and slowly get closer and closer. To me, this is about humanity getting closer to nature now because the more technological things in life have started to fail them. However, Brain Pilot also brought up a brilliant point when he talked about how they’re a symbol of rebirth. The antlers of deer…is it deers or deer…anyway, their antlers grow and shed over time, and this could represent humanity’s rebirth. We have grown to a point that we’ve shed away and are now starting again as something new. I think in the end, that it works really well as a metaphor and definitely check out his more in-depth video on that point.

Anyway, that’s my interpretation of it, but what did I think about the movie?

Well, I think pacing-wise, that it did drag a bit, but overall, I really liked it. It’s one of those movies that the more I’ve thought about, the more and more I’ve started to enjoy it. I like that there are lots of interpretations you can draw, and it’s cool that what you take from it could reflect you. If you think they all died, hey…you might be a pessimist, and if you don’t, hey…you might be an optimist. Now, this isn’t a psychological analysis of your personality, and I’m probably a pessimist on the whole, but this gave me hope. In the end, I did like it, and like the characters, it made me want to leave the world behind.

Also, the music and piano bits kept reminding me of L.A. Noire.

Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts, and thank you everyone for checking out the video. If you want something else to watch, then we’ve got another movie about the downfall of humanity, and that is Apocalypse Now. That will be linked on screen, and it’s one of our best videos on the channel. Definitely go check it out after this, and I’ll see you on the next one. Peace.