The Bluff Ending Explained: Does Ercell Die?

Prime Video’s ‘The Bluff’ is an action thriller that follows the story of a woman whose past comes calling one day, forcing her to confront her demons while trying to protect her family from a terrible villain. The film weaves a compelling narrative with impressive action sequences that keep the audience on the edge of their seat. At the same time, shocking secrets are unravelled as the truth about the protagonist comes to life. A dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues, and things end on a rather uncertain note that leaves more questions than answers about the survival of the characters. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Bluff Plot Synopsis

Captain T.H. Bodden and his ship have the misfortune of crossing paths with a pirate ship, which turns out to be captained by an infamous pirate named Connor. What interests the pirate is a gold bar in Bodden’s possession, one that has Connor’s seal on it. It turns out that he is looking for the treasure that was stolen from him years ago, and with the gold bar, he now knows exactly where he is. It turns out that Captain Bodden’s ship set sail from an island called Cayman Brac, which is where the pirates are now headed, unbeknownst to the residents of the island.

At Bodden’s home, we find his wife, Ercell, their disabled son, Isaac, and Bodden’s sister, Lizzy, who is planning to run away with a boy she is in love with. Lizzy’s plans come to a halt when she discovers that her lover has been killed by the pirates who have found their way to the island. Bloodshed ensues as Connor kills innocent residents in his search for Ercell, who fights off his men at her house and runs away with Lizzy and Isaac. The problem is that Connor is familiar with her moves because he is the one who taught her all she knows.

It turns out that in a past life that she thought she’d left behind, Ercell was a pirate who ran her own ship. She’d earned the nickname “Bloody Mary,” and Connor thought they’d rule the seas together. But then, she betrayed him and ran away with his gold, and now, he has come looking for her. As she continues to kill his men, he offers to make a trade with her: her husband’s life in return for the gold. Despite her best efforts, things don’t turn out as wished. While Captain Bodden meets a tragic end, Ercell has to fight to the death to save Isaac and Lizzy, who have no idea who she really is and what she is capable of.

Why was Connor After Ercell? Is He Dead?

While at first it seems that Connor is looking for Ercell because of the gold she stole from him all those years ago, it later turns out that things are much more personal for him. Because Ercell had made quite a name for herself as “Bloody Mary,” the infamous pirate that left a trail of blood and destruction wherever she went, there was quite a bounty on her head. What made the bounty so precious was that it didn’t offer any money or gold, but freedom, a clean slate that could allow a seasoned criminal like Connor to return home and live a peaceful life. Or at least, that’s what he tells his men. In truth, Connor could never recover from Ercell’s betrayal. The fact that she stabbed him and ran away with his gold to have a life of peace and freedom was something that he could never reconcile with.

So, when he brought his men to the island, it was with the intention of getting her back. It was also clear to him that she wouldn’t go down without a fight, and even though he had told his men that they need to get her “dead or alive,” he couldn’t really bring himself to kill her, not until she made it clear that she would not be going anywhere with him and he will never have the freedom that he wanted. After luring Connor and his men to the cave where she’d hidden the gold and her past, she succeeds in killing everyone but Connor. Realising that it’s just the two of them now, Connor plays the last trick he can think of. He notices the pyre at the top of the cliff, which is the bluff that the islanders would use to signal the British navy and call for help. So, he lights it.

With the fire lit and the British navy on its way, Connor knows that he has cornered Ercell. While she may have been able to best Connor’s men, she cannot defeat the might of the British military alone. Ercell, too, knows this, so she comes out of hiding and faces Connor once and for all. A brutal fight ensues where each lands strong blows on the other, but despite this, Connor seems intent on making her yield. It isn’t until she points his sword at her chest and tells him to stick it between the ribs that he has to accept that she’d rather die than come with him. He is about to do just that, but then Lizzy shows up and shoots him. While she misses, it distracts Connor, giving Ercell time to get back on her feet, and this time, their tussle ends with Ercell stabbing Connor in the heart, exactly where she’d aimed the last time they fought.

Does Ercell Die? What Happens to Her?

While Ercell shows exemplary combat skills, proving why she earned the name “Bloody Mary,” the whole day of fighting cutthroat pirates does take its toll on her. She has severe injuries from all the fights, not to forget a gunshot wound to her leg. If that wasn’t enough to slow her down, the final fight with Connor leads her to sustain some severe injuries. In fact, even as she lands the final and fatal blow to his chest, she, too, is stabbed by him. However, while she gets him in the heart, he misses, most likely because he never really had the resolve to kill her in the first place. Still, while Connor dies, Ercell makes it out alive. Lizzy rushes to help her, reminding her that she still has a family to live for and that she must survive this.

Lizzy finally accepting her as her sister brightens up Ercell’s heart, and she gets back on her feet. However, this does not mean that she is finally free to go back to her life. When Connor lit the pyre, the British military caught the signal, and in the end, we see their ships heading towards the island. He didn’t do it just to draw Ercell out, but he also knew that even if he didn’t survive the fight, he would still have won, because no matter how reformed she is now, Ercell will always be “Bloody Mary” for the British Empire. With this act, he ensured that she couldn’t have the peace and freedom she’d left him for. This is his final act of revenge on her. As Ercell watches the ships heading towards the island, she knows she doesn’t have much time.

Once the British navy arrives, the officers will want to know everything that happened on the island. They will eventually find their way to the cave and the bluff, and that would unravel all of Ercell’s past. This means that she needs to leave before they find her. If she is caught, all that she’s fought for will be gone in an instant, and Connor would have won. The film leaves her on a cliffhanger, with no confirmation of whether Ercell did make it out of the island, or if she decided that perhaps it was time for her to face the justice and stop running once and for all. There is a greater chance that she’d want to run, for the sake of her son and Lizzy. In any case, her life on the island is gone for good, and now, she must go on the run again.

What Happens to the Gold?

While Connor may have come for Ercell, his men follow him to the island for gold. Initially, the mission was to get the gold and get out, but Connor couldn’t let go of his personal vendetta, and his crew had to pay the price for it. For a minute, it seems that Ercell is ready to give up the gold in return for her husband. To prove that she is ready to make the trade, she actually shows the gold to Connor and his men by leaving the box open. However, she plays a trick on them. While she did keep a few gold bars in the chest, she tucked away the majority of them on the boat that was supposed to take her and her family away from the island. The few bars she kept in the chest intended for Connor and his men were supposed to act as a distraction.

In reality, she lined the chest with an explosive, so that once things got out of hand, which she knew they would, she lit the chest on fire, and it acted as a bomb that considerably slowed down her enemies. In truth, she would have given up the entire gold for her family’s safety, but she knew Connor would never stop at that. She knew the bounty on her head, which could make any pirate come for her rather than the gold. But more importantly, she knew that Connor’s heart would be set on revenge, and that he would continue chasing her to the ends of the world. So, it was better to find a way to kill him, because that was the only way she’d be rid of him and be free to live the life she wanted. Of course, she didn’t share this plan with anyone.

Issac finds out about it when his leg accidentally opens the space beneath the boards, which he discovers is lined up with the gold bars his mother was supposed to take back to Connor. This is when he realises that the gold was always supposed to go to him. While she’d stolen it, Ercell knew that she couldn’t actually use it because it would bring attention back to her, and it would also lead Connor to her doorstep, which is what happened when her husband took one gold bar on his own. The plan was to keep the treasure hidden until her death. Then it would be passed on to her son, who could use it without any strings tied to him and secure his and his family’s future. This is the inheritance that Ercell meant to leave for him, and at the end of the day, it is with him that the gold stays.

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