Where The Crawdads Sing is a 2022 crime drama based on a book by the same name directed by Olivia Newman. The film revolves around a girl who grew up in the marsh alone and is accused of murdering a city boy. Daisy Edgar-Jones is terrific in this film and she is one to look out for. I got a couple of requests for this film, so here’s the plot and ending of the movie Where The Crawdads Sing explained in short; spoilers ahead.
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Contents
Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:
Where The Crawdads Sing: Ending Explained: Did she kill him?
The ending of the movie Where The Crawdads Sing reveals that Kya Clark indeed murdered Chase Andrews because she realizes he would never stop coming back for her and that sometimes for prey to live, its predator must die.
How did Kya kill Chase?
It is precisely how the lawyer states it. 11:30 PM, without a single witness seeing her, she catches the last bus from Greenville to Barkley Cove and rides that bus disguised since neither of the bus drivers that night could identify her as a passenger, all the way back to Barkley Cove.
And then, in less than an hour, she tracks down Chase Andrews in the middle of the night, lures him to the tower, murders him, wipes away all physical evidence, and catches the 2:30 AM bus back to Greenville. Again, without a single witness seeing her. And after doing all that, she meets with her publishers the following day, unruffled.
Did the lawyer know?
No, the lawyer finds it impossible for Kya to do something like this, and that’s why he narrates it to the jury. The jury believes it would have been highly unlikely for Kya to have done something elaborate like this and pardons her.
Why did Kya kill Chase?
Kya understood that Chase was the kind of predator who always needed the last word. He would never leave Kya alone and would constantly hound her and hurt her. We see him beat her up and almost rape her. After that, he comes to her house looking for her and completely wrecks the home. Kya projects that her life will constantly involve hiding in fear, and the only way for her to be free is by killing Chase.
Why did Chase wear the necklace?
Chase wanted to have the cake and eat it too. He married Pearl because of his social status and wanted to continue having a relationship with Kya on the side. He wore the necklace because he was obsessed with Kya in a very toxic way.
Where The Crawdads Sing: Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Tate?
Tate gets cold feet and doesn’t return to Kya after joining college, but he truly loves Kya, realizes his mistake, and returns to be with her after 5 years. After the case, the two get back and grow old together until Kya finally dies. After this, Tate finds her old diary with the hidden necklace and realizes that she had killed Chase back in the day.
Why did her mom leave? What happened to Ma after that?
After one point, all the physical abuse makes Kya’s mom’s mind snap. Ma leaves in her alligator shoes and lands at her sister Rosemary’s place. She doesn’t talk for months, then about a year later, she remembers she has children. She takes the help of Rosemary to write a letter to Pa.
What did the letter say? What was in the letter from the mother?
Kya’s mom’s letter states that she wants to come and get her children. The dad gets furious and destroys the letter. In secret, Pa writes a letter to the mother warning her that if she ever came back, he’d beat the kids unrecognizable.
Why did her family leave her?
The family doesn’t leave Kya; they run for their lives. After the mother leaves, each of the children gets physically abused by Pa. Unable to bear with it, they flee. Kya’s brother advises her to run for it, too, but she decides to stay on.Â
What happened to Pa (the dad)?
Once everyone leaves Pa, he tries to get along with his daughter, Kya. But eventually, after getting that letter from the mother, he bails on his daughter, leaving her to fend for herself alone in the marsh. One can only imagine that Pa drank himself to death somewhere.
What did you think about the plot and ending of Where The Crawdads Sing? Do leave your comments below.
Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time.
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