Muscle (2020): Ending Explained

Quick Recap

In Muscle (2020), Simon, a disillusioned office drone freshly uprooted from the bustle of London to the stark industrial grit of Newcastle, finds his existence unraveling in quiet despair. His marriage to Sarah hangs by the thinnest thread—her emotional distance mirrors the fog-shrouded streets outside their modest home, turning every shared meal into a silent ritual of disconnection. The monotony of his commute becomes a lifeline when he stumbles upon a dimly lit gym, its thumping bass and metallic clang pulling him like a siren's call from his numbing routine.

Enter Terry, the gym's charismatic yet domineering personal trainer, a man forged in the unyielding fires of military discipline. With his booming voice and iron grip, Terry latches onto Simon, promising transformation through the raw discipline of bodybuilding. What begins as a boost to Simon's sagging self-esteem—muscles swelling, confidence flickering to life—quickly morphs into something far more insidious. Terry's "hands-on" mentorship seeps into every corner of Simon's world, eroding boundaries with manipulative precision. As Simon's physique hardens, so does the tension in his life, his once-predictable days twisting toward a perilous edge.

What Happens in the Ending

The film's climax unfolds in a suffocating haze of sweat and shadowed intent, the gym's fluorescent hum now a relentless pulse against Simon's fractured psyche. In the final scenes, Simon—his body a hulking testament to Terry's relentless regime—returns home after a late-night session, the air thick with the metallic tang of iron and unspoken rage. Sarah, sensing the chasm widening between them, confronts him in their dimly lit kitchen, her voice a fragile tremor amid the clatter of untouched dishes. The argument erupts like a storm long brewing: she pleads for the man he used to be, but Simon, eyes glazed with Terry's implanted fervor, lashes out—not with words, but with a violent shove that sends her crumpling against the cold tile floor.

The camera lingers on the aftermath, the room's stale air heavy with the echo of her gasp, as Simon stands frozen, his pumped veins throbbing like accusations. He flees back to the gym, where Terry waits in the dim weight room, shadows dancing across his smug features under the erratic flicker of overhead lights. In a tense, breathless standoff, Simon accuses Terry of orchestrating his unraveling, the air crackling with the unspoken threat of confrontation. Terry, ever the manipulator, twists the narrative, goading Simon into a final "test" of loyalty—a brutal sparring match that leaves Simon bloodied but unbowed. As the screen fades to black on Simon's heaving form amid the scattered weights, a single, ambiguous phone call from Sarah hints at irreparable fracture, her voice breaking through static like a ghost from his past life.

The Meaning Behind the Ending

At its core, the ending of Muscle dissects the toxic alchemy of control and reinvention, where physical empowerment curdles into psychological enslavement. The violent outburst toward Sarah symbolizes the grotesque mutation of self-improvement: Simon's sculpted body, once a vessel for liberation, becomes a weapon turned inward and outward, mirroring how Terry's "mentorship" devours autonomy. The gym, with its visceral symphony of grunts and clanging steel, evolves from sanctuary to cage, its atmosphere thick with the sweat of suppressed vulnerability—a metaphor for the masculine ideal that demands sacrifice of tenderness.

This denouement probes the fragility of identity under duress, suggesting that true strength lies not in bulked muscles but in resisting domination. The dangerous turn in Simon's life culminates here as a cautionary exhale, the tension coiling like a spring finally snapping, releasing the film's undercurrent of unease. It's a visceral reminder that unchecked influence can hollow out the soul, leaving only the echo of what was lost in the dim, humid confines of obsession.

Character Arcs and Resolution

Simon's arc traces a harrowing descent from passive everyman to unwitting pawn, his journey a slow bleed of agency under Terry's vise-like hold. By the end, the once-softened office worker has hardened into a mirror of his mentor—physically imposing yet emotionally barren—his self-esteem's fleeting spark now a consuming blaze that incinerates his marriage and former self. The resolution for Simon is brutally incomplete; bloodied in the gym, he teeters on the brink of rebellion, but the call from Sarah underscores his isolation, a man remade yet irretrievably broken.

Terry, the film's shadowy architect, arcs toward exposed vulnerability in the finale. His military-honed manipulation unravels slightly as Simon pushes back, revealing the trainer's own insecurities beneath the bravado—a cycle of dominance born from personal voids. Sarah's arc, though peripheral, resolves in quiet devastation; her emotional withdrawal, once a symptom of their drift, becomes a casualty of Simon's transformation, her final plea a haunting coda to their shattered bond. Collectively, these resolutions weave a tapestry of fractured connections, emphasizing how one man's "guidance" ripples into collective ruin.

Alternate Interpretations

The ending's deliberate ambiguity invites multiple lenses, refusing tidy closure in favor of lingering dread. One reading casts Simon's violent act against Sarah as a point of no return, interpreting the gym confrontation as his full capitulation to Terry's world—embracing the toxic masculinity as a perverse rebirth, the phone call a mere tether he'll soon sever. Alternatively, the bloodied spar could signal awakening: Simon's accusations hint at emerging clarity, positioning the ending as a pyrrhic victory where he topples his manipulator, only to grapple with the wreckage he's wrought. A psychological slant might view it all as internal metaphor—Terry as Simon's projected insecurities, the violence a hallucinatory breakdown amid Newcastle's oppressive gloom. These layers amplify the film's mood of unease, leaving viewers to sift through the fog for their own truths.

Themes and Symbolism

Muscle reinforces themes of emasculation and reinvention through its stark symbolism, subverting the bodybuilding trope from empowerment to entrapment. The gym looms as a primal arena, its visceral scents of rubber and exertion symbolizing the seductive pull of hyper-masculinity, while Terry embodies the archetype of the domineering alpha—his military past a badge of rigid control that infects Simon like a slow venom. The ending subverts expectations of triumphant transformation, instead underscoring isolation's chill: Simon's bulk isolates him from human warmth, his "dangerous turn" a metaphor for how societal pressures to "man up" erode empathy.

Broader themes of manipulation and identity crisis pulse through the finale, with the flickering gym lights evoking psychological fragmentation. It critiques the illusion of self-made strength, revealing how external forces—be they trainers or cultural mandates—can hijack personal growth, leaving a hollow shell amid the tension of unspoken regrets.

Final Thoughts

The ending of Muscle lands like a gut punch in the dim afterglow of exertion, its atmospheric tension coiling around the viewer's nerves long after the credits roll. By blending visceral physicality with psychological depth, it crafts a haunting meditation on control's corrosive touch, making the "dangerous turn" not just plot device but a mirror to real vulnerabilities. This isn't a flawless triumph—its ambiguities might frustrate those craving catharsis—but that's its power: in the sweaty, shadowed ambiguity, it forces introspection, proving that sometimes the strongest films leave you breathless and unsettled, pondering the weights we carry unseen. For fans of slow-burn thrillers laced with emotional grit, Muscle's finale is a masterclass in evocative restraint, demanding rewatches to unpack its lingering shadows.