Warning: This article contains spoilers for Samaritan!Prime Video's Samaritan ending, starring Sylvester Stallone, offers an interesting twist on the superhero genre. Based on the 2014 comic book of the same name, Samaritan stars Stallone as Joe, an elderly garbage man who lives in the fictional Granite City, which is riddled with crime and lawlessness. Joe captures the attention of Sam Cleary (Javon Walton), a young boy who suspects the old man may be the Samaritan, a superhero who used to protect the city, but is believed to have died decades ago in an epic battle with his evil twin brother, Nemesis, who also disappeared.
When Joe saves Sam from local a gang of local hoods that attack him, Sam is convinced Joe is Samaritan and the two begin to bond. At the same time, Sam gets embroiled with the local crime lord, a man named Cyrus (Ghost in the Shell's Pilou Asbæk), who is hellbent on seeing the plans of the long-disappeared Nemesis come to fruition, namely plunging Granite City into darkness and allowing the criminal element to take it over. After acquiring Nemesis' mask and hammer from a police station raid, Cyrus sets his plan in motion by starting a fire at the power station and luring Samaritan out to be killed, once and for all.
When Cyrus discovers that Samaritan appears to be alive and has a bond with Sam, he kidnaps the boy to lure him out. With Sam in danger and Cyrus close to accomplishing his goal of turning Granite City into a criminal empire, Joe faces what he's been avoiding for decades, confronting not only Cyrus, but his own past, which is more complex than the audience is led to believe. Taking out Cyrus' gang of thugs after acquiring Nemesis' hammer, Joe faces Cyrus in a mano y mano fight in the burning power plant, recreating the battle that took place 20 years prior, with both redemption and Sam's life hanging in the balance. The result is a finale that is both visually spectacular, but also raises some interesting psychological questions about the movie's protagonist. Here is Stallone's Samaritan movie ending explained in detail.
What Really Happened Between Samaritan And Nemesis 20 Years Ago?
Both Samaritan and Nemesis were born with superpowers, eventually branching off into good and evil, respectively, with Nemesis developing a strong hatred for his brother. Nemesis would later create a hammer, hand-forged from the hatred that he had for his brother, making it the only weapon that could leave a scar on either brother. Attempting to lure in his heroic twin, Nemesis started the fire at the power station wanting to throw the whole city into anarchy and chaos – and luring Samaritan into a trap. During their battle 20 years prior, Nemesis and Samaritan (played by Rocky and Rambo star Stallone) fought a final battle for the fate of Granite City. Fully decked out in costume, both brothers battle it out with Nemesis seemingly defeated at one point. Samaritan starts to walk away, but falls through the roof, hanging onto the edge with a fiery doom below him. Nemesis grabs his hand to save him, but Samaritan falls, presumably to his death, leaving Nemesis the victor (and leading to Samaritan's shocking twist ending), but at the cost of losing his only brother, his hatred destroying them both. After the battle, neither Samaritan nor Nemesis were ever seen or heard from again, leaving Granite City to its own devices, which has led to it being overrun by crime.
Why Cyrus Wants To Destroy Granite City
Cyrus is the main crime boss of Granite City and is simply a power-hungry sociopath. He has rallied the local thugs and gangs, while compromising the local police, either bribing or scaring them off. With the city already on the verge of collapse, Cyrus is looking to push it over the edge, seeing an opportunity to perpetuate the chaos he's grown up with. Cyrus has grown up with the legend of Samaritan and Nemesis, and ultimately chose to be a part of the problem, even if he views it as a solution. Nemesis is a heroic figure to Cyrus in many ways, serving as a symbol of power and strength, which he seeks to harness by stealing the mask and hammer from the police station. Kidnapping Sam (Walton, who plays Ashtray in Euphoria), believing it will lure Samaritan to him, Cyrus is attempting to recreate the very scenario that happened decades ago, hoping to finally destroy Samaritan and emerge as the new Nemesis.
The Big Twist Revealed - And How That Changes Everything In Samaritan
Setting fire to the power station, Cyrus lures Joe in, who smashes into their headquarters and takes out the entirety of his gang single-handedly, eventually being brought face-to-face with Cyrus, who refers to Joe as the "good guy". It's at this point that Joe reveals the truth about who he is, saying he's the "bad guy". Joe is actually Nemesis, not Samaritan, and he's been in hiding after the death of his brother, for which he bears tremendous guilt and responsibility for. Now that Cyrus has taken it upon himself to become the new Nemesis, it gives Stallone's Samaritan character Joe the opportunity to redeem himself by fighting against the reawakened plan to bring chaos to Granite City. Nemesis, in turn, takes up his fallen brother's mantle, fighting against the very plan he set in motion decades prior, essentially becoming the new Samaritan in the process. In defeating Cyrus and saving Sam, Joe finally finds redemption, which is solidified when Sam is later interviewed by the news, saying that Samaritan is the one who showed up and saved the day.
Samaritan 2 - Will There Be A Sequel And What That Story Could Be
There's plenty of room left open at the end of Samaritan to continue Joe and Sam's story, especially since Joe has been redeemed for his past transgressions. Joe appears to embrace this new shift, but does not make an attempt to claim credit or make a show of it, let alone step back into costume. Likely, it would take some time for him to do that, if at all, so a Samaritan 2 could ultimately reveal what Joe chooses to do with his redemption. He could continue being a garbage man as cover, while fighting crime at night in disguise, potentially as Samaritan. It's also possible that he could take on a new name or identity to fight crime, potentially with the assistance of a more grown-up Sam at his side, who would no doubt graduate into having powers of his own in some way. With Joe's journey still open for exploration, there's certainly a tale to be told about how Granite City is rebuilt and how involved Samaritan would be in that endeavor, which could ultimately lead to Sam being the one to take over the mantle and carry on the Samaritan name. It will ultimately be up to how well Samaritan performs on Prime Video if a sequel is to happen. If successful and there's a desire or justification to continue the story, then a Samaritan 2 is entirely possible.