‘The Platform 2′ ending, explained: Save some room for dessert

As a new prisoner who just woke up in the Pit, Perempuán learns the rules of the place together with the audience. Long before Goreng (Iván Massagué) ever stepped foot in the prison, the Pit was self-governed by Loyalists. Following the Law written by a mysterious Master, the Loyalists aim to ensure fair food distribution among all the inmates.

It would be nice to think of the Loyalists as the movie’s heroes. Unfortunately, as Perempuán learns, they use the Law to justify the sordid punishments they inflict on anyone who disagrees with their worldview. So, while their cause is reasonable, the fact Loyalists turned into bloody zealots makes them as dangerous as the Barbarians they fight.

Realizing there can be no safety inside the Pit, Perempuán follows the advice of her deceased cellmate (Natalia Tena) and goes out searching for a painting, her only hope of ever escaping. Along the way, she helps the Barbarians join forces and make a stand against the Loyalists so that both factions can destroy each other, which gives her the freedom of movement she needs to fulfill her quest. Perempuán eventually finds the painting. However, her journey drastically changes once she discovers the truth about the Pit.

What happens every time the Pit resets?

At the end of each month, the Administration releases sevoflurane into the prison’s ventilation system. The gas knocks out prisoners, allowing the Administration to remove dead bodies and assign survivors and newcomers to new floors. 

Perempuán plans to ingest a piece of the painting as soon as she smells the gas. The toxins of the paint counter the sleeping properties of the gas. At the same time, the painting poisons her to the point where she can be mistaken for a corpse. Perempuán understands the risks of her plan and that she might die in the process. Nevertheless, being removed from the Pit with the other dead people is her only shot at freedom.

However, when Perempuán awakes, she witnesses scuba diving workers gathering the dead and pushing them to the bottom of the Pit, below every floor. The workers float in the air as they swim because the gravity inside the Pit has been turned off.

The scene reveals how the massive stone platform can navigate through the floors of the Pit — the Administration controls some high-tech antigravity technology. Yet, it also throws a wrench in Perempuán’s plan, as she can no longer hope to escape the Pit through its top. That’s not the only surprise waiting for Perempuán when he opens her eyes.

How does The Platform 2 connect with the first movie?

Parallel to Perempuán’s misadventures, The Platform 2 also features a few cryptic scenes with children in uniforms playing or fighting. In one particular scene, Miharu (Alexandra Masangkay) from the first movie even chooses a child for a mysterious purpose. When Perempuán awakes, that same child is tucked in a bed on the 333rd floor.

These scenes teach the audience that the presence of a child at the lowermost level of the Pit is part of the structure’s monthly cycle. In addition, we learn Miharu is somehow working with the Administration and may be the Master herself.

For Perempuán, seeing a child being put into the Pit triggers something. She went to the Pit because she wanted to punish herself for accidentally killing the son of her ex-boyfriend. The boy died after running eye-first into the claws of one of Perempuán’s sculptures, a massive dog with knives for claws. She refused to add security barriers around the sculpture because she argued that would restrain her creative freedom. As a result, she (rightfully) blames herself for the unfortunate death. So, when she sees a child in the Pit, her will to save this new boy overcomes her survival instincts.

Once the scuba workers leave the room, Perempuán unties the sleeping boy and tries to guide him to safety. However, it’s not so easy to move around without gravity, and Perempuán hits her head against the walls of the Pit. First, she sees her blood gushing from the wound. Then, she has horrific visions of the platform, where the child is laid down as a dish. In her vision, Perempuán has Trimagasi’s (Zorion Eguileor) knife in her hand and is invited to cut the boy. When she refuses, she wakes at the bottom of the Pit.

In the darkness, Perempuán is greeted by a horde of undead. The creatures tell her the boy will be sent back with the platform and will have another chance. However, she must remain at the depths of the Pit, together with all the people who died inside the prison. In short, Perempuán has a similar experience to Goreng, as shown in the first movie.

To take Perempuán and Goreng’s journeys full cycle, The Platform 2 also allows them to meet at the bottom of the Pit. As the credits roll, we watch several inmates save different children, all sacrificing their lives. When it is Goreng’s time to descend, Perempuán greets him. As it turns out, Goreng was Perempuán’s ex-boyfriend. That means both of them ended up inside the Pit because they couldn’t deal with the death of Goreng’s son.

The Platform 2 leaves many loose threads for a threequel

While Perempuán gets a fitting ending for her misadventures at the end of The Platform 2, the second movie doesn’t answer all of our questions. On the contrary, the ending introduces new concepts that can only be explored if Netflix greenlights a third movie.

The antigravity technology that allows the Pit to exist points out the highly advanced technology the Administration uses. Nevertheless, the horde of living dead at the bottom of the Pit indicates something supernatural is at play. These are two lore elements we still can’t reconcile.

The Platform 2 doesn’t reveal why children are part of the bloody experiment. It’s fair to assume, after the sequel, that the goal of the Pit is to study the spontaneous emergence of solidarity. By adding children to the mix, whoever controls the Pit wants to give inmates an extra incentive to work together instead of jumping at each other’s throats. Still, the fact there’s a pocket afterlife at the bottom of the pit makes things messier.

Finally, we can only speculate about Miharu’s true purpose. She’s involved with the placement of the children and might be at the origin of the legend of the Master and the Law who kept Loyalists in line. Yet, there’s still not enough information to determine Miharu’s connection to the Administration with precision, the global purpose of the Pit, and why things work as they do. Fortunately, since the movie has been gathering positive reviews, it’s likely director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia will get invited for a threequel.