The Space Sweepers ending culminated in a final battle to save both a young child and the Earth itself. The South Korean film was originally intended to be a theatrical release, but became a Netflix exclusive due to the coronavirus pandemic. Commonly regarded as the first major space opera for the Korean film industry, Space Sweepers has been a hit for the streaming service.
Directed by Jo Sung-hee, Space Sweepers created a gigantic, science fiction world set in 2092. The story revolves around the crew of a spaceship called the Victory. Space Sweepers' four principal characters are their leader, Captain Jang (Kim Tae-ri), a robot named Bubs (voiced by Yoo Hai-jin), former drug lord Tiger Park (Jin Seon-kyu), and Kim Tae-ho (Song Joong-ki), a man who works on the Victory in the hopes of earning enough to money to save his long-missing daughter. Early in the film, the crew saw a huge opportunity to make a lot of quick cash when they stumbled across Kot-nim aka Dorothy (Park Ye-rin), a highly sought-after child, then believed to be an android. Though they were eager to make a profit off her, it didn’t take long for the child to grow on the crew, who all became determined to protect her.
The biggest obstacle to Kot-nim’s safety was James Sullivan (Richard Armitage), the head of an extremely powerful corporation known as UTS. As Sullivan’s evil agenda hinged on Kot-nim and her unique biology, he was willing to do whatever it took to get his hands on her. With his resources and military manpower, Sullivan eventually succeeded and took Kot-nim away. But though the crew was defeated, they didn’t give up easily.
Why Sullivan Wanted To Destroy The Earth
What Sullivan and his company really wanted in Space Sweepers was to start a new civilization on Mars and leave Earth behind forever. He believed that was possible through their advanced nanobot technology, which was capable of amazing feats, including the creation of plant life. The problem is that there were still over a billion people left on Earth, and UTS couldn’t convince everyone that saving it was a lost cause. For this reason, Sullivan wanted to speed up the process and destroy the entire planet.
The key to all of this was Kot-nim, who had these nanobots injected into her body. She was proof that Earth could, in fact, be saved. As pointed out by the Black Foxes, if the nanobots could make Mars a paradise, then it stood to reason that the dying Earth could be rejuvenated as well. Sullivan knew he could get rid of Kot-nim (and Earth) by taking her to a space station called the Factory. A bomb inside was the only thing capable of destroying her for good. It would also result in the Factory crashing into Earth. Once that happened, the planet would be no more, and humanity would have no choice but to accept Mars as its new home.
How Earth Was Saved & Sullivan's Defeat
At the end of Space Sweepers, the crew caught up to UTS and had a fierce showdown with their soldiers at the Factory. After winning the battle and taking Kot-nim back onto the Victory, they had to fight an army of drones (and Sullivan) in order to escape the Factory before the explosion, which was becoming imminent. It seemed at this point that all hope was lost for everyone, until it was revealed that the crew made a choice to save Kot-nim, but not themselves. Apparently, they secretly handed off Kot-nim to their friend, Pierre (Kevin Dockry), who took her onto his ship. After that, the main characters secured the Factory’s bomb on the Victory. The plan was for it to explode safely away from Earth, allowing both the planet and Kot-nim to survive. Sullivan, on the other hand, was a causality of the explosion.
Nanobots Protected The Ship & The Group
Just when it looked as if Captain Jang, Tae-ho, Tiger Park, and Bubs had all died heroic deaths, the Victory returned unscathed, much to their surprise. This miracle was explained by the “indestructible” nanobots that surrounded and shielded the ship from the blast. The change of color in Kot-nim’s eyes when she was watching from afar leaves the impression that she was controlling the nanobots from a distance in an effort to protect her friends. If it wasn’t for the nanobots, the crew surely would have perished along with Sullivan.
Su-ni's Death Explained
Once it was all over, Tae-ho was able to find out the truth about his daughter Su-ni through Kot-nim. After both characters were hooked up to a machine, he was told Kot-nim would use her nanobot abilities to form a brief telepathic connection between him and his daughter. He was also shown an image of Su-ni “at this exact moment”, which depicted her floating somewhere in space. When they were connected, Tae-ho was given a chance to hug Su-ni and tell her goodbye. The scene ended with Tae-ho being told that she had “departed the orbit” sometime this year. What this meant was that Su-ni had died while being stranded out in space for too long. As for how he was able to communicate with a dead person, it was of course the nanobots that made this possible. They were able to “interpret the data” from Su-ni’s mind and essentially reactive her consciousness for a few seconds. Tae-ho didn’t get his daughter back like he had wanted, but Space Sweepers’ ending at least gave the character some degree of closure.
The Group's Future After Space Sweepers
The Space Sweepers ending teased the Victory crew’s future after the movie. A scene showed the group capturing a character named Porky to get back money he had stolen from them. This moment was a reference to a conversation at the beginning of the film, back before Kot-nim came into their lives. Bubs had told Tae-ho that Porky, the person who managed their money, ran off with their funds. It would seem that finding Porky helped them stave off the financial woes that had previously dragged them down. They stayed together and acted as a family to Kot-nim, who remained under their care and was enrolled in school. Tae-ho seemingly moved on, and Bubs received a new female body, played by Kim Hyang-gi. Bubs’ decision was set up early in the movie when it was mentioned that the character had an interest in getting a human skin graft. Now, the four are continuing to go on missions together, which means the door is open for an all-new journey for the group in Space Sweepers 2.
UTS & The Space Sweeper's World After The Ending
A newscaster’s report shed some light on what happened to Space Sweepers’ world after Sullivan’s defeat. Since UTS’ plan was exposed to the public, the corporation tried to make up for everything that went wrong by pledging to restore “harmony across the solar system.” Based on a shot of a flourishing environment, it looks like UTS did indeed work to save Earth by using their nanobot technology, and also by receiving help from Kot-nim’s powers. In short, Space Sweepers ended on a positive note by showing that the planet was rescued from its dying state, and is now moving forward to a bright, new future.