The Ending
There are a ton of theories being tossed around the Internet about the ending of Inception, the two biggest debates being whether Cobb was still in a dream or did he in fact return to his children in the “real world.”
The ending of Inception is meant to leave you thinking and questioning the nature of reality. The important question is not “Is Cobb still dreaming?” – What is important is the fact that the character of Cobb goes from being a guy who is obsessed with “knowing what’s real” to ultimately being a person who stops questioning and accepts what makes him truly happy as what’s real.
But people want more concrete answers than that, so here you go:
After two viewings I can tell you that from the moment that Cobb and Saito (seem to) wake up from limbo, Nolan very purposefully shifts the film into an ambiguous state that leaves it somewhat open to the viewer’s perception and interpretation of that perception – two big themes of the movie, coincidentally enough.
From the moment Cobb and Saito wake, there is no more dialogue between the characters and few shots or images that would concretely explain or prove one interpretation. Is Cobb still dreaming and his team and family (and maybe Saito) are all projections? Or is it the job completed, everyone is back in reality and everything is happily ever after? There are a few pieces of “evidence” that we can certainly address:
- Was Saito truly powerful enough to make one phone call and end Cobb’s problems or was that just Cobb in limbo projecting his subconscious wish to go home? You can argue logistics all you want, but if it’s said that Saito is a powerful and wealthy man (he bought a whole airline on a whim), then there’s reason enough to infer that he could bend the legal system for Cobb. Rich powerful people bend laws all the time.
- Is there something up with that immigration agent or is he just an immigration agent? After two viewings, the conclusion should be that the immigration guy is just a guy. If he’s staring at Cobb, it’s because his job is to look people over and scrutinize them. Would you want immigration letting people through without face-to-face scrutiny?
- Did Cobb’s father (Michael Caine) arrange to meet him at the airport or is he there because he’s Cobb’s projection? At this point we’re reading way too much into things. There is a phone on the plane, so Cobb could’ve easily arranged for pickup. This was also an intricate plan they were hatching, so arranging for airport pickup would probably be on the to-do list.
- In early dream scenes Cobb is wearing a wedding band that doesn’t appear in the “real world” scenes or the end scenes in the airport – does that mean the ending is “reality?” Details like that are certainly strong evidence that there is a real world and that Cobb does live in it at times – such as when he isn’t wearing a wedding band.
- Does the fact that Cobb uses Mal’s totem mean it doesn’t work as a totem and therefore he never knows if he’s in reality or not? Again, we’re reading a little too deep into things. The only people who know the weight and feel of that totem are Mal and Cobb, and since Mal is dead, Cobb is the only one left who knows the totem’s tactile details. So yes, he could certainly use it as a measure of reality, the totem was not “ruined” by him using it.
- At the end, Cobb’s kids seem to be the same age and are seemingly wearing the same clothes as they were in his memory of them – is it “proof” he’s still dreaming? As carefully documented by our own Vic Holtreman, at the end of the film Cobb’s kids are wearing similar outfits to the ones he remembers, but their shoes are different. As for their ages: if you check IMDB, there are actually two set of actors credited with playing Cobb’s kids. The daughter, Phillipa, is credited as being both 3 and 5 years old, while the son, James, is credited as being both 20 months and 3 years old. This suggests that while it might be subtle, there is a difference between the kids in Cobb’s memories and the kids Cobb comes home to. That would suggest the homecoming is in fact “reality.” But feel free to debate that.
- Will the spinning top keep spinning or was it about to fall over just before Nolan cut to black? Sorry, we will never know for sure, although it does start to wobble and it is never shown doing that in the dream world. Each of us will take away a guess – kind of the point of that final shot.
At the beginning of the film, after the first job Cobb’s team tries to pull on Saito, we see Cobb sitting in his hotel room alone, spinning the top and watching it intently, gun in hand. This is a guy who is ready to blow his brains out if the top keeps spinning, in order to “wake himself up.” That’s how obsessed and paranoid he’s become.
Throughout the film, Cobb continues to obsess about spinning the top and verifying reality – however, at the end of movie, he spins the top and walks away from it before he can verify if it stops spinning or not. His kids come running in and Cobb couldn’t care less about about the top or “true reality” or extraction/inception anymore. He just wants to be with his children, in whatever place he can be with them. That emotional connection and desire is “reality” enough for him.
In the end, Cobb walking away from the top is a statement in itself that also completes the arc of his character. In a way, the movie is its own maze designed to plant a simple little idea in the viewer’s mind: “reality” is a relative concept.
UPDATE: Christopher Nolan himself has endorsed our interpretation of Inception‘s ending.
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Bravo, Mr. Nolan. You’ve gotten us thinking and talking. I leave things there – hope you enjoyed our explanation and look forward to hearing all the wonderful discussion continue.
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I think he’s still dreaming; think about it, Nolan made it a big deal to tell us, that no one is allowed to touch each others totem..well when Cobb goes into limbo to find saito, he is brought I’n by guards, and they tell saito he was found with this, and this; and they laid out a pistol and cobb’s totem saito picked it up, which if the whole thing is true, he would of ruined it’s purpose. I’ve watched this movie seventeen times I’n one month to figure this out, nolan did a great job with this project and it had inspire me to write countless screenplays myself, just think about it, cause if all I said is true…then he is still dreaming!! Please get back to me I love discussing movies specially this one!
okay well that does make sense… but….the kids are wearing different shoes. and their ages are different..so it must be reality..
What you have missed in the Rule of the Totem, though, is that you don’t share your totem with anybody in the real world. In a dream it doesn’t matter, because the totem owner is still the only person to know the actual weight and feel of the totem (and how it acts in the real world), so it is okay to share a totem if you are positive that you are in a dream. The other dreamers do not necessarily know that this is your totem or how it actually acts/feels/looks/etc. in the real world
noooo ” see your getting it all wrong. The purpose of not letting someone touch your totem is because if they see every detail of it, they can trick you & you wont be able to know whats a dream or not
Well, if they don’t know that it’s your totem, then they wouldn’t know to manipulate it to trick you. If they think it’s just a random object in you, then it’s useless to them. Also, they JUST found him, and brought him to Saito (don’t know how to spell his name) right away so they wouldn’t have had time to change the top.
Well, if they don’t know that it’s your totem, then they wouldn’t know to manipulate it to trick you. If they think it’s just a random object on you, then it’s useless to them. Also, they JUST found him, and brought him to Saito (don’t know how to spell his name) right away so they wouldn’t have had time to change the top.
Happily, I did not get dizzy from watching this film as I expected from South Park’s Insheeption spoof of the film – all I came away with is how unpleasant Leonardo Di Caprio is – his face is not worth the screen time but he does resemble the Japanese guy sitting across the airplane aisle form him. And Neither of them resemble consistently cute Joseph Gordon Levitt or Ellen Page.
I didn’t get hung up about the dream within a dream quandary at all. I am totatlly fed up with the lead actor however. SO unpleasant.
What is he – a child? Why would Leo need a pickup at the airport from an old man? That makes no sense. Just catch a cab.
Cleo…Cobb hasn’t been in the U.S. for quite awhile, so his father is likely just trying to help him settle in to the idea of being back home.
That was my take…
In reply to Archaeon:
“I know how English grammar works. I TEACH it.”
I also teach grammar. The difference between you and me is that I actually know what I am talking about.
In the sentence “There are a lot of people here”, “a lot of” is an idiomatic expression. It means “a large number of” or “many”. There is also the literal meaning of “a lot of” as in “He owns a lot of land”. The expression could also be used with uncountable nouns to mean “a large amount” as in “There is a lot of sand”. “People” and “theories” are counatble nouns however so “There is a lot of people” is obviously wrong.
Look, you don’t believe me? Fine. Check out “Essential Grammar in Use Second Edition” (Cambridge University Press 1990, 1997) by Raymond Murphy, page 172. It gives the example “There ARE a lot of trees/shops/people…(plural verb)”. The emphasis is theirs. Are you going to argue now with Cambridge University about what is correct grammar. Seriously?
Similarly, “a ton of theories” as in “There are a ton of theories” does not literally mean “theories measured out to weigh one ton”. “a ton of” is not seriously meant as a measure but as an idiomatic expression meaning, in this case, “a large number”. The verb-subject agreement is with the nound theories which is clearly plural. It would be as if you said “There are a million theories.”
Martin…
I hope you’re more polite and respectful in your classes than you were at the beginning of the above response.
I, too, know my subject matter and my chosen profession, but I am always willing to review what I’ve said and the particulars of a given conversation. In this case, I went back and looked at the original statement, the one that started this whole pointless mess. I also looked at various classroom materials and online sources.
One thing I realized (and it amazes me that I had let this detail slip by) is that I NEVER SAW THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT. For some odd reason, I thought I had, but I had only gone as far back as Arturo’s initial correction. Thus, I must, in fairness, admit that the original usage might indeed lend credence to your perspective.
This is not to say that my perspective is wrong, however. I DID find several sources that proved your point, admittedly. I did, ALSO, find a few that gave weight to my argument, as well. My mistake was in being too general in my definition of what was being described and expressed. The formality/informality of the original statement, its referent(s), and the point made by the original author (and, thus, his surrounding/leading statements) influenced the form his sentence took. I should have considered these things instead of simply glomming on to Arturo’s comment. For THAT (and ONLY that), I do apologize.
Otherwise, I stand by what I said…with the addendum that it is not an absolute.
Now, can we PLEASE drop what has become a truly pointless off-topic conversation and get back to “Inception”?
“I hope you’re more polite and respectful in your classes than you were at the beginning of the above response.”
You mean when I said “I know how English grammar works. I TEACH it.”? Oh, wait, that was me quoting you.
In the future you might want to try being a little less arrogant, especially when you obviously haven’t bothered to check any references to see if what you are saying is actually true and not just complete nonsense.
“The difference between you and me is that I actually know what I am talking about.”
THAT is the statement to which I was responding. THAT is the very definition of arrogance.
I realized a mistake I had made, in terms of my initial observation, NOT my conclusion. I attempted to correct my mistake (or, at least, to explain it). I even tried, honestly and fairly, to point out that we both had made valid points. I did not speak down to you in MY response. I pity your students if that’s how you behave in class. Act like an ass if you wish, but you are not worth any more of my time.
If you were my student, I would give you a failing grade and yet you presume to teach others… and you call ME arrogant.
I was making a factual statement. You didn’t know what you were talking about. Go cry to somebody else.
Wow! Is this guy for real?! One thing you didn’t learn while majoring in one of the most regretted degrees in America (english,) is manors! I suggest you develop some.
“you and me” it’s suppose to ben” you and I” im an 8th grade student and i know more about grammar then you.
“between you and I”? No, try again. “Between” is a preposition and “you and me” is the object of that preposition.
Oh and, by the way, I know more about grammar THAN you.
“you and me” it’s suppose to be “you and I” im an 8th grade student and i know more about grammar then you.
….did you not forget the concept that he may still be dreaming, from after when he goes to trial test out the asians guys own compound…after he wakes we see a shot of him in the bathroom watching his totem spin, but someone interupts him and he knocks it over himself…..so we never know whether it was going to still spin or not??!!…..
That scene was only for Saito. “Ive seen one before..many many years ago”
Very good point!!! Omg got me questioning the whole movie again now lool
Very good point. argh you have me questioning the whole movie again now lool
Very good point. argh you have me questioning the whole movie again now lool.
Soon 8000 comments? Where is the article about this article? It has gone too far, and it will probably end up lost in Limbo if its pushed further.
Please don’t use terms like “subconscious” when you mean unconscious. Subconscious is a made-up Hollywood idea. Real psychology deals purely with the unconscious mind.
Ah, it is a ‘made-up Hollywood’ movie…
As much as I respect the well planned layout of this site, I have problems with your arguments.
1. Was Saito truly powerful enough to make one phone call and end Cobb’s problems or was that just Cobb in limbo projecting his subconscious wish to go home? You can argue logistics all you want, but if it’s said that Saito is a powerful and wealthy man (he bought a whole airline on a whim), then there’s reason enough to infer that he could bend the legal system for Cobb. Rich powerful people bend laws all the time.
You assume Saito isn’t a projection. I’m arguing from the perspective that his wife was indeed correct in believing that the “real world” Leonardo came back into was still a dream.
Did Cobb’s father (Michael Caine) arrange to meet him at the airport or is he there because he’s Cobb’s projection? At this point we’re reading way too much into things. There is a phone on the plane, so Cobb could’ve easily arranged for pickup. This was also an intricate plan they were hatching, so arranging for airport pickup would probably be on the to-do list.
But yet one point remains clear and is repeated. One shot shows Cobb seeing his father at the airport, the next shows him at home with his father. It’s reading too much into it to assume that Cobb knew how he actually got home.
In early dream scenes Cobb is wearing a wedding band that doesn’t appear in the “real world” scenes or the end scenes in the airport – does that mean the ending is “reality?” Details like that are certainly strong evidence that there is a real world and that Cobb does live in it at times – such as when he isn’t wearing a wedding band.
In a dream, one can manipulate objects at will sometimes. If he is indeed convinced that his “real world” is real, then he would perceive himself without the ring. Quite simple really.
Does the fact that Cobb uses Mal’s totem mean it doesn’t work as a totem and therefore he never knows if he’s in reality or not? Again, we’re reading a little too deep into things. The only people who know the weight and feel of that totem are Mal and Cobb, and since Mal is dead, Cobb is the only one left who knows the totem’s tactile details. So yes, he could certainly use it as a measure of reality, the totem was not “ruined” by him using it.
This also goes along with the wedding ring. He can manipulate the object all he wants. What gives that certain object any special ability over any cup or bowl in his dream? Especially if he’s the architect.
At the end, Cobb’s kids seem to be the same age and are seemingly wearing the same clothes as they were in his memory of them – is it “proof” he’s still dreaming? As carefully documented by our own Vic Holtreman, at the end of the film Cobb’s kids are wearing similar outfits to the ones he remembers, but their shoes are different. As for their ages: if you check IMDB, there are actually two set of actors credited with playing Cobb’s kids. The daughter, Phillipa, is credited as being both 3 and 5 years old, while the son, James, is credited as being both 20 months and 3 years old. This suggests that while it might be subtle, there is a difference between the kids in Cobb’s memories and the kids Cobb comes home to. That would suggest the homecoming is in fact “reality.” But feel free to debate that.
He can also manipulate what his kids look like based upon his own belief in the dream. What is clear, though, is that the human mind isn’t truly revolutionary in creating it’s own ideas. It draws off previous or existing details. So he alters the shoes and ages, big deal. What is striking ARE the similarities.
Will the spinning top keep spinning or was it about to fall over just before Nolan cut to black?
Again, what does it matter if he’s the architect and created every item in the dream. He can manipulate it all.
Micheal Caine was not Cobb’s father. He was his father in law. He introduced Mal and Cobb to Dreamshare.
Nice round-up Dustin, I generally agree.
if mal created the idea of a totem, why didn’t she just spin it to see if she was in a dream or reality before killing herself?
She ultimately understood that Cobb found her top in Limbo and altered the idea. She could not break free, and had to take a Leap of Faith when waiting for the train. And once free..the idea was stuck. And that is what an Inception does. It sticks in reality, and no matter how many times she would reality check herself it would not matter since her secret of the totem was no longer a secret. Cobb knew this too and he did not have the heart to tell her. He only tells himself and Ariadne in the end when he comes clean about it.
@Tyken, at what point did she “ultimately understand that Cobb altered her top in limbo”?
In response to @dan, I think we must assume she did spin it. Whether Cobb ever tried it himself would be another question.
But what happens when she spins it? If it falls, Mal would just look for other excuses to support her deeply ‘incepted’ beliefs. She even says to Cobb that their current world seems real to him, only because he believes it to be real, she probably thinks his beliefs are overriding hers, here, in what she still believes to be limbo, or perhaps a dream level. (Again, the confusion concerning even this small detail is intentional, allowing the film to maintain its ambiguity. Where did Mal think she was?!)
On the otherhand, it the top did keep on spinning… well, i’ll let you come to your own conclusions. But if it did, imo, it probably fell over the second Cobb ever entered the same room where she was spinning it.
She always knew, I mean..who else could have found out her secret but Cobb? But she still had to take a leap of faith when they escaped on the tracks. And she gave him the same ultimatum when she escaped after coming back to reality.. sadly.
No she didn’t realize Cobb set the totem spinning, did she?
Wasn’t this inception Cobb’s great deception?
Mal would not question finding it spinning, not in a dream? Weird stuff like that happens in dreams, and no doubt in limbo.
She didn’t even find the totem spinning. Once Cobb spun it, she was already given the idea that “your world is not real”. It helped her escape limbo. But it did the same in reality too, which is something Cobb couldn’t foresee as it was the first Inception. And a dangerous idea to plant..
“Happens in dreams” is one thing, “happens in Dreamshare” is quite another. And “happening in Limbo through Dreamshare” is a whole new playfield. Cobb and Mal were Gods in their own world. Nothing was by chance down there. Mal knew this, and made a conscious choice to forget reality while using Dreamshare. Ultimately they were both Dreamshare addicts, with sad consequences.
Even looking at it that way, I still fail to see how Mal “ultimately knew”?
She had a radical notion. Nuff said
Here is another point about the dream. When they all went under on the plane, it was raining because the one guy had to take a leak, right ? Well, when they got the kick and to wake up when the van was falling off the bridge…it was still “RAINING.”
So does that mean that they were still at that one level down in the dream after all and NOT in the real world ??
Of course. The kick brought them back to the first level. They woke up when the sedative wore off. Likewise, Cobb and Saito were never in danger of going into a coma and not waking up: the danger was that they would not remember who they were when they woke up. We see Saito going for a gun, presumably to shoot himself so he would wake up but it could be they woke up because the sedative had worn off.
Which is a good point. There’s no doubt that Cobb woke up on the plane. The real question is whether or not the entire movie was a dream.
I think it is also important to make the distinction between
‘the entire movie was a dream’
versus
‘the entire movie takes place within dreamshare and limbo’.
The first version imply’s that the Pasiv device is the figment of a fevered dream.
The second, that the Pasiv device is very real and Cobb has become utterly lost within it.
Alright….so I know the debate of the film is over….I just got done watching it and was wondering if anyone else had this thought….is it possible that the college girl, architect, was investigating Cobb? And that the reason Cobb was sent free was because it was determined by his encounter with his wife at the end of the film that he truly did not kill his wife? I know there aren’t any direct statements within the film to prove this theory to be correct, but it’s an interesting thought that during this inception Cobb may have been under investigation for the murder of his wife
Fresh take Adam, nice angle, I like it.
The more theories the better in my opinion… as long as they only contradict audience assumptions, and not the facts as they are stated.
I watched it when it first came out and was satisfied but then i kept thinking, why are the kids still wearing the same thing and in the same spot? Why are they the same age as when he left? Why don’t we see the top stop spinning? So I ask is he the one that is still dreaming and his wife right and she out but he’s still in? Help me
Nice explanation. but the key is in Yusuf basement, when Cobb goes into sleep and dream about mal, he falls into limbo there and the rest of all movie is a Cobb dream. You can notice that when he suposly wakes up from that dream the top falls to the ground and never was tested. The only thing that changes is the way Cobb thinks about its relation with mal.
Jo…
The key…AS YOU SEE IT. Plenty of others have found just as much evidence to indicate Cobb DOES awaken to actual reality by the end of the film.
Nobody really cares who knows more about grammar guys… Just post a comment about the film or shut up and go on another website -.-
JTS, there is a difference. Unconscious is a STATE, whereas subconscious is an element of the mind.
Just because Cobb gets distracted by his kids at the end of the movie preventing him (and the audience) from knowing whether he’s still dreaming or not doesn’t mean he will never know for sure if he’s still dreaming. He can just go back to the top anytime after and see if it’s still spinning or if it stopped. Sure we as the audience will never know the truth, but let Cobb enjoy his kids whether he’s dreaming or not, all he wants is to experience happiness.
Exactly. He needs to get back home in the real world, cause thats the only place he can see his childrens faces. Assurance of reality ^
There was one small scene that I noticed. When Cobb is finding his team, he meets up with the gentleman (forgive me for not knowing the characters names) that has a room full of men that share dreams together. The man states that the dreams are extremely stable. Cobb has a dream about mal (his dead, crazy wife) and then wakes himself up. When he goes into the bathroom to check and see if he is still dreaming, Sato (the guy making the deal with him) interrupts him and ask him if everything is all right. Cobb picks up the totem and walks away saying yes. Could it be possible that he was sleeping for 8 hours like the rest if the men in the room and dreamt that he completes the job and went home to his kids. In addition, after that moment in the bathroom, Cobb never pulls out the totem until the end…. Food for thought.
Nah. Cobb followed up after that with the experiments. And besides, Saito had seen the totem, “many many years ago”, and he did in that bathroom.
I loved this movie. It’s probably the best movie I’ve ever seen! They had a very unusual story line, and I liked it. I was also pulled in to how they ended up being put in a dream, then another dream, and so forth. I was intrigued by the paradoxes and impossible shapes and physics. I thought it was fascinating how the time was distorted according to dissimilar levels. They had 10 hours in reality, days in the 1st level, weeks in the 2nd level, a decade in the 3rd level, and decades in Limbo. Overall, I thought this movie was outstanding.
Doesn’t really matter whether or not Cobb is still in Limbo or returned to the “Real World”. All that really matters is that he is with his children (real or not) and is ultimately a happier person than what he was in the beginning of the movie. (even if it is just false happiness, created by his own subconsciousness)
My view? The ending was left to keep you guessing so I don’t think there needs to be a concrete answer. (Doesn’t matter how much you want one, you won’t get it. The ending is a big tease, and I like it that way)
Why am I commenting? I just watched the movie again and I felt like it.
[Random Note: Laughed really hard that Scarecrow was the man who got "Incepted". -Yeah dude you use toxins to make people hallucinate huh? Well I just went into your mind and put your subconscious into a dream, into a dream, and then into another dream to just mess with you man... Yeah, who's the BA now?- Love it!]
You actually read this comment? Good going, but I just wasted like a minute of your life… Sorry. But here is some good news, I wasted five minutes of my life to waste a minute of your life, so I basically screwed myself over… Oh well…
Just been reading all the comments and really like all the theories. I’m not sure what I think but is this a valid idea: what if we are always in cobbs dream and mal keeps trying to enter it to wake him? And in limbo near the end mal realises that she is loosing the battle to convince cobb that he is dreaming and decideds never to come back? Does that mean is is always in a limbo? But if he is why isnt Cobb or the chrildren getting older or is he projecting himself in that imagd? Is any of that even possible or have I missed the idea?? I’m getting mind boggled from this film and now questioning everything about it like mal! But this is definatly reality we are in…