Now that most of you have the option to either watch Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max, or in the theatres, it is the perfect time to talk about the film. Those who have already seen the film must be pondering about what really happened at the end. Well, it was pretty straight forward, but if you’ve still got some questions, then we’re here to answer those for you.
It goes without saying, but still, let me put this out anyway – SPOILER WARNING!
The Monkey’s Paw
Apparently, the Dreamstone was the major McGuffin in the entire film. It became the reason for the madness after Maxwell Lord got his hands on it. The deal with this stone was that it was created by the God of Lies, and its major ability is that it can fulfill any wishes that people might have. But those wishes actually come at an enormous price! To attain one’s greatest desire, they’d have to lose their greatest possession. You see, it is “the Monkey’s Paw!”
Max Lord’s wish was to become a living breathing Dreamstone. He’d grant people anything they wish for, and in return, he’d take their greatest possession. And since the Dreamstone got its own brain, things just went haywire. Max Lord’s greedy human nature took over. “Why settle for less when you can have it all!” Having granted wishes to the most powerful people in the world, Max Lord ended up at the White House. He granted the President’s wish to have more nuclear warheads, and in return, he took the power and respect that comes with being the POTUS.
While leaving the White House, he saw some designs for a broadcast system that would have allowed him to reach out to the entire world and grant their wishes at once. So, after reaching the broadcast facility, he began to grant wishes to everyone. People start to get what they want, and it causes a massive turmoil. The Russians and the US come very close to a nuclear holocaust. Lord starts to take all the power, wealth, and health from the people in return. He literally became Omnipotent!
The Cost of Being a Hero
In the meanwhile, Diana was fighting with a personal dilemma. You see, to counter the Dreamstone’s effect, you either have to destroy the Dreamstone, or renounce your wish. Diana only had one wish, and that was to life her life with Steve Trevor. This wish was taking her powers away, so she had to choose between Steve, and saving the world. And ultimately, she paid the price of being a hero by renouncing her wish. She lost Steve once again! But this move allowed her to leap back into action. After having a Man of Steel like “Flight” moment, Diana retrieved her Golden Eagle armor, and went after Lord.
Cheetah
Having reached the broadcasting facility, Diana came across Barbara, who had turned into the full-blown comic accurate Cheetah (Gosh, she looked amazing!). Her wish was to become unique… #1… an Apex Predator! That’s what turned her into the fierce animalistic being. But after an intense battle, Diana was able take Cheetah down by electrocuting her. The villain was still not willing to renounce her wish. So, Diana left her, and went after the bigger fish.
The End
Lord had turned into this God-Like being, and Diana wasn’t even able to reach close to him. He offered her a chance to get Steve back, but she explicated that a person can’t have it all! Being an ignorant foo, Lord was determined to have more power, so he kept asking people to continue making their wishes. But then, Diana sneaked the Lasso of Truth onto Lord’s foot, and countered his lies with her lovable, factual truth. She asked people to renounce their wishes. Upon seeing the chaos that their desires had caused around them, everyone started to take their wishes back.
Max Lord was the last person to recant his wish once he saw that his son, Alistair was in trouble. He immediately left to save his kid. With his withdrawal, every wish that he had granted to others was revoked. Cheetah turned back into her former human self. As it turned out, the only wish that still came true was of Alistair’s, who just wanted his dad to come back to him. That happened, and the two shared a lovely father-son moment. The world got back to normal. And to end things, Diana bumped into the man who Steve was inhabiting. They wished each other and went their own separate ways. The film ended with Diana making a big Superman-esque leap to save the day.
Unanswered Questions
At the end, we were left with a few unanswered questions such as – “Did Lord face any consequences?”, “Was the Dreamstone reformed?”, “Does the world even remember 1984?” and “What happened to Barbara?” The ending was a bit rushed, but it was implied that since truth took over lies, everything turned out fine. The villains were redeemed, and because of magic, people just forgot those disastrous wishes.
As for the mid-credits scene, Lynda Carter made a special appearance as Asteria, which you can read about over here!
