'The Fallout' ending explained: Can traumatic experiences ever be forgotten?

The Fallout, a thoughtfully woven compelling drama written and directed by Magan Park, depicts the terrors of a high-school shooting and its aftermath from the viewpoint of a 16-year-old teenager, Vada. The film is quite arresting in the most subdued way.

Megan Park's directorial genius is evident from the powerful impact the movie creates on the minds and hearts of the viewers. From the authentic representation of Generation Z to the perfectly captured distressful nuances of trauma, she has hit the mark with this tragic drama.

The Fallout has been streaming on HBO Max since January 27.

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The Fallout: Dissecting the ending

Trauma works differently for different people

The movie follows Vada, brilliantly portrayed by Jenna Ortega, deeply struggling in the aftermath of the dreadful event in her high school. At the same time, other characters in the same orbit are seen dealing with trauma differently.

For instance, Vada's close friend Nick, played by Will Ropp, turns into an advocate for the shooting victims. On the other hand, Quinton, played by Niles Fitch, perhaps remains the most emotionally stable individual, although he suffers the most direct loss in school violence.

The audience is bound to feel empathetic towards Vada as they witness her suppressing her haunting trauma while sitting all cold and shivering in a bathtub. She quickly drifts away from her family, getting miserably confused by her trauma.

The Fallout piercingly showcases how people dealing with suppressed trauma tend to find comfort in the company of individuals who hardly know them. Vada finds her solace in Mia, a popular teenager from her school whose life is strikingly different from Vada.

In the movie, Mia is always seen from the perspective of Vada, at first as a pretentious influencer, later on, an equally traumatized teenager growing in drinks and drugs as a coping mechanism.

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Can traumatic events ever be forgotten?

From the very beginning, The Fallout raises this crucial question of whether trauma passes with time and, eventually if the events of terror are forgotten or not. Throughout the movie, the audience witnesses the protagonist, Vada, struggling on her own to deal with all her confusing and strange emotions.

She becomes pretty distant with her family, especially with her sister Amelia and her closest friend Nick, and makes new bonds with Mia and Quinton.

Towards the end of The Fallout, the audience feels nothing but relief as they watch Veda finally start to talk about her emotions to her therapist, her mother, and then her sister. The scene where she lets it all out with her father in a silly yet effective way gives the audience hope that there's a chance for her to get back to her everyday life.

But this bubble of the audience quickly bursts as, in the end scene, Vada is shown panicking as news of another school shooting pops up on her phone.

Therefore, at the end of The Fallout, the writer and director Megan Park makes an impactful statement about trauma, leaving the audience with the burden of unanswered questions.

Readers can catch this heartbreaking drama on HBO Max.