Does Cecilia die at the end of ‘Saw X’?

This article contains spoilers for Saw X

Synnøve Macody Lund’s Cecilia Pederson is one of the most despicable figures in the Saw franchise, and given the high standard of evil throughout the movies, this is quite an achievement. Saw X introduces us to Cecilia as the head of The Pederson Project, a seriously screwed-up con game in which scammers pretend to be doctors and nurses and lie to patients that they’re curing them of their illnesses. In reality, they’re simply pocketing the money and faking surgeries and treatment.

Scamming the wrong man

It’s safe to say they scam the wrong person when John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) arrives for cancer treatment. For a moment he believes he’s cured, but then realizes there was no operation, and promptly kidnaps the fake medical team for his latest game.

Then comes the screaming, the blood, and so on. Cecilia proves a particularly ruthless player and goes on to kill and taunt the other players. In the final moments of the game, Cecilia and another contestant, Parker, are placed in a room that’s filling with poisonous gas. Salvation is a small hole through which they can stick their head to breathe fresh air, but in classic Saw fashion, there’s only room for one person.

Cecilia promptly kills Parker, places her head through the hole, and survives the trap. This means Cecilia has won this iteration of the game, though her victory turns to ashes in her mouth when she realizes she cannot actually escape from the room.

Does Cecilia die?

The movie ends with Cecilia’s fate left ambiguous. Though she isn’t in immediate danger, she cannot escape the room without assistance. The cruelest outcome is that she’s simply abandoned to die of thirst, though as per previous Saw movies, she should really be freed as she won the game.

The mid-credits scene teases Saw 11, which has already been teased by producer Oren Koules in an interview with Dexerto:

“We’re very superstitious. We don’t even start thinking about Saw 11 or the next movie until after the latest one is released. But I’d bet on it.”

Our take is that Lund’s Cecilia is such a good adversary for Jigsaw, and such an eminently hateable figure, that the franchise won’t leave her death up to interpretation. We assume she’s going to be back for Saw 11, though her chances of making it out of another movie with an intact skull, unshattered ribcage, and all four limbs are very slim.

Saw X is now in theaters.