Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022): Ending Explained

Quick Recap

In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the multiverse unravels in a whirlwind of cosmic horror and personal torment, picking up after the reality-shattering events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), still grappling with the consequences of his forbidden spell, finds himself haunted by visions of a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who possesses the rare ability to traverse infinite realities. Teaming up with Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) and initially seeking aid from Wanda Maximoff—the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)—Strange uncovers a chilling threat: Wanda, corrupted by the forbidden Darkhold after the loss of her illusory children in WandaVision, has become a multiversal predator. Driven by an insatiable grief, she hunts Chavez to steal her powers and reunite with alternate versions of her sons, Billy and Tommy, no matter the cost to reality itself.

As Strange and Chavez flee through fractured dimensions—encountering nightmarish variants of familiar heroes and grotesque incursions—tension builds like a storm gathering in the ether. Wong's capture at Kamar-Taj heightens the dread, forcing Strange to confront corrupted versions of himself, including a zombie-like Defender Strange whose arrogance led to his world's doom. The air thickens with betrayal and loss, as Wanda's illusions twist the mind, and the multiverse's boundaries bleed into a cacophony of screaming realities. Leading into the finale, Strange refuses to hand over Chavez, igniting Wanda's full wrath in a siege that feels like the fabric of existence tearing at the seams.

What Happens in the Ending

The climax erupts at Mount Wundagore, the sinuous, shadow-draped birthplace of the Scarlet Witch, where ancient runes pulse with an otherworldly hum, and the air carries the metallic tang of impending doom. Wanda, her form wreathed in crimson chaos magic that crackles like distant lightning, corners Strange, Chavez, and a newly freed Wong in this foreboding sanctum. The mountain's jagged spires loom like accusatory fingers, amplifying the psychological vise as Wanda's grief manifests in visceral waves—visions of her children flicker like ghosts in the mist, their pleas echoing with a hollow, heart-wrenching resonance.

Strange, drawing on the last vestiges of the Book of Vishanti's power (now corrupted by Wanda's influence), battles her in a duel that blurs sorcery and raw emotion. Portals rip open, unleashing tendrils of darkness that whisper temptations of alternate lives. Chavez, trembling under the weight of her gift, nearly succumbs to Wanda's manipulative illusions, but in a surge of defiant clarity, she punches a portal through realities, allowing Strange a fleeting glimpse of hope. Wong's incantations ground the chaos, his voice a steady anchor amid the swirling vortex.

In the heart-pounding resolution, Wanda's facade cracks under the strain of her own visions—alternate versions of Billy and Tommy appear, not as saviors, but as condemnations of her path, their ethereal forms dissolving like smoke in the wind. Overwhelmed by the truth that her quest has only deepened her isolation, Wanda turns her power inward. With a guttural cry that reverberates through the stone, she shatters every Darkhold across the multiverse in a cataclysmic burst of red energy, the shockwave tasting of scorched ozone and finality. Mount Wundagore crumbles around her, boulders tumbling with thunderous roars as she sacrifices herself, buried under the rubble in a self-imposed exile that feels both tragic and inevitable. Strange and Chavez escape through a portal back to Earth-616, the multiverse's fractures mending with a subtle, uneasy sigh, leaving Strange to seal the breach with a weary flick of his scarred hands.

The Meaning Behind the Ending

The ending pulses with the film's core tension: the razor-edge between salvation and self-destruction, where grief's shadows can consume entire worlds. Wanda's demise symbolizes the Darkhold's insidious corruption—a metaphysical poison that amplifies desire into delusion, turning love into a multiversal plague. Her final act of destroying the Darkholds isn't mere redemption; it's a visceral reckoning, the chaos magic's fiery unraveling mirroring the psychological inferno she's endured since Westview. The mountain's collapse evokes a burial of one's demons, but with an atmospheric chill: is it absolution or just another layer of isolation in the infinite?

Themes of hubris and consequence thread through like veins of dark sorcery. Strange's journey culminates in humility, his refusal to yield Chavez underscoring that true power lies in protection, not domination—a subtle rebuke to his earlier arrogance. The multiverse itself becomes a metaphor for the fractured psyche, each reality a splintered reflection of unresolved trauma, with Wanda's pursuit embodying how one person's pain can ripple into cosmic madness. Sensory echoes linger: the crunch of falling rock, the fading warmth of illusory embraces, leaving viewers with a mood of lingering unease, as if the veil between worlds has thinned permanently.

Character Arcs and Resolution

Strange's arc bends toward guarded optimism, evolving from a lone mystic haunted by "what ifs" to a reluctant guardian who embraces collaboration. His bond with Chavez—forged in the dim glow of interdimensional chases—resolves his isolation, ending with him as a mentor figure, the weight of the multiverse now shared. Yet, the scars on his hands from earlier spells serve as tactile reminders of his fallibility, a psychological anchor that tempers his triumph with quiet tension.

Wanda's trajectory is the film's visceral heart, her villainy born from maternal despair that twists into monstrous ambition. The ending resolves her arc in tragic symmetry: the Scarlet Witch who created life in Westview destroys her own path at Wundagore, her sacrifice a poignant closure to her WandaVision grief. It's not heroic redemption but a raw, human unraveling—her final gaze into the void suggesting peace amid the rubble, though the air hums with ambiguity about her survival.

Chavez emerges transformed, her powers no longer a curse but a controlled gift, her arc from terrified runaway to empowered traveler closing with a sense of belonging in Earth-616. Wong's steadfast resolve reinforces his role as the MCU's moral compass, his survival a subtle nod to enduring alliances amid chaos.

Alternate Interpretations

The ending's ambiguities invite multiple lenses, particularly around Wanda's fate. One reading sees her death as literal—a cathartic end to her cycle of loss, the mountain's collapse sealing her isolation forever, emphasizing themes of irreversible consequence. Yet, the multiverse's fluidity suggests survival: perhaps she lingers in a pocket reality, her essence scattered like embers, poised for future torment or return. The Darkhold's destruction could be incomplete, leaving psychic echoes that haunt Strange's dreams, turning the resolution into a fragile truce rather than victory.

Chavez's portal punch adds another layer—did her intervention truly stem from inner strength, or was it Wanda's subconscious mercy, a final maternal gesture? This duality subverts the hero's journey, blurring lines between antagonist and anti-hero, and invites viewers to question if the multiverse's "madness" is external or a mirror to internal fractures.

Themes and Symbolism

The ending reinforces the film's exploration of grief as a multiversal force, subverting superhero tropes by grounding cosmic stakes in intimate pain—Wanda's chaos magic as a symbol of unchecked emotion, portals as metaphors for escapist denial. It challenges destiny's rigidity: Chavez's power democratizes the multiverse, while Strange's third-eye corruption warns of knowledge's double edge, its grotesque visions evoking body horror that lingers like a fever dream.

Symbolism drips with atmospheric dread—the Darkhold's ashen pages crumbling like desiccated flesh, Mount Wundagore's runes glowing with forbidden hunger. These elements subvert MCU optimism, injecting Raimi's horror flair: tension builds not just in spectacle, but in the psychological suffocation of infinite possibilities, where every choice echoes with the chill of alternate regrets.

Final Thoughts

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivers an ending that lingers like the aftertaste of a nightmare—immersive, unsettling, and profoundly human amid the spectacle. By weaving Wanda's tragedy into the multiverse's tapestry, it elevates the MCU's Phase Four introspection, making the chaos feel palpably personal. While some may crave clearer resolutions, the ambiguities amplify its mood, leaving the air thick with possibility and dread. This finale doesn't just explain the madness; it immerses you in it, a masterful blend of visceral horror and emotional depth that cements Raimi's vision as a haunting evolution of Strange's saga.