Steve Ending Explained: Why Does Steve Go Into His Attic?

The Netflix film ‘Steve’ presents an absorbing tale about a reform school, its at-risk students, and a similarly troubled head teacher. The latter drives the story as the titular protagonist, who finds himself constantly putting out new fires as they emerge over the course of one school day. The fact that a documentary group is visiting on the same day to produce an educational television program on the institution further ups the ante for the educator and his staff members.

Yet, the biggest trouble arises when Steve and the others learn of the school’s impending shutdown, a fate that threatens to remain entirely beyond their control. That is, until an even worse disaster unravels within the school walls, concerning one of its students, Shy, whose complicated relationship with his family pushes him into a precarious mindset. The film remains ripe with dynamic characterizations, interpersonal relationships, and an ambiguous ending that is bound to leave the viewers with a few questions. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Steve Plot Synopsis

Stanton Wood Manor is home to a reform school that focuses on the rehabilitative education of young, troubled, teenage boys. Steve is the head teacher at the boarding school who is dedicated to guiding and helping the young boys who pass through the school’s halls. For the same reason, he arranges for a short documentary-style segment to be filmed at the establishment for a television programme. Even so, as he drives into the school on the day of the filming, he almost forgets about the event and has to be reminded by Shy, one of the students he runs into outside the school’s premises. Shy is a promising young man, fixated on music and weed. Even though his early morning solo stroll is outside the establishment’s rules, Steve doesn’t run quite so tight a ship that it would be a problem. Instead of maintaining the virtues of discipline, order, or even general politeness, the Head teacher and his staff are more interested in inspiring resilience and hope for the at-risk youth who fall under their purview.

This remains evident in the ways in which Steve breaks up fights between the students and enforces cooperation in the school. Similarly, his interaction with the programme people, wherein he continuously insists on protecting the kids and their identities from any invasive or exploitative inquiries. On top of this, he has various other things on his plate. For one, the programme’s filming is going to bring a member of the parliament, Hugh Montage Powell, to the establishment for a PR visit. The fact that none of the staff members or the students are particular fans of the politician certainly doesn’t help matters. Additionally, Terone’s recent behavioral issue, involving an encounter with one of the teachers, Shola, is among the topmost priorities for both the teacher and the student’s therapist, Jenny. Lastly, there’s the visit from the trust officials, Julian and Charlotte. The latter meeting ends up bringing the most chaos when the trustees reveal that the reform school will be shut down in six months, leaving he teachers without a job and, more importantly, the kids without a reliable guiding light.

Afterward, the MP’s visit similarly ends in a disaster when Shy confronts Powell with a witty and terribly disrespectful quip. Although Steve is able to see the humor in the moment, he realizes something must be wrong with the young boy after he undergoes a dreadful session with Jenny, clammng up and bursting out with near-violent rage. Nonetheless, when he tries to talk to the student, he refuses to comply with an open and honest discussion. Eventually, the day becomes too much for the teacher, who finds himself constantly surrounded by fires he can’t put out. Therefore, inevitably, he ends up relapsing and taking a swig of a hard, opioid-laced drug that he keeps stashed away in a utility closet. Thus, as the day transitions into night, with Steve and some of the other staff staying behind on overnight duty, things seem bleaker than ever. Yet, just when things threatened to push over the edge with a tragedy that would have been truly devastating, a crisis was averted. Still, as Steve returns home the next day, his path forward remains ambiguous than ever before.

Steve Ending: Why Does Steve Go Into the Attic? What Does it Symbolize?

Near the end of the film, the stakes broaden past the simple closure of Stanton Wood as one of the students, Shy, attempts to end his life in the darkness of the night. As this transpires, Steve finds himself in possibly one of the lowest moments of his life. Unaware of the suicidal ideation overtaking his student, he remains busy drowning in his own sorrows. The news of the school’s looming end is a tough pill to swallow for all of the staff members. However, the head teacher takes the news considerably worse. In many ways, Stanton Wood had become the singular purpose of Steve’s life, which motivated him and kept him going. Like many of his students, the educator also struggles with his mental health, an aspect of his life that isn’t improved by the hectic responsibility of running an understaffed and underfunded reform school.

Even so, despite all the hardships, Steve is devoted to his job. He adores every single child that walks into the establishment, eager to provide them with the help and support needed to improve their lives. Where society and their own parents have deemed these kids beyond saving, the teachers at Stanton Wood believe in providing them hope for a better future. For the same reason, they are compelled to mourn the premature closing of the institution. Not only will this inevitability rob the kids of important resources, it will also instill another notch of abandonment in their experiences. Since Steve has a habit of wearing the weight of the world on his shoulders, he ends up viewing this as a personal failing on his part. At one point in the story, Amanda, the Deputy Head, suggests that Steve carries massive amounts of guilt for a driving incident that likely killed a child, probably a student.

The same, paired with Steve’s sobriety, which tragically ends before the night does, adds the context of a dark past in the teacher’s life. This, when contrasted against Shy’s own suicide attempt, which is foiled in part thanks to Steve, must have created a twisted sense of deja vu for the educator. Therefore, there’s a high chance that his actions once he’s back home are a reflection of the impact of this same experience. Since the story doesn’t offer a ubiquitous answer, his climactic visit to the attic can be viewed in multiple lights. In a more positive interpretation, his retreat into the attic, overlaid with a tape recording that sounds eerily like a passage of the baton from Steve to Shola, can be seen as just that: the end of an era. It is possible that by contributing to saving Shy, the teacher feels he has fulfilled his purpose.
Despite almost hitting rock bottom, which could have let another tragedy unfold, he manages to pull himself from the abyss long enough to make a much-needed effort.

Perhaps this helps him understand that now that he has given everything of himself to the school and has nothing left to give, he can take a step back and let others, like Amanda and Shola, move the fight forward. Yet, if this explanation seems to be optimistically out of character, there’s also a more somber reading of the events. Steve’s near-helplessness in the face of Shy’s suicide attempt could have led to the resurfacing of a dark time in Steve’s life. The same, paired with the school’s upcoming closure, could have robbed the educator of all hope for a future, compelling him to give up on his own recovery. Thus, his journey into the attic could be seen as him accepting that he only has darkness ahead of him, likely in the form of substance abuse or worse. Ultimately, the protagonist’s story intentionally ends on an ambiguous note, inviting the viewers to attach their own speculation to the tale.

Why Does the Film End on the Durdle Door?

Throughout the story, a framed picture of the Durdle Door, hung up on one of the classrooms, offers one of the most prominent visuals. The natural monument is a limestone arch, located in Dorset, England. Shy’s character, in particular, who is interested in geology, showcases a specific fondness or fixation with this structure. Therefore, it is likely that he knows all about its origin and how it has achieved its unique and fascinating shape through years and years of physical weathering caused by tides and waves. Possibly, the student even sees a reflection of himself and his peers in the Durdle Door. Similar to the limestone arch, the students at Stanton Wood have also been weathered and shaped by their experiences, and not always for the better. Shy, like his peers, has a dark past full of behavioural issues, bad enough to warrant his stay at the reform school.

In fact, almost all the adults in Shy’s life, save for the school’s staff members, have given up on him, refusing to attach any hopes and expectations to him. Even so, despite the darkness and difficulties of his past, the boy continues to remain standing, much like the Durdle Door itself. Thus, this interpretation of his characterization, which offers a direct parallel to the arch, adds a sense of hopeful self-reflection to the story’s ending sequence. Even though the student has managed to overcome his suicidal thoughts for now, a challenging path remains ahead of him. The school, his only source of community and guidance, is facing an inevitable closure that promises to throw his life out of balance. Nonetheless, much like the weathering difficulties of his past, these future problems don’t necessarily have to mean the end for Shy. As surely as the arch continues to exist, the young man can also dream of a hopeful future. The fact that the closing scene uses Shy and Steve interchangeably, in addition to the Durdle Door, includes the protagonist and his narrative in parallel.

Does Shy Survive? What Changes His Mind About Committing Suicide?

Shy’s suicide attempt brings the narrative to a sobering point, delivering on the sense of dread that had been looming in the story from the very start. The young man is introduced as an inspired, bright soul with the ability to light up others’ day without even really trying. However, there’s an equally brutal other side to this aspect of his personality. The viewers get to see that soon enough when the kid undergoes a devastating phone conversation with his mother. The explicit reason for Shy’s enrollment in Staton Wood remains ambiguous. Yet, bits and pieces of his past are revealed through the documentary-esque interviews. Some of the troubles the teenager has racked up include accidentally hurting a young child and stabbing his step-father, Ian, in the finger.

Even though Shy believes the latter offered a bonding moment for him and Ian, the gravity of the incident remains obvious. Furthermore, during the phone call, his mother alludes to previous interactions wherein, in a fit of rage, her son had possibly threatened her life. No amount of assurance that he was never going to truly harm her soothes her worries. Thus, she decides to take the unthinkable step and cut Shy out of her life. As a result, the young boy effectively finds himself without a family in an ever-complicated and hostile world. This triggers a sense of deep guilt, grief, and depression in the student, pushing him to seriously consider ending his own life. As such, at nighttime, he decides to walk into the lake by the school’s premises with a rock-filled backpack. The fact that these rocks were all carefully collected in service of his geology interest adds an even dejected element to the entire picture.

While Shy plans his suicide and sneaks out of the school, Steve goes on a downward spiral of his own. However, even after finding himself gulping down the opioid drug, he manages to notice the student’s absence and what it could mean in light of his volatile behavior throughout the day. As a result, he’s able to act swiftly and gather the overnight staff to look for the kid before something bad can happen. The film intentionally remains vague about the events that unfold once the search begins. Steve is last seen down in the mud, while Shy nearly drowns himself in the water. Yet, when we see that student next, he’s throwing rocks at the school window as a sense of rebellious celebration, showcasing that he had decided against ending his life. Whether or not Steve’s direct involvement brought on this act of self-love remains unanswered. Alternatively, it also seems like the young man may have changed his mind and chosen to continue living on his own accord, realizing that the world isn’t without hope because people like Steve still believe in him.

Does the School Shut Down?

While the film undoubtedly remains more character-driven, there’s also a particular focus and significance attached to the reform school Stanton Wood. Alongside being the home to many troubled teenagers, the establishment is also the physical foundation of Steve’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations in life. For the same reason, the educator takes the news of the school’s closing that much harder. Likewise, the other members of the staff, who have deeply connected with the kids and are invested in their futures, are similarly devastated by the news. The kids, on the other hand, seem to know nothing about this impending doom.

Even though Steve and the others would like to do something to save Stanton Wood, it becomes pretty clear to them from the get-go that a solution might not be in the cards for the school. As Julian’s visit confirms, the trust has already sold the property, leaving the school with only a few months’ time. There’s little to no chance of any last-minute miracles coming in to save the day. The general social consensus around reform schools like Stanton seems to be against their existence. In a world of chasing profits, no one wants to pour hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ money into any form of social work. Ultimately, the school’s future, though ambiguous, remains bleak.