Pratik Handore
Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Samaritan’ is a superhero drama film directed by Julius Avery. It stars Sylvester Stallone, Javon Walton, and Pilou Asbæk in the lead roles. The film is set in the fictional Granite City, where a superhero known as Samaritan once operated. However, years after the hero’s alleged death, a young boy named Sam sets out to find Samaritan while the city collapses under oppression, crime, and economic instability. The film’s ending will leave viewers scratching their heads as the lines between good and evil are blurred. Hence, if you seek answers about the conclusion of ‘Samaritan,’ here is everything you need to know! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Samaritan Plot Synopsis
‘Samaritan’ opens with a brief exposition that tells the past of two twin brothers, Samaritan, the good-hearted hero, and Nemesis, the evil brother set on destroying the city. After the brothers’ powers caused damage to the city, the residents burned down the family’s house. Their parents died in the fire leading to a climatic battle between the twins. Nemesis forged a hammer powerful enough to harm his near-indestructible brother. However, Nemesis was defeated, and Samaritan was believed to have died saving the city.
Nearly 25 years after the superhero’s death, Granite City is overrun with crime. A young boy named Sam lives with his single mother in an apartment complex and often runs into trouble. Sam idolizes Samaritan and is convinced that the hero still lives among the comments. Sam steals stuff and goes dumpster diving to earn some extra cash in his free time. Sam’s actions draw the attention of local gangster Cyrus and his crew. However, Reza, Cyrus’ henchman, bullies Sam.
Meanwhile, Sam meets Joe Smith, a handyman who repairs broken items to make money. After Reza and his men attack Sam, Joe intervenes to save the kid. He demonstrates an uncanny strength during the fight, leading Sam to believe that Joe is the fabled Samaritan. However, Joe dismisses the idea and asks Sam to keep his distance. Sam’s persuasive attitude makes him befriend Joe and the two bond over time. Joe admits to being Samaritan but insists that his crime-fighting days are behind him.
Elsewhere, Cyrus and his gang obtain a cargo of blackout bombs. Using the bombs, the group steals weapons and discovers Nemesis’ hammer and mask that were lost in the fire years ago. Cyrus dons the mask and assumes the identity of Nemesis. He sparks an uprising among the city’s oppressed and unhappy working-class citizens. With the evil Nemesis threatening the town, everyone wonders whether his good counterpart, Samaritan, will make a return. However, Joe must come to terms with his past before attempting to save the city.
Samaritan Ending: Is Nemesis Alive?
The film establishes that Samaritan has gone into hiding after his fight with Nemesis at the power plant. Later, Cyrus discovers Nemesis’ hammer and mask and embarks on an anarchist quest. Cyrus wants to complete Nemesis’ plan to destroy the city’s power plant. As a result, the city would be in utter shambles, and Cyrus will lead them into a new world order. After a fight with Joe, Cyrus realizes that he is the fabled hero of the past. Cyrus knows Sam’s bond with Joe and kidnaps the child to lure out the former superhero. However, given how things went during his fight with his brother, Joe hesitates to return to crime-fighting.
After learning that Cyrus has kidnapped Sam, Joe arrives at the plant to confront Cyrus. A fight breaks out between Cyrus’ henchmen and Joe. Joe defeats the accomplices and prepares to fight Cyrus. However, Joe is overpowered by Cyrus, who uses Nemsis’ hammer. Cyrus taunts Joe about his good guy persona will prove to be his undoing. Joe caves and finally confesses the truth about that fateful night years ago. Flashbacks reveal that Joe was about to fall into the fire during his fight with Nemesis and die. However, Samaritan showed sympathy to his brother and saved him. However, the gesture costs Samaritan his life. Hence, the man we know as Joe is the evil brother, Nemesis, and not the superhero brother, Samaritan.
Is Cyrus Defeated?
Cyrus is the film’s primary villain who adopts the ideology of Nemesis. In his conversation with Sam, Cyrus reveals that as a child, he was influenced by the supervillain and wanted to follow in his idol’s footsteps. After he discovers Nemesis’ hammer and mask, Cyrus’ transformation into a supervillain is complete. His nefarious plan threatens the entire city, and Joe is the only one capable of standing up to Cyrus. During their climatic battle, Joe is swarmed with flashbacks to his past and must come to terms with his brother’s death.
Despite their fights and difference of opinion, both brothers wanted to do good. However, Nemesis lost his way and took a darker path. Nonetheless, during his fight with Cyrus, Joe receives a chance to right his past mistakes. His transformation into a hero commences after he defeats Cyrus and stops the villain from completing the evil plan Joe had formulated years ago. In the end, Cyrus is defeated, and Joe saves Sam’s life. The duo safely escapes the plant before fire engulfs them. Sam reunites with his mother while Joe disappears into the night.
Does Joe Become Samaritan?
In the end, Joe saves the city but quietly flees the scene as the police approach. Sam is approached by journalists and is questioned about the mysterious figure who saved him and the city. While Sam has the chance to reveal the truth about Joe’s identity and past as Nemesis, he opts against it. In his interview, Sam proclaims that Samaritan is alive and living among the citizens watching over them. The same is reiterated as Joe watches Sam from among the crowd before walking into the night.
The ending implies that Joe will attempt to fill the shoes of Samaritan and return to crime-fighting after his experiences with Sam. Earlier, Joe explains to Sam that Nemesis wasn’t evil and his methods were the need of the hour. He only harmed those who needed a wake-up call and was trying to save the citizens in his own way. Furthermore, before disappearing, Joe tells Sam that good and evil exist within the same person, further reiterating the idea that morality is subjective.
Ultimately, his interactions with Sam help Joe realize that he can still make amends with his past and contribute to society. Joe fixing Sam’s watch symbolizes the same as Sam is the reason Joe gets a second chance at being a hero in the public eye. As a result, the ending seems to hint that Joe is ready to become the superhero Samaritan and will continue his brother’s legacy. Hence, the film ends with an exciting note as it provides catharsis to Joe about his own actions and gives him a hopeful future, a second chance at being a hero.
Read More: Where Was Samaritan Filmed?
