Extraction, the feature directorial debut from Sam Hargrave, features a slightly ambiguous ending for its hero, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth). Released on Netflix, the action thriller follows Tyler on a mercenary mission to rescue Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the teenage son of a gang leader, who has been captured by a rival drug lord. Still haunted by the loss of his own son, Tyler puts his life on the line to get Ovi home safe and seemingly being killed in his mission only for the movie's final shot to hint at his survival.
The sequel Extraction 2 confirms that Tyler survived, something that is left unclear in the original movie. Tyler teams up with Saju (Randeep Hooda) in a last-ditch effort to help Ovi escape Dhaka by crossing one of the bridges out of the city. Saju is killed, and just as Ovi reaches safety, Tyler receives an apparently fatal bullet wound to the neck. Tyler falls off the bridge and plummets into the water, disappearing below the surface. Given the extent of his injuries, it seems impossible that he could have survived - but given that Tyler spent the whole movie beating impossible odds, perhaps it's not surprising he lives to fight again.
Nik Protects Ovi From Further Kidnappings
Midway through Extraction, Tyler and Ovi are taken into the supposed protection of Gaspar (David Harbour), an old friend and fellow mercenary whose life was once saved by Tyler, and who therefore owes him a big favor. After Ovi has gone to bed, Gaspar bluntly states that the kid is a "walking corpse," since even if Tyler somehow succeeds in getting him home he's still a target for one of the most powerful drug lords in Bangladesh, and his father (who is in prison) doesn't have the resources to protect him. This created an obvious problem for Extraction's ending to resolve after Tyler succeeds in getting Ovi out of Dhaka.
Since Tyler is otherwise indisposed, it's Tyler's colleague Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) who ends up taking care of the problem. She confronts Asif in the men's room at a restaurant after the dust has settled and swiftly executes him, extinguishing his grudge against Ovi's father along with his life. The money for protecting Ovi ran dry at the start of the mission, so like the assault on the bridge, this is more pro bono work on Nik's part. In Extraction 2, it is clear Nik knows Tyler is alive so taking out Asif could have been done at his request or simply as revenge for nearly killing Tyler.
Is Tyler Still Alive At The End Of Extraction?
Extraction's epilogue takes place eight months after Tyler's apparent death, with Asif's execution cross-cut with a scene of Ovi at a swimming pool. He jumps into the water and lets himself sink to the bottom of the pool for a few moments before reemerging. When he does, there's an out-of-focus figure in the background watching him who looks an awful lot like Tyler, and the movie ends with Ovi turning to look at the figure. The obvious implication is that Tyler survived his multiple gunshot wounds (and other assorted injuries), using his dive into the water to escape the final battle after seeing Ovi to safety.
The sequel suggests Nik found Tyler and helped save him. Before the confirmation from the sequel, Extraction's ambiguous ending strongly implied Tyler survived but it could have also been explained in other ways. Rather than it just being a random person standing there watching Ovi, it could be interpreted as something Ovi is imagining himself. He could see Tyler as a protector watching over him from the afterlife. However, with the confirmation that Tyler survived, it brings into question what is actually meant by this specific ending.
The Real Meaning Of Extraction's Ending
Even though he doesn't die, Tyler's "death" scene in Extraction has meaning as does the final shot. Ovi's final scene in Extraction mirrors Tyler's first scene, when he jumps off a cliff into a deep lagoon and lets himself sink to the bottom before resurfacing. Throughout the movie water symbolizes two key concepts: courage and death. Having lost his wife and son, Tyler at the start of the movie has lost all his fear of death and is even (as Nik suggests) actively seeking it out. For Tyler, water is associated with his memories of his son at the beach, and his jump into the water at the start is a flirtation with death.
Throughout the movie his memories of his son are out of focus, and only become clear just before he falls into the river at the end of the movie (naturally leading the audience to believe that he's joined his son in death). In contrast to Tyler leaping fearlessly into water, Ovi at the start of Extraction lacks the courage even to go over and talk to a girl who is smiling at him. Over the course of the movie, Tyler discovers a new reason to live in saving Ovi's life (something that he couldn't do with his own son), while Ovi's repeated brushes with death strip away his fears.
Ovi's jump into the water from the high dive, his moment of silence underneath the water, and his eventual resurfacing are all symbolic of the courage he's gained. With both Tyler and Ovi diving into the water in the end, it serves as a rebirth in a way as they both emerge as different people. For Ovi, he is finding courage and strength in himself. For Tyler, as implied in the trailer for Extraction 2, he has found purpose to continue on.