Fast X Ending Explained: Family Matters

Over the course of 22 years, the "Fast & Furious" films have resembled a great many different things: a sports movie, a crime drama, a martial arts action film, a globe-spanning spy saga, a high-tech sci-fi yarn, and even a role-playing game campaign. Yet the franchise's main theme has remained stalwart — the movies are all about the power and resilience of family, a 10-film franchise that seeks to prove the ancient adage, "blood is thicker than water."

Yet, as the series' continual instances of betrayal, side-switching, and tragic death followed by improbable resurrection make the saga seem borderline Biblical or Shakespearean, its exploration of the concept of family has not been entirely one-note. The Fast Saga has openly acknowledged that misunderstandings and deep-seated resentment can occur between family members, just as it's explored how rivalries can form between separate family units: witness the family of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) crossing paths with the likes of the Shaw brood, most famously former British military and MI6 agent turned mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham).

Among the many abilities Dom and his crew possess is that of forgiveness, a superpower that's allowed them to not only survive for so long but to add to their lengthy list of friends and allies. Some rivalries, however, are so toxic that no impasse can be reached; witness the infamous history of the Hatfields and McCoys, for instance. In "Fast X," the latest installment of the series that is the first of a two- (or possibly three-) part finale, Dom and company face their most dangerous foe yet, a man with his own ideas of family and revenge, someone who just might have finally found the Toretto crew's Achilles heel.

The bomb incident isn't only devastating for the citizens of Rome — it effectively splits up Dom and his family, which is exactly Dante's plan. Roman, Tej, Han and Ramsey are left to their own devices to smuggle themselves out of Italy, eventually ending up in London. Letty is captured by authorities and taken off to the same Antarctica Black Site as Cipher, thanks to the Agency's newest man in charge, Aimes (Alan Ritchson), who refuses to hear the protests of Tess (Brie Larson) that Letty and the crew were framed for the bombing, citing the long outlaw history of Dom Toretto and company. Tess, the daughter of the still-missing Mr. Nobody (played by Kurt Russell in prior "Fast" films), strikes out on her own to find Dom, who travels to Brazil to track down Dante after being tipped off by "Queenie" Shaw (Helen Mirren).

Once in Rio de Janiero, Dom encounters Dante at a street race and accepts the villain's challenge to race only to discover that Dante only wants to continue to make Dom suffer, forcing him to lose the race after planting bombs on the other opponents and making Dom choose who to save. Dom's choice is that of Isabel (Daniela Melchior), the previously-unseen sister of Dom's ex Elena (played by Elsa Pataky in prior entries). After saving her life, Isabel gives Dom her sister's old police files on Dante, leading Dom to a location where Dante arranges for him to be captured by Aimes.

Meanwhile, Mia (Jordana Brewster) finds herself and Dom's son, Brian aka Little B (Leo Abelo Perry), under attack at the Toretto home. The duo are rescued by Mia's other brother, Jakob (John Cena), who concocts a plan where he'll take Little B to safety while Mia rushes to the aid of her own son and husband.

After Dante attacks Dom, Aimes, and Isabel in Rio on the same bridge where his father died, Tess helps save the day but not before being wounded herself, just as Dom discovers that Little B is Dante's next victim. Soon, most everyone is converging on Jakob's secret hideout location in Portugal: Jacob and Little B, Roman, Tej, Han, and Ramsey on a plane that Shaw helped them acquire, and Dom, who's personally flown there by a now-on-the-side-of-good Aimes, the Agency man's mind changed after Dante's bridge attack.

Dom and his Charger arrive just as Jakob and Little B are under attack, fleeing in Jakob's missile-firing vehicle from Dante's mercs. Dom literally drops onto the highway, managing to take out two attack choppers in the process and rescuing Little B. Jakob, out of fuel, decides to sacrifice himself to allow his brother and nephew to escape, plowing into the final few enemy cars.

While the fates of Dom, Little B, Roman, Tej, Ramsey, and Han are left up in the air until the next installment, "Fast X" doesn't fully end on a bleak note. Letty and Cipher finally put their differences aside long enough to escape the Black Site together, and Cipher then reveals a key element of her grand escape plan: a giant submarine lurking under the Antarctic ice, much like the one she attempted to steal during "The Fate of the Furious" that was subsequently destroyed. The submarine isn't the only thing back from the dead, however — the pilot of the craft turns out to be none other than Gisele Yashar (Gal Gadot), who was thought to be killed during the final battle of "Fast & Furious 6."

Elsewhere, a mysterious tactical force invades an abandoned theater, clearly on some sort of tip that Dante Reyes is hiding out there. It turns out it was another elaborate hoax on Dante's part (similar to the way he trapped Dom in Rio earlier) as a way of luring another key potential victim of his out into the open. That target is none other than former DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), last seen taking on a mysterious tech cult in the spin-off "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." As Dante reminds Hobbs, it was the DSS agent who put the final bullet into his father that fateful day in 2011. Hobbs, ever unintimidated, declares that he's after Dante himself, underlining that despite Dom and company currently being in peril, the battle is far from being won yet.

As has been widely reported, "Fast X" is intended as the first part of a multi-part finale. To that end, its cliffhanger climax feels wholly appropriate, as it's the first time in the franchise where an honest-to-gosh cliffhanger has occurred (as opposed to mere post-credit teases of characters or plot threads). Yet star Vin Diesel has exclaimed that the finale may involve three films and not the previously mentioned two. Additionally, co-writer and co-producer Justin Lin, during his commentary track for "F9," explained that during his long association with the franchise, he and Diesel have had numerous conversations regarding as-yet-untold backstories and character secrets that could be explored in future installments. For instance, there is a meaning and origin story about Han's postcard of a Mexican church as seen in "F9," which happens to feature a cross that heavily resembles the Toretto family cross that Dom and Jakob wear around their necks. There's also the mystery of the Toretto family tree itself, a thread raised once again by the appearance of Abuelita in "X."

Those are minor mysteries when compared to the larger questions still left up in the air by "Fast X" and the rest of the franchise. For one, the origins and operation of the shadowy Agency are still unexplained, as are the exact identity, actions, and whereabouts of Mr. Nobody himself. While "F9" provided the broad strokes answers for things like Han faking his death (with Nobody's help) and Jakob's shadowy history as an Agency operative, there are still a lot of vague open-ended questions there. Who knows if the series wants to address the concepts raised by "Hobbs & Shaw," but given the Agency's obsession with next-level tech and that film's tech-terrorism organization Eteon, it would seem a natural development to find out what's going on with those folks, too.

So far, the continual joy of the Fast Saga has been its longevity combined with its commitment to increasing the stakes and the unlikely nature of its heroes' exploits. It's operated not unlike a high-speed chase or an F1/NASCAR race, with a "can-you-believe-they're-still-going" thrill applying to each successive film. Now that an actual limitation has been self-imposed on the saga with the impending grand finale, the series may not be able to weather such a demand. After all, the only ending to either a chase or a race that feels as grand as the preceding spectacle is a crash and burn, something the Fast Saga probably wants to avoid.

Now that the series has reached outer space and has achieved the sensation of feeling like a superhero saga while involving ostensibly human characters with no extraordinary powers, it remains to be seen how the series' largesse can fully pay off. In comparison to "Fast X," 2001's original "The Fast and the Furious," while still clearly a visually aggressive action film, feels far more character-based. As Dom learns the hard way during "Fast X," it's all about the people in the end, and you don't know what you have until it's gone. Hopefully, Dom, the numerous family units surrounding him, and the Fast Saga itself can find a way to gain it all back before the gas runs out.