Nope Ending Explained: Was That Really a UFO? And Other Questions

Liz Shannon Miller
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The post Nope Ending Explained: Was That Really a UFO? And Other Questions appeared first on Consequence.

Opening with a Bible passage from Nahum Chapter 3, Verse 6 — “I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle” — Jordan Peele’s third film, Nope, is a lot of things: an examination of man versus nature, a story of trying to move on after the death of a parent, and, oh yeah, an exhilarating horror-infused romp, focused around a mysterious and deadly invader from (one assumes) outer space.

Peele keeps things pretty close to the chest as to the origins of his central creation, instead putting the focus on how Southern California horse trainer O.J. (Daniel Kaluuya), his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer), an electronics store employee named Angel (Brandon Perea), and determined cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) team up to not just survive the attacks of the creature, but get the “Oprah shot” proving its existence.

So, let’s start at the beginning…

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Nope.]

What (or Who) Killed O.J. and Emerald’s Father?

Keith David’s Otis Haywood Sr., descended from a long line of Black Hollywood horse trainers, doesn’t get much screen time, but his introduction is pretty memorable — in the opening sequence, we see him engage with his taciturn son before an unexpected rain of objects descends upon the area. A metal coin penetrates Otis’s skull, right through the eye, and while he stays alive long enough for OJ to bring him to the hospital, he unfortunately doesn’t make it in the end.

The official verdict on Otis’s death is that the coin was part of debris from a passing prop plane — Ghost, the horse that Otis was sitting on at the moment of impact, also ended up with a key lodged in his flank. But by the end of the film it’s clear that the debris came from the “cloud” which had just arrived in the area. Six months after his death, we realize, the coin and key likely belonged to one of the alien’s first victims.

So It Was an Alien?

Um, definitely. This is a question? It could have been a very very weird weather balloon, one supposes.

So the Thing In the Sky Is the Alien? I Thought This Movie Was About UFOs.

By the end of the film, we see the creature unfold into something far more majestic, with a jellyfish or octopus-like mouth at its core. But it turns out that the classic iconic UFO shape, immortalized in pop culture for decades now, is simply the shape of this particular alien when it’s in stealth mode, especially when hiding inside clouds.

Like the UFO From That Fry’s Electronics Sign?

Exactly like that.

Is Fry’s a Real Store?

It was, may it rest in peace. For about 36 years, Fry’s Electronics sold electronics, home media, and a vast and eclectic variety of other products to the good people of California, Arizona, Texas, and beyond. Like many retail establishments of the 21st century, online shopping and the pandemic led to its fateful end.

One of the elements that made Fry’s iconic was that its stores featured individual and distinctive themes — the Palo Alto store, for example, featured Wild West decor, while the Manhattan Beach location was a tribute to Tahiti. The Burbank store (which geographically makes sense for O.J. and Emerald to visit, given their ranch’s location in the northern Los Angeles hill country) was a celebration of 1950s sci-fi, complete with the flying saucer sign. (The present-day closure of Fry’s Electronics, not to mention the lack of mention of the pandemic, technically makes Nope a bit of a period piece.)

So What Was Up With the Chimp?

The story of Gordy the chimp (played by Terry Notary) story served a number of purposes. For one thing, it gives Ricky “Jupiter” Park (Steven Yeun) a fascinating bit of backstory about his career as a child actor, prior to him becoming the proprietor of a cheesy Wild West-themed show.

Also, one of the film’s key points is that no matter what the circumstances, no matter how much control we think we have over a situation, wild animals can be dangerous. Gordy’s horrific attack on the set of 1990s sitcom Gordy’s Home, triggered by popping balloons, helps reinforce that notion, and its retelling helps O.J. and Emerald understand that they need to approach the alien threat just like an unpredictable beast, not too dissimilar from the horses they care for.

As Peele told The Wrap prior to the film’s premiere:

There are many ways I think animals pop into my mind when I’m coming up with horror imagery. I think, in its core, they’re a reminder of some of the existential questions of what it means to be human and a reminder of an ultimate exploitation with which how we treat animals and Mother Nature. This film, at its heart, is about spectacularization and exploitation. So yeah, there is, I think, an intrinsic throughline as to why I use animals in these nightmares.

Nope Movie Review Jordan Peele
Nope Movie Review Jordan Peele

Nope (Universal Pictures)

Why Did the Cinematographer Go After the Alien?

While Antlers Holst doesn’t say too much over the course of the film, Peele is careful to set him up as an artist and not a craftsperson, obsessively revisiting his own footage of animals in the wild and agreeing to work with O.J. and Emerald because he likes to do “one for them, one for me.” It’s the promise of “the impossible shot” which lures him out to join them on their quest to capture the alien creature on film, and sadly leads to his getting consumed.

What Kills the Alien?

While organic matter appears to be no problem for the creature to digest, inorganic stuff — like coins, keys, and of course the giant horse statue — gets spit out. However, the giant inflatable Jupiter, which Emerald releases as she runs through Jupiter’s abandoned park, ends up being its downfall: The creature swallows it, and pops.

Seems like Gordy the chimp was perhaps right to be afraid of balloons.

Nope is playing now in theaters everywhere.

Nope Ending Explained: Was That Really a UFO? And Other Questions
Liz Shannon Miller

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