Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim anime ending parodies Marvel credits stingers

You’ll be able to virtually image the pitch of the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime as an Archive of Our Personal abstract: What if Scott Pilgrim disappears earlier than his battle with Ramona Flowers’ first Evil Ex? What if Ramona has to go Sherlock Mode for the lacking Scott and reveals a grander conspiracy to sabotage her future with Scott?

However the brand new Netflix anime, co-written by Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski, isn’t a easy “what if?” as a lot as it’s a reshuffling and remixing of the supply materials. When Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) vanishes earlier than outpunching or outsmarting the League of Evil Exes, it leaves Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to make peace with a couple of of her Evil Exes. Whereas previous Scott Pilgrim works centered on his battle to get the woman, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is O’Malley rethinking the confines of that fortunately ever after — and what it actually means to take care of the luggage of your troubled romantic historical past.

[Ed. note: Ending spoilers ahead for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.]

How does Scott Pilgrim Takes Off finish?

Picture: Netflix

By way of time journey shenanigans, Ramona discovers a time-traveling Outdated Scott (Will Forte) was the mastermind behind the (Youthful) Scott’s kidnapping. Sooner or later, Scott and Ramona separated after about 12 or 13 years of marriage, so the Outdated Scott Scott-napped his youthful self to stop his union with Ramona and save himself an maturity of heartbroken distress.

By the finale, Outdated Scott has change into the Even Older Scott, and educated to change into a extra highly effective, Ryu-sized Evil Ex, and snatches Scott, Ramona, and firm into the longer term to actually punch away his previous and wash his bruised knuckles of it. But it surely all involves a head when Outdated Ramona rollerblades to the rescue and confronts her Outdated Scott, scolding him for fistfighting his previous as a substitute of combating for his or her relationship.

Amid these revelations, Ramona second-guesses getting into a relationship with Scott and contemplates her sample of exiting her earlier relationships. She involves an understanding with Future-Ramona, merging along with her to rework into the cosmically highly effective Tremendous Ramona. Regardless of understanding the potential for their marital separation, the Ramonas determine to personal their option to enter a long-term romance with Scott Pilgrim, who, by their analysis, will begin out as an “fool child” who may or won’t develop into “an actual mess.” The Ramonas ship the irritated Outdated Scott dwelling to repair himself, and he or she provides the youthful Scott a cosmic kiss to seal their relationship.

The comedian supply materials ends with Ramona and Scott disappearing right into a door of Hopefully Ever After, heading into an unsure future and a vow to raised themselves as folks. The anime walks towards a extra overt bittersweet route by extra clearly exhibiting their presumably compromised future. Contemporary with new hair dye, the current Ramona walks with Scott and associates into the subsequent stage of life (bookended with Plumtree’s “Scott Pilgrim” track that impressed O’Malley’s comedian). Now she and Scott can pursue the highs and lows of their relationship in peace.

What’s up with that credit scene?

Picture: Netflix

Or can they? Fifteen seconds into the tip credit, the anime tosses a crimson-bathed stinger. After Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha) restored Gideon Graves’ (Jason Schwartzman) possession of his empire, Gideon Graves is again in his Evil Ex surveillance lair. His numerous prisms of screens reveal Scott and Ramona’s first date in episode 1. “Time for the true recreation to start,” he purrs. At his aspect as co-regent, his new girlfriend, Julie (Aubrey Plaza), provides, “The Goose is free, honk honk, [bleep].”

After the anime branched off into a brand new timeline and critiqued the thought of a Good Man punching his issues (technically, his girlfriend’s previous baggage), this stinger feels disruptive by dropping a suggestion that Gideon is planning to retread his authentic fight-em-all recreation of the League of Evil Exes. After I spoke with O’Malley, he pressured audiences shouldn’t overthink it. As he defined, the stinger is “a parody of these Marvel finish credit scenes… and it additionally leaves the door open to do stuff sooner or later.” In order that mentioned, it might not be a excessive likelihood for O’Malley to rehash the outdated beats ought to any further seasons arrive.

So what occurs with Ramona and Gideon?

Concerning her Exes, Ramona has discovered probably the most clear-cut closure with Roxie Richter (Mae Whitman) and ambivalent peace with Lucas Lee (Chris Evans). Principally, Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), and Kyle and Ken Katayanagi (Julian Cihi) transfer onto their very own hijinks.

It’s notable that Ramona’s “closure” with Gideon — who was then downgraded from the Remaining Boss of Evil Exes — is extra oblique. She’s bewildered that the egomaniac Gideon has snagged Julie’s coronary heart, however needs Julie nicely and orders Gideon to deal with the latter higher. Ramona rightfully additionally voices a suspicion that Gideon would by no means let go of his proclivity for plotting, but she doesn’t deny a humbled Gideon — perhaps incrementally matured — the possibility to study from his errors. Gideon’s new romance with the appropriate Julie, who loves his pet canine aspect as a lot as his villainy turns her on, might look like a chance to dissolve his obsession with Ramona and her love life. However then once more, it’d simply provide him a co-schemer, who might add her personal spice into their concentrating on of Scott and Ramona.

Scott and Ramona have loads of time to work out their romance of their new timeline. And for no matter Scott Pilgrim Takes Off modified within the story, Gideon will all the time be Gideon. Typically that pesky ex — and his large lair — is a actuality of diving into new relationships.