Summary

• Kya killed Chase in Where the Crawdads Sing because she didn't want to live in fear and be subjected to abuse like her childhood experiences.
• Kya saw Chase as a predator and felt her actions were crucial for her own survival.
• The title of Where the Crawdads Sing comes from a phrase the author's mother used to say, symbolizing a place far from modern society and closer to nature.

The Where the Crawdads Sing ending is full of twists and turns, and it leaves many viewers questioning not only how Kya killed Chase, but why she did it in the first place. Director Olivia Newman's Where the Crawdads Sing adapts Delia Owens’ best-selling 2018 novel of the same name. The film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, a North Carolina woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend Chase Andrews. The end of Where the Crawdads Sing poses many deep moral questions, especially when it comes to why Kya killed Chase.

The Where the Crawdads Sing ending sees Kya being found not guilty by the jury. She freed and gets back together with Tate, spending their time on the marsh as she’s always done, dying there in her old age. It isn’t until after her death that Tate Walker realizes Kya really did kill Chase Andrews, thanks to her leaving the seashell necklace behind in a book. The multilayered Where the Crawdads Sing ending leaves many questions, including why Kya is drawn to feathers, how she killed Chase, and what the core themes of the 2022 mystery thriller actually are.

Where the Crawdads Sing is available to stream on Netflix

Why Kya Killed Chase (& How She Did It)

She Didn't Want To Live In Fear

Chase took advantage of Kya, lied to her, and sexually assaulted her.

The Where the Crawdads Sing ending explained that Kya killed Chase, but it doesn't clearly state her motive or how she killed him. However, the Where the Crawdads Sing book ending reveals why Kya murdered Chase and how she did it to an extent. Kya was a woman of nature, who grew up with an abusive father. Chase took advantage of Kya, lied to her, and sexually assaulted her. No matter how many times she tried to tell him to leave her alone, his ego-driven toxic masculinity would not back off.

Ultimately, Kya killed Chase because she didn’t want to live her life in fear, nor did she want to return to her childhood experiences. She knew first-hand what it was like to live with an abusive man, and the extent of psychological and physical damage that did. Kya wouldn’t allow herself to repeat that mistake, especially not after she finally had her life in order and a sense of freedom. The Where the Crawdad Sings ending explained this element of why Kya killed Chase partially, but it didn't explicitly state the link.

What’s more, Kya saw Chase as a predator, and she was a woman who felt her actions were crucial to her own survival. The townspeople hated her. Kya felt no protection from them, so she had to protect herself. She was raised in the marsh, which means she was at one with nature and didn’t necessarily abide by traditional morality. Kya killed Chase by acting like concerned-but-capable prey — such as crawdads, which are incredibly adept at defending themselves — respond to predators in the animal kingdom. This wasn't a conscious decision on her part, but it's a clear thematic link.

As for how Kya killed Chase in Where the Crawdads Sing, one can only speculate.

As for how Kya killed Chase in Where the Crawdads Sing, one can only speculate. During her trial, Tom Milton explained that Kya wasn’t even in town when he was killed. She would have had to get on the bus from another town, kill Chase in the night (likely by pushing him off the tower with the loose grate), and take another bus at 02:00 back to her hotel.

In the book, it’s at least revealed there was someone in disguise on the bus. This mysterious figure was probably Kya taking the bus back and forth without being noticed. Since Where the Crawdads Sing ending never reveals the exact details of Kya’s actions that night, Milton’s explanation for Chase's death is likely what happened.

The Significance Of The Crawdads Explained

The Title Is A Reference To Words From Kya's Mother

While the Where the Crawdads Sing ending doesn't explain the significance of its title, a few conclusions can be drawn. The crawdads themselves are water creatures, small, lobster-like animals with shells. Early on in the true story-inspired Where the Crawdads Sing, Kya mentions that people always forget about what’s inside the shell. In many ways, she herself has been in her own shell and the townspeople have forgotten about her, as well as the fact that she is a person with feelings. To that end, Kya essentially hides away from the locals, and she prefers to keep to herself.

While the crawdads don’t actually sing, the lesson passed down from Kya’s mother ensured her survival and allowed her to become one with her surroundings

Crawdads being the title of Owens’ book is significant because it’s a reference to what Kya’s mother always told her — to go deep into the woods and listen to what nature had to tell her. By doing so, Kya became more attuned to nature, always watching creatures and learning about their habits and how they did whatever was needed to survive.

While the crawdads don’t actually sing, the lesson passed down from Kya’s mother ensured her survival and allowed her to become one with her surroundings in the book adaptation Where the Crawdads Sing. She was part of nature herself and the crawdads are a representation of that, as well as Kya’s journey throughout the film.

Why Kya Loves Feathers So Much

Kya Sees Herself In The Feathers & They Connect Her To Tate

Kya constantly finds feathers throughout Where the Crawdads Sing, and they have a clear thematic relevance beyond further establishing Kya's harmony with the marshland and the animals that inhabit it. Kya stopping to collect feathers is anthitetical to her relationship to the townspeople, who don’t truly see her and have discarded her as an outsider they don’t want to be associated with. To Kya, the feathers discarded by birds are beautiful, and each is unique too. She draws them, marvels at them, and brings them home with her.

Eventually, Tate and Kya developed a romantic relationship, one that always involved the exchange of feathers as a sign of affection and communication.

Crucially, feathers are of the utmost importance to her because they are a representation of her long-standing relationship with Tate. It's how their friendship began. Tate would bring her feathers if he found them; he knew how much they meant to Kya, and so were a way of showing his feelings for her in a wholesome way. Eventually, Tate and Kya developed a romantic relationship, one that always involved the exchange of feathers as a sign of affection and communication.

Why Kya’s Dad Finally Leaves The Marsh

Kya's Father Leaves Due To His Own Issues (But This Is Inconsequential To Kya)

Before the Where the Crawdads Sing ending, Kya’s entire family left when she was very young and, for a while, she lived alone with her abusive father. However, Kya’s dad eventually leaves the marsh as well, disappearing for good like Kya's mother and siblings before him. For a while, it seemed as though Kya’s father would remain in the marsh with her, if only because he didn’t have anywhere else to go. In Where the Crawdads Sing, he simply never shows back up onscreen, with the story entirely forgetting about him.

He decides to leave the marsh after receiving a letter from his wife about taking the kids back with her.

Kya's father isn’t shown walking away like her mother and siblings do. Instead, he decides to leave the marsh after receiving a letter from his wife about taking the kids back with her. He burns everything she ever owned and gets drunk, presumably leaving not long after, perhaps coming to unverbalized realizations about himself and his life.

The letter also comes after he has a brief moment with Kya about his time in the military during World War II, which is presumably why he started heavily drinking. However, the moment is cut short by the letter’s arrival, and he quickly reverts to his angry, abusive self.

The Real Meaning Of Where The Crawdads Sing’s Ending

The Movie Is About Survival And The Difference Between Law And Morality

Nature is an important element of the Where the Crawdads Sing ending, to the point that it’s a character all its own. The marsh surrounds, protects, and comforts Kya. It is her refuge, her home, her love. She is nature and nature is her, and she respects it like no other. The ending of Where the Crawdads Sing is Kya returning things to their natural state.

Killing Chase was a necessity in her eyes, an act she mimicked from the animals who would destroy their predators in a bid to survive. To that end, Where the Crawdads Sing is very much about survival, a lesson to never underestimate those who seem meek and shy. Kya was a social outcast, but Chase was a predator to her.

Human laws couldn't protect Kya, so instead she resorted to the laws of the natural world.

Chase thought he could continue to mistreat Kya, harming her because he could get away with it. But Kya saw herself as part of the nature around her and, when action is taken against her, commits to making things right by fighting back as prey would a predator that hunts them. Aside from that, Where the Crawdads Sing makes it a point to mention how Kya wouldn’t be believed (and likely blamed) when it came to her assault. Human laws couldn't protect Kya, so instead she resorted to the laws of the natural world.

Do Crawdads Sing? Where The Crawdads Sing's Title Meaning

The Title Comes From The Author's Mother

The Where the Crawdads Sing ending does nothing to really explain the bizarre title of the movie or Delia Owens' eponymous novel. The title of the movie is deeply thematically based, but whether or not crawdads actually "sing" is still on the audience's minds. Crawdads, also known as freshwater crayfish, don't actually sing. However, there is a meaning behind the odd title, which is chronicled by Owens in the original Where the Crawdads Sing book.

It basically means a place that is far from modern society, or to depart into nature.

The title "Where the Crawdads Sing" is based on a phrase that Delia Owens' own mother used to say while she was growing up. It basically means a place that is far from modern society, or to depart into nature. The phrase itself is repeated in the novel in Chapter 17. While Kya and Chase are looking for a place to go, Chase suggests that they travel to "where the crawdads sing."

The title is thematically significant as it speaks to Kya's own upbringing in isolation, away from modern society. While there is freedom in her lifestyle, it's the same way of life that gets her convicted of a murder that audiences only learn she's actually guilty of by the Where the Crawdads Sing ending.

How Director Olivia Newman Explained The Where The Crawdads Sing Ending

She Wanted To Keep Things Mysterious

The Where the Crawdads Sing ending is complex, and ties a movie with many intricate thematic threads up in a difficult-to-unwrap bow. Fortunately, director Olivia Newman has given her own thoughts on the end of Where the Crawdads Sing ending and the meaning she was trying to convey. Speaking to The Wrap in 2022, Olivia Newman delved into the themes of the original Where the Crawdads Sing novel's ending and how she adapted them for the screen. Crucially, Olivia Newman revealed that they almost made changes.

"We did discuss shooting a slightly more explicit version of the ending. The book leaves so much to the imagination, and you get to understand who Kaya is, but never fully. That’s part of what’s mysterious about her. We wanted to maintain that there’s a mystery to it.”

However, the director was clear that her reverence for the original Where The Crawdads Sing ending meant that very little was ultimately changed, especially for the ending:

"We never considered changing the ending. For me, the ending is the story. That ending is everything to understand who Kaya is and the choices that she was faced with.”

Perhaps the most insightful of all were Olivia Newman's comments about the importance of the firefly poem at the end of Where The Crawdads Sing, and how it perhaps gives the biggest clue of all about why Kya killed Chase. The final poem Kya recites, the Firefly, uses heavy symbolism about how male fireflies are attracted to their deaths by false signals from their female mates. It was an aspect of Where the Crawdads Sing that Olivia Newman was notably concerned about the reception of — but only because she wanted to do the source material justice.

“There’s so many amazing parts of Delia’s book and it was a very hard and painful decision of what to include in the movie and what we had to leave out. We hope that [Kya’s] poetry comes through in the visual language and in the way that she talks and the way that she observes the world. We didn’t feel we were losing too much of telling her character’s story if we couldn’t fit that into the movie.”

Certainly, Kyra reciting her poems are the points when Where the Crawdads Sing becomes its most stylistic. Going by Olivia Newman's comments, however, it's these moments that actually truly explain the Where the Crawdads Sing ending, and why Kya killed Chase.

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  Where the Crawdads Sing

  Director:

  Olivia Newman

  Release Date:

  2022-07-15

  Cast:

  Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, David Strathairn, Sterling Macer, Jr.

  Writers:

  Lucy Alibar, Delia Owens

  Rating:

  PG-13

  Runtime:

  126 minutes

  Genres:

  Drama, Mystery, Thriller

  Summary:

  Where the Crawdads Sing is a dramatic mystery film directed by Olivia Newman (First Match, Chicago Fire) and based on the 2018 novel of the same name, set in the 1950s, the film centers around Catherine "Kya" Clark (Daisy-Edgar Jones), a girl abandoned at an early age who is forced to raise herself in the marshes of North Carolina, adapting entirely to the wilderness. After meeting a young boy named Tate Walker, who teaches her the ways of the world by lending her books and teaching her valuable skills, she can sustain herself. However, as Kya enters her late teen years, a whirlwind romance with a young quarterback somehow puts her on trial for murder. Kya will have to prove her innocence to continue living in a world she only now has begun to understand. 

  Budget:

  $24 million

  Studio(s):

  Sony

  Distributor(s):

  Sony