F9 Ending, Explained

When ‘The Fast and the Furious’ came out in 2001, no one predicted that it would become such a sprawling franchise. But here we are, and after 9 films (8 direct sequels and 1 spin-off) and more than $6 billion at the global box office, it’s racing ahead stronger than ever. In ‘F9,’ Dominic “Dom” Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) idyllic life with Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son Brian Marcos is interrupted after Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) goes missing. He had captured Cipher (Charlize Theron) and was transporting her when his plane was attacked by an unknown party.

This puts Dom and his crew on the trail of a device called Aries, and they soon discover that Dom and Mia’s (Jordana Brewster) brother, Jakob (John Cena), is the one who they are up against this time. Although the film is bursting with epic car chases and extraordinary action sequences, it manages to stay true to the central theme of all these movies: family. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘F9.’ SPOILERS AHEAD.

F9 Plot Synopsis

The film begins in 1989, in what will be Jack Toretto’s final race. Both his sons, Dom and Jakob, are part of his pit crew. During the race, Jack’s rival, Kenny Linder, hits the bumper of his car and sends it flying. It then crashes against the wires surrounding the track and explodes, killing Jack. Later, Dom beats up Kenny and is sent to jail. Following a conversation with young Leo and Santos, Dom deduces that Jakob purposefully caused his father’s car to crash. After his release, he challenges Jakob to a race. When he wins it, he makes Jakob leave.

At the present time, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) arrive to inform Dom and Letty about what has happened to Mr. Nobody. Dom is extremely reluctant to go back to his old life, but Letty has been restless and believes that the quiet life is not really their style. She leaves to join the others. While reviewing the last footage that Mr. Nobody sent, Dom realizes why it was meant for him and his crew — Jakob is involved. He is the one who brought Mr. Nobody’s plane down and took Cipher with him.

And now, Dom has no choice but to get involved himself. Their adventure takes them from the fictional Montequinto to London to Germany to Tokyo to Edinburgh. Several familiar faces, including Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), Twinkie (Shad Moss), and Earl (Jason Tobin), appear and help out the crew. While in Tokyo, Mia and Letty find Han (Sung Kang) still very much alive and in possession of an important component of Aries.

F9 Ending: Why Are Dom and Jakob Fighting? Do They Reunite?

Dom blames Jakob for their father’s death, and Jakob resents Dom for making him leave. There is also an amount of envy involved in the dynamics between them on Jakob’s part. Since he was young, Jakob has been seen as the proverbial other son. After leaving home, he spent some time with Jack’s friend Buddy (Michael Rooker), a father figure to both him and Dom. However, he eventually took off from there as well. At some point, Jakob got recruited by Mr. Nobody and became one of his best agents. Ultimately, he went rogue and teamed up with Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen), the son of a dictator of a yet-to-be-revealed country in Europe. Their quest for the Aries device prompted Jakob to attack Mr. Nobody.

Yes, Dom and Jakob do reunite. After realizing how wrong he has been about his brother, Dom is forced to do some self-reflection. Meanwhile, Jakob gets betrayed by Otto, who has decided to join forces with Cipher. The brothers then work with each other to bring down Otto and foil Cipher’s plan. Afterward, Dom knows that the authorities will be coming for Jakob. He gives his younger brother the same chance that Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) gave him all those years ago. Dom gives Jakob the keys to a fast car and watches with Mia as their sibling ride away. This is not a goodbye, at least not a permanent one. Both the characters and the audience know the roads they have taken will eventually lead them back to each other.

What Is Aries? What Is The Key?

Aries is a device that was developed by a couple of scientists who were married to each other. After Gisele Yashar’s (Gal Gadot) death, Mr. Nobody recruited Han and sent him to steal Aries. However, what Han didn’t know was that there were other groups that were also looking for Aries. They killed the couple and were about to kill their young daughter, Elle (Anna Sawai), when Han intervened. Han subsequently brought Elle up as if she was his own daughter.

Aries is a sphere that can be divided into two equal parts. One part was with Mr. Nobody when his plane went down. It was later found by Dom and his crew, but Jakob took it from them. As Cipher tells Jakob and Otto, the second piece is in Edinburgh. This sets off another clash between the brothers. Aries is a device created to take control of any instrument that runs on codes. If Aries is uploaded on a satellite, it can take over the military and civil infrastructures of a given country. It can give its user access to “any weapon system: traditional, nuclear; stuff we haven’t even seen yet.”

It is revealed that there is a third component of Aries: the key. After Mia and Letty bring Han and Elle back with them, Dom realizes that Elle is the key. Her parents used their own DNA to lock Aries as they feared that it might end up in the wrong hands. After their deaths, Elle is the only person whose DNA can unlock Aries. In the climactic scene, after Roman and Tej destroy the satellite, Dom pulls Aries out of the instrument it has been attached to. Its subsequent fate is unknown. It either gets destroyed in the explosions that happen later, or Dom currently has it.

How Did Dom’s Father Die? Was Jakob Responsible?

For a long time, Dom has believed that Jakob caused a crack in the fuel line of his father’s car during the race. Air went inside it, resulting in a lean condition. However, as the crack was too big, the car exploded and killed Jack Toretto. As Jakob later reveals, his father told him to cause a lean condition. He was deeply in debt and wanted to lose on purpose. However, due to the collision with Kenny’s car, the hairline crack that Jakob made widened drastically and caused the explosion. So, Jakob didn’t intend to kill his father, but his actions led to Jack’s death.

What Is the Significance of the Post-Credits Scene? How Is Han Alive?

In the post-credits scene, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) makes an appearance. He takes a break from beating up an enemy to answer the door and finds Han standing on the other side. According to the events depicted in ‘Furious 7’ (2015), Deckard apparently killed Han in his pursuit of vengeance against Dom. However, Han survived with Mr. Nobody’s help. Now, it appears that he has come for Deckard.

But Han doesn’t seem like a person who will knock on the front door of his enemy before he kills them. He is most likely to shoot a person and not bother to let them know why they have to die. So, the chances are that he has a different motive for visiting Deckard, and it likely involves the search for Mr. Nobody, whose fate remains unknown when the movie ends.

Is Brian Alive in F9?

Yes, Brian is alive in ‘F9.’ He is mentioned several times in the film, with other characters stating that he is at home, protecting the children. In the final scenes of the film, as the crew has a barbecue together, Brian comes to join them in his car. Even after Walker’s tragic death in a vehicular accident in 2013, the cast and crew of the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise have kept him as an integral part of their large family. Brian and Mia are said to be retired from the hectic business of saving the world. Mia only rejoins the crew because one of her brothers is supposed to be the enemy this time.

Read More: Does F9 Have a Post-Credits or Mid-Credits Scene?