The Thicket Ending Explained: Does Jack Rescue Lula?

‘The Thicket’ is a Western drama film revolving around a brother’s quest to save his sister from the clutches of a feared outlaw. On their way to family land in Montana, recently orphaned Jack and Lula Parker have an unfortunate run-in with Cut-Throat Bill, a woman who is on the run from the law. After taking an interest in the sister, the criminal ends up kidnapping her, rendering her involuntarily bound to her and her gang. As a result, with no one to turn to for help, Jack ends up recruiting gunslinger Reginald Jones and his pal, Eustace Hollow, as allies with the promise of a split bounty. As the trio embarks on their mission, they adopt more associates along the way. Thus, the posse finds themselves headed to a doomed end destination: the Thicket, a patch of no-man’s land, where Bill’s hideout is located. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Thicket Plot Synopsis

Cut-Throat Bill, a bandit with a large bounty on her head, who is frequently mistaken for a man by many, rolls into town. On the same day, the Parker siblings become orphans as both of their parents die of Smallpox. Their grandfather, Caleb, arrives to burn the bodies, along with the family cabin, and take his grandkids with him to Montana. Along the way, he shares his new will with the kids, making them the inheritors of the family’s 700-acre land. However, the family has the misfortune of arriving at the ferry at the same time as Bill and her gang. The gangster takes an early interest in Lula. Even though Caleb tries to protect his grandkids, he is ultimately shot dead. In the aftermath, Bill takes the girl hostage and leaves her brother for the dead. Naturally, when Jack wakes, retrieving his sister becomes his number one priority.

As Jack stumbles into the nearest town, Sylvester, he finds one of Bill’s men, who seems to have been left behind after a robbery at a convenience store. The townsfolk are eager to lynch the criminal and thus rob the young man of the opportunity to interrogate him about his sister’s whereabouts. When he next gains consciousness, he learns that the town is without a sheriff or any other legal authority who could possibly help him. Meanwhile, gunslingers Reginald Jones and Eustace Hollow finish up a job in town but run into some trouble with the payment. Their contractor tries to underpay them for their services and harasses Jones for his dwarfism. As a result, the latter attacks him, steals his money, and flees from the scene. During his escape, the duo discovers that Jack has hitched a ride in their wagon and has no choice but to take the young man along with them.

Once they arrive at safety, Jack makes a proposition and tries to hire the gunslingers to track down Bill. As an incentive, he tells them about the $10,000 bounty on the outlaw’s head. Jones and Eustace take the deal, while their former contractor hires a pair of sheriff brothers, Simon and Malachi, to hunt down his enemy. After some snooping, the trio learns about two of Bill’s associates splitting into town while the rest of the gang traveled to the hills. They decide to try to find these associates in the hopes of learning the outlaw’s final destination so that they can plan an ambush. In the town, Jack spots a familiar face at the local brothel. It’s Sue, the woman he had seen in Sylvester being dragged away during the lynching. He’s compelled to help her out by freeing her from the brothel after a messy altercation with the owner. This results in a lucky break since Sue has some idea about where Bill’s associate might be hiding. Consequently, Jones and the others are able to pin down this associate, whom they christen Fatty.

However, after torturing the gang member for information, Jones learns that the bounty on Bill is much lower than he expected, which almost makes him give up on the endeavor. Nonetheless, Jack refuses to give up and offers him his family’s land in Montana as compensation. He also manages to get their hostage to spill about Bill’s destination: the Thicket. Meanwhile, Lula tries to stage an escape, only to end up getting caught by Simon and Malachi, who agree to keep her safe. Yet, Bill soon catches up to them and lays the former to waste before taking the girl back with her. Thus, once he crosses paths with Jones and his posse, Malachi decides to join their group for revenge. Eventually, the group arrives at the thicket, which becomes the stage for a violent showdown.

The Thicket Ending: Why Did Bill Kidnap Lula? Does Jack Rescue Her?

The motivations surrounding Bill’s abduction of Lula remain fairly ambiguous throughout the story. However, a crucial insight into her past provides some context for her character that can be utilized to speculate on the reason behind her actions. After renegotiating Jones’ help, Jack and the others arrive at church grounds that have been burned down to a crisp. The priest, seemingly the only survivor left behind, is bathed in blood and severely traumatized. He shares some of Bill’s past with the group, telling them about her mother. Apparently, the outlaw was born to a woman who was assaulted by multiple men. Therefore, after she gave birth to her daughter, she began to see the image of these men in the child. She considers Bill to be born out of sin and thus lacking inherent virtue or value.

Therefore, the mother took a knife to her daughter, slashing her up and giving her the scar on her face that has stayed with her well into her adult life. However, before the mother could kill her, Bill escaped and set their house on fire. She left her mother to burn alive inside. On the other hand, we know that the outlaw has a habit of collecting young girls and taking them with her to her hideout. Although it’s unclear what she does with her victims, all of them eventually end up dead. Given what we know about her dynamic with Lula, it’s fair to assume Bill kidnaps the young girl with the intention of recreating a cycle of mother-daughter connection and violence with her. Early into their abduction, she cuts Lula’s hair and forces her into clothes that resemble her own. This gives off the impression that the criminal is attempting to coerce her into becoming her protege.

This could be Bill’s twisted response to the highly traumatic relationship that she had with her own mother. Perhaps, she kidnaps young women and attempts to integrate them into her gang to prove to herself that she can be a better nurturer than her own mother. However, when her attempts ultimately fail, she kills her victims, mirroring the cycle of violence before starting again. In the thicket, after the initial shootout, Bill makes a run for her hideout with Lula. While Jack remains hot on their tail, Jones detaches from the battleground to set up her weapon, a kind of sniper on the hills nearby. In the end, the gunslinger is able to take the shot and put an end to Bill’s terror. Thus, Lula is finally freed from the criminal’s clutches.

Does Jack Die?

The final confrontation between Bill and Jack isn’t without its casualties. After the brother follows the outlaw into the thicket, it puts him on her territory. So far, the young boy has lived a fairly sheltered life. He grew up in a remote location with his family, and his venture with Jones is the first real adventure he has been on. Unlike the latter, he isn’t a gunslinger but rather a common man who simply wants to save his sister. Therefore, where Jones knows better than to risk his life in no-man’s land, Jack isn’t similarly savvy. Instead, he’s propelled forward by emotion and the pressing need to protect the last of his family when she’s finally within an arm’s reach. Unfortunately for him, this confrontation ends up bearing a high cost. After he confronts Bill, the outlaw shoots him with her gun.

Afterward, she turns the same weapon on Lula but runs out of bullets. This offers an advantage to the young girl who has been simmering in her anger for days now. Over time, many people express their concern about how Jack’s sister will likely lose herself and get polluted by being in Bill’s orbit. In some ways, this turns out to be true since her time with the outlaw imbues the young girl with a fierce desire for survival at any cost and a pressing need for revenge. As such, she instantly charges at the criminal and relentlessly beats her up. While she could never have taken Bill on her own, this display of violence as a result of Jack getting shot showcases a notable progression for the character. In the end, Jones’ bullet ends Bill’s life. Unfortunately, her own bullet had done much the same for Jack, who breathes his last breath in the thickets. Before he dies, he at least has the knowledge that he succeeded in his mission to rescue his sister.

What Happens to Lula and Jones?

Much like Lula, Jones also undergoes a deep personal loss as a result of the final stand against Bill. He loses his friend, Eustace, who takes pride in the good work they have done before succumbing to his fatal injuries. Before the end, we learn about the gunslinger’s own backstory, which defines his journey as a lone wolf and an orphan. Shortly after his birth, his mother had committed suicide, and his father, resentful of him for his dwarfism, sold him off to a “freak show.” Therefore, Jones has never really known of home or a family. It’s also why he had agreed to Jack’s offer of giving him his family land in Montana, as it offered the possibility of setting down roots for the first time in the gunslinger’s life.

After Bill’s defeat, Lula cuts off her kidnapper’s head. She and Jones take it to the nearest sheriff’s office as proof of the outlaw’s death in an attempt to collect whatever bounty they can. As it turns out, Jack had been right about the bump in the amount, with the total coming up to around $10,000. This means both remaining members of the posse collect big earnings from the bounty that could set them up for life. However, when it comes time to diverge paths, Lula stops Jones and asks him to accompany her to the Parker family land. After Jack’s death, she is left entirely alone in the world, much like the gunslinger. Therefore, recognizing their kindred predicaments, the two decide to throw in their lots with each other. Ultimately, they settle down in Montana together, where they find a life free of violence.

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