Even though Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last movie in the DCEU’s ten-year run, don’t expect it to wrap up all the loose ends caused by unfinished trilogies and post-credit scenes that don’t end. The main goal of James Wan’s hilarious and unexpectedly moving sequel is to conclude Arthur Curry’s story, and it succeeds in doing so without delving too far into absurd territory.
Arthur Curry made a few enemies in Aquaman, but he also asserted his right to be called the real king of Atlantis. Specifically, David Kane vowed to exact revenge on Arthur when the latter killed his father.
The next major threat that Arthur must deal with is the newly formed Black Manta, who was saved by scientist Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park), as hinted in the post-credit scene of Aquaman. The sequel monumentally delivers on this promise.
Once the credits rolled, Arthur and Mera lived happily ever after, as Arthur said at the beginning of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In the meantime, his half-brother Orm was imprisoned far, far away from the ocean, and they got married, had a child, and established themselves as the rulers of Atlantis.
But when Kane obtains the Black Trident and finally can take away everything that Arthur values, the beautiful little existence they’ve established for themselves is put in jeopardy. Realizing that he’s a little out of his element dealing with antiquated technology that he wasn’t brought up to comprehend.
Arthur finds Orm’s prison cell, breaks him out, and enlists him in a buddy-cop-style mission to stop David Kane before he destroys Atlantis and irreparably damages the planet’s climate.
Ending Explained
Upon reaching the throne room in Necrus with Dr. Shin, Kane plans to sacrifice Junior to shatter the blood magic and set the King of Necrus free. However, Dr. Shin has other ideas. It was established—both covertly and overtly—that Dr. Shin was merely collaborating with Kane to see Atlantis for himself throughout Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise when Kane asks Dr. Shin to give Junior over, and he gives him an explosive instead. However, Kane’s acts of bravery are fleeting, as he throws Dr. Shin to the ground and takes the infant for himself.
One of the necrotic monsters that lurk in Necrus has ensnared Nereus, and for a split second, it appears as though he won’t escape before Orm glances down at him with a pretty menacing sneer. However, that wasn’t a betraying smirk! To Nereus’ amazement, Orm instead uses his axe to sever the beast and save him.
Nereus provides him with a genuine weapon in exchange, enabling him to defeat their zombie opponents. As soon as Arthur, Orm, and Mera reach the throne room’s gates, Kane sets him on the altar, prepped and ready to perform a little infanticide. Just in time, Arthur receives a frightening message from his son.
When Arthur and Orm battle Kane, the strength that he has been given makes the combat lopsided. Mera intervenes to save her son before the infant is harmed while the brothers are diverting Kane’s attention. Manta throws the Black Trident at Mera as she tries to flee the fight with Junior, but Orm intervenes to save the day by grabbing the trident in midair and pushing Mera to flee.
As Orm, with both hands gripping the Black Trident, chooses to go from Kane to a guy who harbors even “more hatred” for Aquaman, he is overpowered by the weapon’s full power. This is untrue, at least not anymore. Arthur is knocked around by Orm, even to the altar, where his blood breaks the centuries-old magic that has kept the king away.
After a struggle for the trident, Arthur tells Orm that he has never had a problem with him. He wanted to make sure Orm understood right away that he wasn’t alone. Arthur urges him to give up the trident at a tearful moment so he can finally defeat their enemy.
Recalling their mother’s advice to look out for one another, Orm lets go of the trident, which Arthur hurls towards the King of Necrus. Though he doesn’t lose too easily, Arthur utilizes quick thinking to break the Black Trident and finally slay the King of Necrus by using his trident.
Once the monarch is vanquished, the magic that held Necrus together starts to break down, posing a fresh danger to the heroes’ attempt to flee. Even though there is a great deal of animosity between Arthur and Kane throughout the two films, Arthur nevertheless makes an effort to rescue the man’s life as he hangs on the edge of the hole he has fallen into.
Kane is not like Arthur; Arthur may be a gentle and considerate person. Kane chooses to let go and tumble backward into the stony oblivion beneath him, rejecting Arthur’s offer of assistance. Kane’s passing would make for excellent “to be continued” material if the DCEU were to go on, but it appears that he is gone this time.
After the fallen kingdom collapses, Arthur, Mera, Orm, Nereus, and Dr. Shin flee and assemble above ground to assess the damage. Arthur suggests that he doesn’t think Orm needs to play the selfless hero by changing into the Fishermen when he tells him that, in his opinion, his debt has been paid.
Arthur concurs with Mera when she says that it is unfortunate that Orm lost his life in the conflict. Orm appears genuinely taken aback by their willingness to overlook his escape and grant him the freedom to live a life free from prison. He makes up for Orm’s resistance earlier in the movie by holding Arthur’s hand and having a tender brotherly moment with him.
Orm even goes so far as to inform Arthur that he is the king that Atlantis truly deserves since he is always prepared to uphold morality, no matter how challenging it may be. One of the issues with Arthur’s authority, as was made clear at the beginning of the movie, was his conviction that Atlantis ought to be made known to the world.
It appears that Arthur was ultimately successful in persuading the council to disclose their secret nation to the world, given that the ocean is now more vulnerable to climate change than it has ever been because of Kane’s cunning schemes.
We see a loop of news reports covering the discovery as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom come to an end, and then we see the day that Arthur and several other important Atlantean individuals surface to meet with the UN. Everyone in the globe, including Dr. Shin, who finds the entire event to be “outstanding,” rushes to the closest television screen to observe this spectacular reveal.
As the scene comes to a close, Arthur is shown being both kingly and bro-y while addressing the world on behalf of the United Nations and the general public who had assembled at Ellis Island to welcome them to the surface. Remarkably, the scene never veers from the main cast of the sequel, even though it’s a great location for a cameo or two. Ultimately, this is about wrapping up Arthur’s tale.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom can provide a dignified farewell to its ensemble of characters without resorting to cliffhangers or teasing the next major threat in the DCEU. It appears that Arthur’s childhood home has been reconstructed in the meanwhile, and everyone is content, which isn’t always a guarantee, as previous movies have shown us.
The sequence showcases small events from a particular day, interwoven to demonstrate how joyful everyone is. It looks like Tom and Atlanna are back together and getting along great. Junior plays with his dog brother; Mera and Arthur are as content as can be; Tom and Arthur perform the Haka for Junior.
The movie also features a moment where Orm is seen happily living on land and having his first hamburger, which also happens to be the mid-credit scene. Yes, the Aquaman sequel got to enjoy its mid-credit scene without having to hint at the DCEU’s future.
Orm cleverly incorporates a crunchy cockroach into his cheeseburger, evoking memories of Arthur persuading his “little brother” to consume a bug earlier in the movie. Whether it was always the idea or a few deft reworks once it was obvious it was over, James Wan made sure Arthur Curry was the only character in the DCEU to have an almost flawless farewell to the history of DC Comics.
