Plot Summary
As the movie’s title suggests, this latest entry in George Miller’s epic franchise focuses on Furiosa, the ferocious and fiery warrior we first met in Mad Max: Fury Road.
This prequel movie takes us back to Furiosa’s childhood and how her life changed after she was abducted by Dementus, the maniacal leader of a biker gang.
In this ending explained article for Furiosa, we recap the story and ask the question: What happens to Dementus at the end of the movie?
How does ‘Furiosa’ begin?
At the movie’s beginning, we are given an update on how the world has become a desolate wasteland after a societal collapse. Most of Australia is a barren desert but in one corner of the country is the Green Place, a region where vegetation grows under the watchful eye of a matriarchal community of women known as the Vuvalini.
We are introduced to Furiosa as a child, who is with her friend in the forest picking fruit. When they see members of a biker gang approaching, Furiosa sends out a warning signal to Mary, her mother.
Furiosa is then chased by the bikers. During the pursuit, she is able to dismantle one of the bikes. However, she is then captured by one of the men and taken to a power-hungry megalomaniac known as Dementus.
Mary tries to infiltrate the biker gang’s outpost but she is taken captive by Dementus’s crew. Dementus tries to extract information from Furiosa about the location of the Green Place but the girl stays silent, even when he threatens to torture her mother.
Sadly, Dementus kills Furiosa’s mom, setting in motion a chain of events that will later see her carry out her revenge on this sadistic despot.
Does Furiosa escape from Dementus?
Dementus keeps Furiosa as his prisoner and takes her with him as he scavenges the wasteland. After meeting one of the War Boys, he finds his way to Immortan Joe, the psychotic ruler of the Citadel who we first met in Fury Road.
Dementus wants to take the Citadel’s resources but he hasn’t counted on Immortan Joe and his War Boys, who launch a destructive attack on him and his crew. Dementus survives the attack and flees but later returns to Immortan Joe after seizing fuel from the people of Gastown who were in a trade relationship with the Citadel.
Dementus uses the fuel as leverage and is able to strike a deal with Immortan Joe. But during their negotiation, Joe gives Furiosa a choice – stay with Dementus or choose him. Furiosa decides on Joe but she now has to deal with the possibility that he will one day use her as a breeding tool for his War Boys.
Does Furiosa escape the Citadel?
Furiosa isn’t ready to be one of Joe’s wives so stealthily escapes and heads further into the Citadel. It’s here where she disguises herself as a boy and becomes one of the mechanics who help to service Immortan Joe’s War Rig, a colossal vehicle that gives him an advantage in battle.
The movie fast-forwards a few years to a time when work on the War Rig is completed. One of Immortan Joe’s generals is chosen to be its driver. His name is Praetorian Jack. Furiosa hides under the vehicle when Jack navigates it away from the Citadel.
On a supply run to Gastown, the War Rig is attacked by members of Dementus’s biker gang and a fierce fight breaks out between them and the War Boys.
The War Boys are killed in the battle, as are some of the bikers who are thwarted by Jack and Furiosa. As part of her escape plan, Furiosa tries to force Jack out of the War Rig but he turns the tables on her and kicks her out of the vehicle. He then continues on his way without her.
Furiosa has escaped the Citadel but she is now stranded alone in the wasteland. Fortunately, she’s not alone for long as Jack, who realizes her worth in battle, returns to her.
What happens to Jack?
Jack decides to act as Furiosa’s mentor with the promise of freedom in the future. But it’s not long before the two of them grow closer to one another and become more intimate.
There’s no time for romance, however. On a supply run to Bullet Farm, Jack and Furiosa are ambushed by Dementus’s gang. During a prolonged chase, Furiosa’s arm is badly damaged. Co-incidentally, this is the arm on which she had marked a star path back to the Green Place.
The battle ends with Dementus capturing Furiosa and Jack. Once again, Furiosa is forced to watch as Dementus kills somebody she is close to – i.e. Jack.
Shortly after, Furiosa breaks free from her bondage by amputating her already injured arm. She manages to escape Dementus but after reaching a safe location, she falls unconscious.
A little while later, Furiosa is rescued by a young Max Rockatansky. After he drops her off at the Citadel, she wakes up and tells Immortan Joe that Dementus means to launch an attack.
What happens to Dementus?
A war breaks out between the two gangs led by Dementus and Immortan Joe. It lasts for 40 days, during which time most of Dementus’s crew are decimated. Furiosa leads an assault on the rest of Dementus’s men and after disposing of them, she is finally able to confront her nemesis face-to-face.
Dementus doesn’t realise who Furiosa is at first but he remembers when she reveals her identity to him. After he goes into a fit – presumably the result of his injuries after battle – she stands over him with a gun. He mocks Furiosa, telling her that shooting him will be less painful than the agony she will endure with the memories of the people she has lost.
As it happens, Furiosa plans to do more than give him a quick and easy death with a bullet in his head.
Towards the close of the film, we discover Dementus’s fate. He wasn’t killed by a bullet. In fact, he wasn’t killed at all. Furiosa planted a seed inside his body, from which a fruit-bearing tree grew.
As a consequence, it’s Dementus who endures agony, presumably forever, as he has become part of the tree that is using his body as its source of life. Furiosa’s plan of revenge has quite literally borne fruit!
How does ‘Furiosa’ end?
By trapping Dementus within a tree, Furiosa has avenged her mother’s death. At the end of the film, she takes fruit from the tree and gives it to Immortan Joe’s wives. This scene leads us to the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, where Furiosa has freed the wives and enlisted them as her army in her journey across the wasteland.
Read More: Furiosa Movie Review