The Power Of The Dog Ending Explained (In Detail)

Netflix's The Power of the Dog has a complex, layered narrative and ending. Here's a breakdown of what happens and what it really means.

Warning: Major SPOILERS for The Power of the Dog ahead!

Here's what happens at the end of Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog and what it really means. The Power of the Dog is one of the most emotionally complex films of the year and may take multiple viewings to read deeper into its characters' intentions. The nuance and shock factor of The Power of the Dog's ending is part of what has brought the film such acclaim in the form of numerous film festival awards and a staggering 12 Oscar nominations.

The Power of the Dog stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank, a successful rancher who works alongside his younger brother George (Jesse Plemons), living by the same principles that their late mentor, Bronco Henry, had taught them at a younger age. When George announces to Phil that he has taken a wife, Rose (Kirsten Dunst), who works in a local restaurant, a period of extreme tension ensures. Then there's Rose's son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a quiet young man with a desire to one day be a surgeon. Phil doesn't take kindly to Rose or Peter and torments both characters at every chance he gets until eventually striking up a more complex relationship with Peter.

The Power of the Dog's ending is rather grim and doesn't go in the traditional Western direction. Rather, it remains largely ambiguous and implies that some characters, particularly Peter, are capable of darker intentions. In its departure from genre conventions, The Power of the Dog subverts Western masculinity tropes rather than reinforcing them — particularly at the film's ending.

What Happens At The End Of The Power Of The Dog?

In The Power of the Dog's ending, Phil finally reaches his breaking point when Rose - Peter's mother - requests that the Native Americans on their land take all of the cowhide that Phil has been using to make Peter a rope. Phil sees making this rope and forming this bond with Peter as a way of recreating the relationship he had with Bronco Henry before the older cowboy's death; it's a way for Phil to finally have some sense of connection and happiness again. In this regard, it's implied that the story may take a Call Me By Your Name-type turn, but ultimately the ending of The Power of the Dog rejects Phil's Bronco Henry reenactment and goes in a very different direction instead.

After Phil blows up about Rose and her drinking problem, Peter replies that he has some cowhide he has saved to finish the rope with. Unbeknownst to Phil, Peter has taken the hide off a diseased dead cow earlier in the film. Phil then gets to work, soaking his hands in the same liquid that the diseased cowhide is in, not wearing any gloves and with a large open cut on his hand. The next day, he falls sick, and George takes him to the doctor, but he doesn't make it, succumbing to his infection.

At Phil's funeral, it is suggested to George that Phil died from anthrax, but George dismisses this notion because Phil was always very clear about not working with diseased animals. After Phil's death in The Power of the Dog's ending, the final scene shows Peter in his room, handling the rope that Phil had made for him with gloves on, but he ultimately pushes the rope under the bed, dismissing it as he hears George and Rose come home from the funeral. Peter looks out his bedroom window to see the two embracing, smiles, and walks away, ending The Power of the Dog's complex story and implying that Peter had darker intentions than initially alluded to. It's not a typical Western ending in the slightest, but The Power of the Dog is no typical Western.

What Were Peter's Intentions With Phil?

The Power of the Dog opens with key narration from Peter, as he describes the son's love for their mother and the need to protect them and do right by them no matter what. This plays heavily into the film's finale. It's implied throughout that Peter is gay, which aligns with The Power of the Dog's true story inspirations. Peter also eventually learns of Phil's own relationship with another man during his youth. Phil, trying to keep up the front of a hypermasculine cowboy, is reluctant to directly confirm his romantic relationship with Bronco Henry to Peter. Still, his silence is enough to suggest that the two were more than just friends.

Peter is present when Phil cuts his hand on a fencing job the two of them are on, so he begins to concoct his plan. Peter's intentions are to get rid of Phil, who he sees as a threat to the rest of The Power of the Dog's characters, first and foremost himself and his mother. Whereas Phil sees almost a budding romance between himself and Peter, Peter is really manipulating Phil and plotting to get rid of him for good, fulfilling the promise he makes in the opening narration of doing right by his mother and protecting her. In doing so he ultimately becomes the alpha dog, hence the film's title.

Peter Poisoned Phil To Protect His Mother

Whatever Phil and Peter's emotional intentions with each other, The Power of the Dog's ending makes it clear that Peter purposefully poisoned Phil to eliminate his step-uncle as a threat and thus protect himself and his mother. After witnessing the harmful effect that Phil's performative toxic masculinity has on Rose (who, in one of the most powerful of Kirsten Dunst's movie roles, quickly begins spiraling into alcoholism and severe anxiety), Peter uses his own unique set of skills to remove Phil from the picture. Peter uses their similar sexuality to lull Phil into a false sense of companionship through the making of the lasso, and also draws on his medical knowledge to ensure that the rope will kill Phil when the Anthrax bacteria from the dead cow enters his open wound.

This twist in which Peter poisons Phil to protect his mother in The Power of the Dog's ending is also where the film takes its mysterious title from. Following Phil's death, Peter is seen reading a Bible in his room. It's open to a significant verse from Psalms 22: "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." Inferring The Power of the Dog's title meaning, it's implied that Phil is the dog and that Rose, or even Peter himself, is the darling being delivered by the poisoning plot.

Overarching Themes Of The Power Of The Dog

The Power of the Dog is a thematically-rich film, tackling toxic masculinity and its accompanying insecurities. This is displayed beautifully in the case of Phil, who is the most complex character in The Power of the Dog. At first, Phil puts up the front of a fearful leader; he's sarcastic and not particularly nice to those around him, but deep down, he just wants to find a connection with someone in the way he did with Bronco Henry.

Considering the time period and location of The Power of the Dog, as well as the company he keeps, Phil is unable to express his true self to anyone, which is also one of the reasons he taunts both Peter and Rose throughout The Power of the Dog. Phil looks at Peter as an inferior being at first, calling him a weakling and a pansy, but gradually Phil begins to envy Peter, as the latter is more open and free about his feminine tendencies while also remaining strong-willed and tough in his own right. This is probably what sparks Phil's liking of Peter towards The Power of the Dog's ending.

The Real Meaning Of The Power Of The Dog's Ending

In the end, The Power of the Dog, which is one of Benedict Cumberbatch's best movies, is a story about toxic masculinity and how it can ultimately lead to a person's downfall. Phil keeps up a tough-as-nails, relentlessly mean persona with which he abuses Rose and Peter, and it leads to Peter plotting against him just as Phil is starting to warm up to him. The Power of the Dog is the tragic story of a character deluded into perpetuating the very toxic environment which would have persecuted him for his desires. It's also an alpha dog story, with Peter slowly proving his dominance over Phil despite being viewed as inadequately masculine. The Power of the Dog poses a complex narrative occupied by complex characters in what is one of the finest narratives and film endings of 2021.

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