The Roses, the 2025 reimagining of The War of the Roses, closes on a shocking, bittersweet note that leaves audiences debating what actually happened to its central couple, Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman), and what it means for their children.
From the start, the film charts the rise and fall of Theo and Ivy’s marriage: a once-hopeful partnership that devolves into a bitter struggle fueled by wounded pride, clashing ambitions, and months of escalating sabotage between them. They share twin children, Hattie and Roy, who grow up strong and disciplined, largely thanks to Theo’s overbearing parenting, and eventually earn athletic scholarships that take them off to Miami, physically removed from the marital storm at home.
The climax sees the couple engaged in their most terrifying confrontation yet. After years of lashing out at one another, they finally admit that they’ve never stopped loving each other. In the middle of their most destructive fight, which includes throwing fruit, smashing cherished possessions, and poisoning Ivy with raspberries she is allergic to, they reach a moment of clarity: they still care deeply for each other even after everything that’s gone wrong.
At that moment of reconciliation, they embrace and share a passionate kiss — but the film cuts to white just as gas from a damaged stove begins leaking and an explosion seems imminent. The abrupt fadeout leaves their ultimate fate intentionally ambiguous, though it strongly suggests that they die together in the blast. Director Jay Roach has said he likes that the ending leaves room for discussion, with viewers interpreting the outcome either as their final death or as a symbolic halt before tragedy strikes.
So what does this mean for Hattie and Roy? The movie doesn’t show them in the finale, but their teens are already off at school on scholarships when the climactic events unfold. Most interpretations, including from critics and plot analysts, suggest that if Theo and Ivy do die, the children would be financially secure thanks to insurance policies, and likely relieved, given their earlier joy at news of an impending divorce. Screenwriter Tony McNamara noted that financial stability is implied even in tragedy.
Beyond the financial future, the film’s thematic message around the kids is more emotional: their liberation from a home full of constant conflict may be the single best thing that comes out of Theo and Ivy’s self-destructive dynamic. Their absence at the end isn’t a fate of abandonment, but rather one where their real future lies beyond the couple’s ongoing battle.
The Roses doesn’t shoehorn in a happy ending, but it does give audiences something rare: the sense that these two flawed, infuriating characters might have finally understood what they meant to each other, just a moment too late. Whether they survive the explosion or not, their kids are already established adults in their own right, set up to build lives unshackled from the bitter cycle that nearly destroyed their parents.
