2009’s Knowing movie had an unforgettable ending, and here are the answers to some of its biggest questions. After John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), an MIT professor and astrophysicist, finds himself in possession of a sheet of paper covered in numbers that predict various tragedies and natural disasters, he sets about trying to stop the remaining events on the list. As the mystery of the numbers unravels, John learns that not only can he not stop the final event, but that it will wipe out all human life. In the film’s shocking ending, he entrusts the care of his son to strange alien figures, sending him out among the stars before Earth is consumed by a deadly solar flare.
The sinister men (or “Whisper People”) that are seemingly stalking Caleb throughout the movie are revealed to be aliens. They are responsible for the prophetic string of numbers that lead Koestler to the location where the aliens take Caleb with them. The twist sees John is doomed to die on Earth, while Caleb is taken along with his friend, Abby (Lara Robinson), to survive among the stars with the apparently well-intentioned aliens. It is an abrupt twist, but there are a handful of hints peppered throughout the movie that add context to Knowing‘s ending. Through careful rewatching and a little extrapolation, here are the answers to the biggest questions from the ending of the Knowing movie.
Why Did The Whisper People Save Caleb & Abby?
John Koestler’s kids are central to why some still want the Knowing ending explained. It seems odd that the alien race chose to save Caleb and Abby and raise two strange human children, but it was so the human race could start again. The aliens’ “whispering” is a form of selection, and only the chosen get a ticket off-world (Caleb and Abby are two children among many). Though it is a Nicolas Cage movie, his character proves less important in the end. With the aliens refusing to take John, it seems as though they specifically want children to rebuild humanity.
The possible reason for the selection of children is likely a matter of age. Children of Caleb and Abby’s age could survive being separated from their parents, and they’re young enough to give them plenty of time to rebuild and adjust to the destruction of Earth (which is, understandably, often a major sticking point for humans in sci-fi), essentially allowing for a smoother transition into their roles as the first of a new society.
Why Did The Whisper People Give Caleb & Abby Rabbits?
One of the most bewildering aspects of Knowing‘s ending is the way that Caleb and Abby are both depicted holding rabbits shortly before leaving with the aliens. This isn’t directly addressed by the film, but the rabbits are seen arriving safely on the alien planet with the children in Knowing‘s final moments. While the rabbit’s place in the new world could largely be symbolic – particularly due to the animal’s reputation for fast breeding, or for their regular use in scientific experiments, both of which are possible plans for the children’s future – it’s likely there’s a more logical explanation for the rabbits’ inclusion.
It’s possible that the rabbits are intended to help the children’s new civilization by establishing a food chain. As the aliens took children from multiple locations across the planet, it’s likely that they took various species of animals, too, most likely to make sure that the children are able to grow up with a reliable source of food. Or, it may have had a purpose similar to Noah’s Ark, with the child refugees of Earth taking with them two animals from various species in order to save and repopulate not just humanity, but the Earth’s animal species, as well.
Knowing’s Religious Themes Explained
Knowing draws on a lot of biblical inspiration, most notably in its handling of the idea of prophecy and the apocalypse. While it’s certainly not the first sci-fi film to tackle biblical symbolism – just look at Dune‘s messiah/Chosen One prophecy – Knowing actually explores a wide array of religious themes. The most obvious is the film’s use of prophecy, which is bolstered by the connection between John Koestler, who tries to warn the planet of the coming apocalypse, and John the Apostle, the author of the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Christian Bible that details the end of the world. In addition, John’s son Caleb also shares his name with a biblical figure.
In the Bible, Caleb is one of only two Israelites who survive to reach the promised land, which draws an uncanny parallel with Knowing‘s ending. The events of Knowing also renew John’s faith and see him reconnect with his father before he dies. Father-son relationships are hugely important in sci-fi, with Star Wars’ Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker relationship the most famous of all, but there’s also something remarkably biblical in John embracing his father (who happens to be a reverend, no less). There’s also imagery from Genesis used for the film’s ending, with Caleb (Adam) and Abby (Eve) seen living on a paradise-like world (Eden), heading for a large tree (the Tree of Knowledge), as well as the spaceship acting as an Ark.
The Real Meaning Of Knowing’s Ending
Maybe to say that Knowing is a film of many layers is to give it too much credit, but there certainly are a lot of themes and inspirations at play, and that’s ultimately what makes its ending a little confusing. By including so much religious allegory, Knowing actually sets up its own ending relatively early on by foreshadowing Nicolas Cage’s character death and spiritual redemption. The religious symbolism also lends itself to one more interpretation of the ending, though: that the film’s aliens are actually angels.
With Knowing‘s apocalyptic climax mirroring the Book of Revelation, as well as the various other biblical similarities, it’s hardly a stretch to think humanity’s saviors could just as likely be angels. With the aliens seen taking the children to another planet to start a new civilization, Knowing‘s ending actually subtly references the Ancient Alien theory, which hypothesizes that aliens made contact with early humans and influenced the development of culture and technology. In this regard, Knowing draws some similarities with another sci-fi film from a more popular franchise, as Prometheus‘ Engineers influenced humanity’s origins too, and this theory really only furthers the unexpected layers to Knowing‘s story.
Why The Final Shot In Knowing Ruined An Intriguing Ending
From the 1936 earthquake musical San Francisco to 1998’s Armageddon, 2004’s Day After Tomorrow, and 2021’s Don’t Look Up, disaster and apocalypse movies both do well at the box office and deliver spectacles that last long in viewers’ memories. Knowing could have been one of the most highly-regarded disaster movies so far, especially with the uniqueness of the premise, as most disaster movies don’t bother with much beyond “there’s a disaster happening.” However, Knowing shot itself in the foot with its final scene, ensuring it would join Roland Emmerich’s 2012 as another CGI-heavy but forgettable apocalypse flick. As a result, some see Knowing as an example of a twist ending that ruins the movie.
The movie had set itself up for an open-ended, intriguing, and possibly unsettling finish. If the aliens had brought the kids into an unspecified situation, with both Cage’s John Koestler and audiences never knowing their fate, it would have kept the conversation going long after the credits rolled. Production studios Escape Artists and DMG Entertainment opted for a happy ending though, where the saved kids of Earth are taken to a paradise, bringing an adorable-yet-contextually-nonsensical bunny with them on an interstellar ark.
Knowing wasn’t a film that required a happy ending, and it suffered from the studio’s efforts to shoehorn one in. All praise for the undeniably awesome disaster scenes felt sidelined by criticism of the final shot. If Knowing had kept the fate of the kids unknown it would have left questions in the right way. Instead, by trying to provide answers, Knowing created an unsatisfactory kind of ambiguity, one that was a product of bad storytelling rather than deliberately creating mystique. Knowing grossed over $180 million on a budget less than a third of that ($50 million), so it was hardly a flop, but the obviously-tacked-on ending meant that this particular Nicolas Cage movie was cheated out of a lasting legacy
How Director Alex Proyas Explains Knowing And Its Ending
With a lot to unpack, the best person to offer a little insight on the Knowing ending is the movie’s director Alex Proyas. Having directed Dark City and The Crow, Proyas is used to making genre movies with big ideas and concepts that fans can read a lot into. When it comes to the interpretations of Knowing as a biblical story, Proyas doesn’t discourage such takes, but explains (via Games Radar) that it is up to the audience to read it that way. He says “you can interpret it on a purely scientific science fiction level, or, if you choose to, you can interpret it on a kind of quasi-religious Biblical level, but nothing is overtly stated either way.”
While the Biblical connections might not have been as intentional as some audiences took it, Proyas had a very clear reason for taking on the movie in the first place. He explains (via First Showing) that he was drawn to the journey of Nicolas Cage’s character and the truth he uncovers. As John realizes what the numbers mean he is met with the question of whether someone would want to know when they die with Proyas saying “And it’s a question that many people find hard to answer. You can see the merits of both sides of the argument.” Interestingly, he looks at the real meaning of Knowing as a story about confronting mortality. It also speaks to the ending as, how Proyas sees it, John’s death was inescapable as soon as he learned the truth.
Seeing the movie from this new perspective makes it a much more intimate story about one man accepting his death. There is a mystery involved in John discovering the various disasters that are occurring, yet with each new one, he is unable to prevent them. It hints at where the story is going and perhaps the conflict within John’s mind. He knows what the last numbers mean, and he still holds out some hope that he will be able to stop it. Yet in the end, he has to confront the reality of knowing that his death is inevitable and it just so happens that his fate is shared by the rest of the world. It is an interesting reading that gives new context to the Knowing ending.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
