Glass Ending Explained How Does the 'Unbreakable' Trilogy End?

The Big Picture

• David, Kevin, and Elijah's fates intertwine in Glass , facing doubts about their powers.
• Mr. Glass recruits The Horde for a grand plan to reveal superhumans' existence in a climactic showdown.
• Dr. Staple's secret organization leads to tragic ends for the characters, but Mr. Glass posthumously reveals the existence of superhumans.

Ahead of M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming thriller Trap, several of his movies seem to be having a resurgence of popularity on Netflix. This includes the epic conclusion to the Unbreakable trilogy, Glass. Following one of the filmmaker's finest works, Unbreakable, and a gripping surprise sequel in Split, everything comes to a head in Glass. Unbreakable introduced audiences to David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a security guard who becomes a vigilante superhero after discovering he is completely impervious to physical harm. Split introduced audiences to Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a troubled young man dealing with an extreme case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, with one personality known as The Beast being capable of the same feats of strength David has. Finally, both characters meet in Glass, which also shines a brighter light on Unbreakable's main villain, Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) — a man with an overly breakable skeleton who considers himself a supervillain named Mr. Glass.

These three characters converge following a fight between David and The Beast, and they're both brought to a nearby mental institution overseen by psychiatrist Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson). Dr. Staple claims that the superpowered feats these three individuals claim to possess are nothing more than figments of their imagination. She works tirelessly to prove this to them, all while David, Kevin, and Elijah's loved ones try to validate their powers. Their story concludes in a way that first seems understandably tragic but becomes a promise of a more hopeful future.

Glass

At a psychiatric facility, a security guard with unbreakable skin, a man with multiple personalities, and a brittle-boned mastermind find their fates intertwined. As they undergo psychiatric evaluation that questions the existence of their powers, a complex battle of wits ensues, challenging their understanding of their own identities and capabilities.

Joseph, Casey, and Mrs. Price Discover the Truth Behind Superheroes

Along with David, Kevin, and Elijah, there are three people a part of their lives who rejoin them on their journey in Glass. The first is David's son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), who has been assisting his dad in his superhero activities ever since he learned of his father's abilities in Unbreakable. Then, there's Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy), The Beast's only surviving victim from Split who has since taken pity on her former captor. Finally, there's Elijah's mother, Mrs. Price (Charlayne Woodard), who has spent her whole life trying to keep her troubled son from harm.

All three of these individuals are brought in and questioned by Dr. Staple, who tries to convince them that their loved ones are suffering from a delusion. They aren't convinced, and each of them begins to conduct research in an unlikely place — comic book stores. Upon reading these comic books, each of them sees that the heroes and villains of these stories are eerily similar to the people they know and love. It's this revelation that leads David, Kevin, and Elijah to a shocking conclusion. These aren't just simple comic book tales but are based on actual accounts of other superpowered people like David, Kevin, and Elijah.

Mr. Glass Puts His Evil Plan Into Action by Recruiting "The Horde"

Through her rigorous psychological conditioning, Dr. Staple does manage to somewhat convince David and Kevin (though primarily the faction of renegade personalities within Kevin known as "The Horde") that their powers may indeed be all in their heads. The same cannot be said for Elijah, who plans on returning to his moniker of Mr. Glass. For the first half of the movie, Mr. Glass is feigning a catatonic state, waiting for the moment to put an audacious plan into action.

Mr. Glass has grown tired of people like Dr. Staple refuting the existence of superpowered people like him. He wants to make their existence in the world known to people in a big way by having a superhero showdown between David and The Beast. Luckily, it just so happens that the biggest building in the city is opening, which would be a picture-perfect venue for the reveal of superheroes and supervillains. Convincing The Horde that he is an ally comes easily to Mr. Glass and the two put their daring escape into action.

David, The Beast, and Mr. Glass Face-Off in the Climax of 'Glass'

Every one of the film's major characters unites for the epic climax of Glass, which takes place just outside the mental hospital rather than at a flashy skyscraper. The Beast unleashes his rage upon several employees, all while Joseph, Casey, Mrs. Price, and Mr. Glass watch his rampage. Eventually, David arrives on the scene to stop Glass and the Beast once and for aall, and the two titans duke it out while their loved ones try to find a solution.

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Glass is ultimately incapacitated after a shocking revelation. Through Joseph's research, he learned that Kevin's connection to David and Mr. Glass goes well beyond their meeting at the hospital. That same train crash that began this saga back in Unbreakable also took the life of Kevin's father, Clarence Crumb (Bryan McElroy), who was on the train while looking for a treatment plan for Kevin's DID. This makes Glass directly responsible for killing Clarence, and The Beast responds in rage by mortally wounding Glass.

This doesn't stop David and The Beast's duel, as they continue to fight it out. Their fight eventually takes them to a water tank, which is bad news for David since that's his weakness. David manages to break them out but is severely weakened. The Beast finally is stopped by Casey, who is able to get Kevin to regain consciousness one more time. It seems like the battle is over, only for Kevin to get shot and David proceeds to be drowned by a mysterious soldier with a tattoo of a clover on his wrist.

Dr. Staple Represents a Secret Society Dedicated to Keeping Superhumans a Secret

We soon see that Dr. Staple has a clover tattoo of her own, and we learn what her true motivations have been from the start. She wasn't in the business of making humans realize they don't have superpowers, but in making superhumans think they are mere humans. This "Clover" organization is dedicated to keeping these superpowered individuals a secret from the rest of the world. The organization primarily tries to do this through what they call "humane" methods. However, their "method" clearly does not have a 100% success rate as they fail to convince the central trio that they are just regular humans. When all else fails, the Clover group kills its subjects, which is exactly the grim fate that David, Kevin, and Elijah meet.

Mr. Glass Posthumously Reveals the Existence of Superhumans

The fate of our three central characters is a tragic one, but there is a silver lining at the end of this, and it comes from a mass murderer like Mr. Glass of all people. As Dr. Staple frustratingly discovers, Mr. Glass never intended to leave the premises of the hospital. Instead, he just wanted the miraculous feats of David and Kevin to be captured on the facility's security cameras, which he was secretly live-streaming to a private server.

The footage is then sent to Mrs. Price, Casey, and Joseph, who quickly decide to post it online. The three meet up at the nearby train station a few hours after dropping the footage, and at first, it seems the video isn't gaining a ton of traction. However, it doesn't take much longer for the people around them to look in astonishment at their phones as they watch the superpowered fight between David and The Beast. Their loved ones may be gone, but the trio can find some comfort that their legacies will live on through a shocking global discovery.

Glass is available to stream on Netflix.

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