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The Power of the Dog Movie Ending Explained

Taylor Holmes
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The Power of the Dog Movie Ending Explained
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The Power of the Dog Movie Ending Explained… oh, and a prediction. Easiest prediction I’ve ever made. Benedict Cumberbatch will win an Oscar for his role as Phil Burbank in The Power of the Dog. Guaranteed. It ticks all the boxes. Lights up all the measures and there are electronic fireworks going off in the sky above his head. Yeah, I guarantee you, Benedict Cumberbatch will win the best actor Oscar this year. Nothing else even comes close to holding a candle to him this year.

But wait, what is the movie, Power of the Dog again? It is a western, set in the 20’s of Montana… the rough and tumble, dusty, hard knocks world of cattle, and an impending modern society soon to change everything. It’s a film written and directed by Jane Campion, based on a novel by Thomas Savage. It’s a movie that will obviously get comparisons to Brokeback Mountain. But I sort of put more in the genre of No Country For Old Men and maybe There Will Be Blood? However, there is no denying the glorious cinematography of this movie. Where would you film a glorious western that depicts the 1920’s America? Yup, New Zealand, I agree. Wait, what? This movie was filmed in New Zealand? Yeah… Dunedin and Otago specifically. Huh. Anyway, The Power of the Dog will be released on Netflix the beginning of December.

The Power of the Dog Walkthrough

Now, I’m going to say this again – just to be super clear – you should wait until you’ve seen this movie, The Power of the Dog, before you read through this discussion and my ideas about the inner workings of the film, and ESPECIALLY the ending explanation details!! So, scouts honor… don’t read any further if you haven’t seen this movie yet.

The movie opens telling us that it is Montana 1925. Rose is working at a hotel and restaurant, four years after her husband passed away. We get the feeling that Rose is a bit at the end of her rope (sorry for the pun… oh, we’ll get to the rope later, trust me) but even so, she’s doing okay for herself… even if life is hard. Her son, Peter Gordon, is trying to help out as best as he can. But finds himself making paper flowers, and interested in the more genteel things of this life. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I can imagine he stands out a bit here in Montana.

Meanwhile, Phil and George (Jesse Plemons) are driving their massive herd of cattle into town. And they need a place to stay while there. Which is what brings them to Rose’s place. During dinner, Phil burns one of Pete’s paper flowers, and what he says about him ends up breaking Rose’s heart. Later, George learns that Rose is crying in the kitchen as a result. George tells Phil what he did, and how it hurt Rose, and Phil’s response is, “I said he should snap out of it and be human. I just pointed it out, she should damn well know.” The epitome of kindness right there. I WAS JUST STATING FACTS!! WHAT ARE YOU CRYING ABOUT?!?!

But it is this interaction between George and Rose that actually starts off a romance. George begins visiting Rose regularly, and even though Phil tries to get their parents involved, George marries Rose. And soon enough, Rose is being invited to dinners with her in-laws as well as the governor of the state. These are really important people that she has suddenly been thrown in with. She’s even expected to play the piano, which seems to be her one redeeming quality. But when she fails at that during the dinner, things go from bad to much worse.

Now, one thing that you might not have caught, but when the Governor chats with George and Rose about Phil, and how exceptionally proud of him they are it really gets to Rose. “He was Phi-Beta-Kappa at Yale wasn’t it?” “Yup, in Classics.” “So he swears at the cattle in Greek, or Latin?” Now, for the record, I was Phi Beta Kappa… it doesn’t take much. But college for Rose was a stretch, let alone Yale, let alone Phi Beta Kappa… and the look on Rose’s face during this conversation says absolutely everything you need to know about that particular encounter:

Rose absolutely knows that her new in-laws, and the company that her in-laws keep (specifically the governor and his wife), are letting her know that she is absolutely no one. That they are powerful, that they come from rarefied air, and that she will never be considered a part of this circle. Why? Because she isn’t good enough. She comes from the dirt of the frontier, and they come from the civilized world. Which, is the beginning of her drinking problems and her downward spiral. George’s love for her, and how she makes him not feel alone anymore, just isn’t enough. Cementing her demise, she not only doesn’t play the piano, but Phil makes it clear that he can play anything on his banjo after only hearing it once.

Pete comes back to the ranch after having been at school and we learn that he is studying to become a physician. He’s interested in dissecting things, making traps, he’s a clever young man. But he is roundly ridiculed as before. Then later, Pete accidentally stumbles upon Phil’s hidden pond, and secret hide out. He discovers a magazine of photos of men, hinting strongly that Phil is probably gay. Phil spends time in the sun, playing with a silk scarf. But when Pete runs for it, realizing what he’s uncovered, it pisses Phil off.

But, surprisingly, Phil offers to teach Pete how to ride a horse. And they start to spend some time together, as Phil tells Pete that he has started to make him a rope. Huh. What is going on here? How is it that Pete is suddenly okay with all of this? Personally? I was pretty sure that Pete would take the rope, given to him by Phil, and that he would hang himself with it. I would have bet you my car (which, for the record, is useless, and in fact, I just promised to a dealer… so this bet is pretty useless right now. But whatever.) that he would commit suicide with this rope. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The night before Pete leaves, Phil and Pete spend the evening together as Pete tries to finish up the rope. The next day, Phil has taken ill, and when he is taken to the doctor, he apparently has a terrible fit of shakes and convulsion. He ultimately dies of anthrax… which, gotta say, is weird, seeing as though he avoided cows with anthrax like the plague (forgive the pun). The family has a funeral for him in the city, and all of society’s well to do all come and tsk tsk about how sad they are that Phil died this way. And with that, we cut back to the ranch where Pete is flipping through the Bible and the passage about being saved from the power of the dog.

Psalm 22:19-20 “But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs.”

And then Pete watches from the window as his mother, and his new father arrive back at the ranch house…

The Power of the Dog Movie Ending Explained???

So, let’s start back at that beginning assumption that this movie is analogous to Brokeback Mountain. Was it a movie about two guys, who happen to be gay, and find themself in a burgeoning relationship? No. Did we think that that was where this movie might have been going? Maybe. Minus the fact that Phil was horrible to Pete. So then, what the heck!? What did we just watch? Two guys who hate each other sort of hang out a little bit, and then one of them accidentally comes down with Anthrax?!? Dies? What is this movie?

Let’s start over shall we? Rose is a pretty recent widow. Her husband died four years prior. Pete, has had to grow up too fast as he helps his mother keep their family hotel and restaurant afloat. And in the middle of that chaos arrives a real jerk… Phil and his crew. And he lays down enough pain on Pete that it causes Rose to cry. George is touched, and intercedes on Rose’s behalf. He makes overtures in her direction in spite of the fact that his family wouldn’t like it. Worse, he even marries Rose without his family’s consent. Pete is happy for his mother, but probably knows in advance that there are going to be issues. And sure enough, Phil exceeds expectations. He continues the hatred, and the hurtful actions, even after Rose and Pete are family.

Now Pete is no slouch. He’s whip smart. He’s wicked clever. His thing is the long con, not the immediate. But he also knows that Phil is smart too. So smart that he has to use Phil’s weaknesses against him without him realizing. And although Phil won’t admit it, it’s EXTRAORDINARILY obvious to him that Phil is gay. (It’s clear to the audience. It’s clear to Pete.) So Pete sidles up close to Phil, and rolls with Phil and the things that matter to him. And, apparently, Phil has decided he’s going to make Pete a rope. Um, okay. I guess. But to make a rope you need two things… you need strips of cow hide, and water. Pete gives him both things. We watch as after his mother gives away the hides that Phil comes completely unglued. Why? He needs the hides for the rope. But Pete has already cut strips for Phil to use. Huh. Interesting. And the second thing, Pete brings Phil the water that he needs in order to soften the strips in order make it pliable. Oh, there is one other thing that Pete brought Phil. Anthrax.

Flashback to his solo horse ride. He heads out to the hills in order to do one thing, scoop bits of dead cow. Why? To collect the anthrax virus. Why did he need the anthrax virus? Well, because he wanted to put it in the water that Phil would use in his making of the rope. Why? Because Pete wanted to kill Phil. He wanted to kill Phil for being a right jerk to him and his mother. He wanted to murder the selfish bastard in cold blood. He hated him so much he wanted the man dead. So was this a Brokeback Mountain movie? No. It was not. We don’t even know whether or not Pete was even gay, and I would argue, 100%, that he wasn’t. Just because the kid was different doesn’t make him gay. Better yet, I would argue that he was probably on the spectrum, and as a result these “gay symptoms” were literally nothing. And I sort of laugh that you think these stereotypical flatulence’s would even be valuable to modern movie goers. We seen none of these tropes in Phil anyway!

So the movie is actually a revenge/murder movie. Pete was wronged, and as a result, he outmaneuvered his chief nemesis. End of story. I’d give you another theory… but it’s literally the only one that makes any sense. Unless you want me to cart out the lame, “Budding romance goes bad when one of the lovers to be catches anthrax” theory. But no. I’m not going to embarrass either of us be even trying it out.

Final Thoughts on Power of the Dog

Loved this movie. And I’m sure that Cumberbatch is going to win best actor. Oh, did I say that already? Yeah, the acting is absolutely amazing in this movie. The cinematography is off the chain. (I don’t ever include so many photos in my walk-throughs.) I’d be surprised if Ari Wegner doesn’t also win for cinematography. The story is unbelievable too, in that it doesn’t peddle blacks or whites. It only deals in grays. (Rose is a drunk. George is an enabler. The Governor seems to be a jingoistic pedant. Phil is a closeted cowboy. And Pete is an on the spectrum murderer.) I loved it. But maybe not everyone did. What did you think of it?

Want to see my Video breakdown of The Power of the Dog? Join us over at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57451404

Edited by: CY

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34 Responses

  1. As much as Phil was horrible and cruel, Rose knew she would have to endure him and his ridicule by moving there so I was just a tad short on sympathy for her spiral into alcoholism and not getting out of bed. It also made me question her motives a bit since she went willingly. Anyway, her son was clearly the strong one. Not physically but that wasn’t needed here. He paid attention to Phil which Phil loved, all while meticulously plotting his demise. Pure genius. This film is related to Brokeback because of the inference that Phil is gay and that he’s using ridiculously overdone masculinity as a cover up. I also suspect Bronco was more than just a mentor to him by the way he worshipped him. If BC wins a ton of awards for this role I wouldn’t be surprised in the least.

  2. One thing about the ending… the next morning Phil is in bed. he doesn’t look ill. but they rush him to the hospital. They rushed that ending pretty fast, which was okay. but Phil looking sickly wasn’t there. We all ready said that Brokeback Mountain is in the same vein as POTD in cinematography and genre. Also the sharing cigarette scene at the end with Phil and Pete does that mean they had relations?

  3. I guess they could have had relations but I don’t think whether they did or didn’t is really important in the scheme of things-us just knowing he was a total hypocrite was the real point I believe. But I also noticed what you mentioned about him not looking so bad at the end and then poof, he’s dead. I wonder if they did it that way more to add shock value since he was pretty fastidious about not touching sick cattle to avoid Anthrax. The doctor I think mentions at the end about how he was truly shocked about how this could happen since he was portrayed as the picture of masculinity and health at least toward most others outwardly. I think it’s like Brokeback because of the theme of how one is portrayed on the outside very much differs from the inside. Masculine heterosexual cowboys and ranchers and all that.

  5. I tend to agree because Pete hated him and was only cozying up to figure out how to cause him harm.

  7. Ah, thank you! This has reminded me to check out a mystery thriller western from 2016…
    BRIMSTONE… starring my ‘guy’… GUY PEARCE. I love how everything connects!

  9. To me, there are a few questions left unanswered.
    What causes Phil’s change of mind towards Pete, why would he suddenly try to befriend him? Surely not just because he discovered the same pattern of a dog’s jaw that only Phil and Bronco Henry had been able to perceive and that supposedly marks Pete out as a kindred spirit? Also, I imagine Bronco Henry to have been a rather macho and physically strong cowboy – so Pete would have been the exact opposite to Phil’s lost love in every respect. Even if Phil saw himself as a sort of mentor to a rather inexperienced apprentice, he would have known that there was no way of turning this awkward and scrawny young man into someone with a credible macho physique and demeanor.
    Why is Phil so insistent on making a rope for Pete, what does it symbolize or what is its purpose? What does Phil want from Pete?
    Also, I disagree about Pete’s character. Buried inside him there is a rather sadistic streak, which is revealed when he traps and kills the rabbit. He is the reverse of Phil: Phil is a monster on the outside, but deeply insecure and vulnerable on the inside (see his disbelief, disorientation and upset when he finds his brother absent from the shared bedroom), Pete is soft on the outside, but hard and unscrupulous on the inside, killing fluffy animals for dissection or surreptitiously causing the demise of his adversary come naturally to him.
    I do understand why Rose agrees to marry George: she cannot cope on her own, a defenceless woman at the end of her tether in a male dominated and harsh environment, and although she can probably foresee that there is going to be trouble, she is too weak to resist George’s proposal of marriage. Neither can she foresee that he will fail to defend her against his bullying brother. George never stands up for her, he is deliberately ignoring her plight.
    Finally, I completely disagree with above criticism that Phil does not look ill enough when he leaves the ranch, quite the contrary. He is quite dazed, sweating profusely and can barely keep up on his feet.
    During the film I was computing various possible outcomes, and when I saw him dipping his hands into the water to braid the rope, I knew he was going to die of fulminant septicemia! (Admittedly, I have a medical background.)

  10. Yes, I definitely agree with your take on Pete. We are shown quite clearly his unaffected behavior at killing animals to do his medical work. This is definitely foreshadowing of the end to come. As for Phil, I think he’s just a sucker for anyone who will listen to his blowhard stories plus he also figured Pete was likely homosexual so possibly there was some kind of attraction even though on the outside he bullied him?

  11. You nailed the ending. It is exactly what I thought too. Peter is smart, cunning and may look weak but appearances are deceiving. Who could have figured that Peter was capable of playing the long game, a mere kid, still a student pitted against a fearsome cowboy with a degree from Yale? Phil appears to be “a man” with all the hyper masculinity that being that kind and of man entails but he has secrets that if discovered would ruin him. He protect himself by shining a spotlight on the weaknesses of those in his orbit.

    Peter had his plan well in place before his mother gave the hides away.

    I don’t agree with your assessment of George’s parents being friends with the Governor. They were invited to meet George’s new wife and invited to the same dinner with the Governor. George was trying to expand his social status.

    Your writing would be better served sticking more to the facts with less inane commentary.

  14. There is no end of foreshadowing in this film, the opening scene mentions anthrax in dead cows, and later call it black leg as a way of identifying it. Gloves as well, Peter isn’t wearing any when he dissects the rabbit, but wears rubber gloves when skinning the cow and again when handling the rope (when he puts it under his bed). Phil mentions he doesn’t wear gloves and cuts himself when castrating the young bulls. Gloves were also a gift from the Indians for the hides. The scene where Peter lulls and comforts the injured rabbit before killing it without emotion foreshadows his actions with Phil.

    I think Phil befriends Peter in order to further torment Rose.

    I thought we were going to find that the Peter’s father was Bronco Henry, and that’s where all the resentment came from, but nope, dumb theory.

  15. In my opinion, Pete sought out a cow that died of anthrax and cut strips of hide that he gave to Phil, who was infected by handling the steps. The anthrax also entered his bloodstream via the cut on his hand. At the end of the movie, Pete was wearing gloves as he slid the infected rope under his bed.

  16. We figured that Peter led his drunk father to his suicide somehow as well. The father likely hurt Rose too, and the father did say that Peter was not caring enough. Peter would have been about 14 when his father died, which is plenty old enough for the scheming boy to have come up with something.

  17. Anyone think that Phil is planning on hanging Pete with that rope? My thought is: He would be destroying Rose, the suicide widow, by having her son “get in the swing of things”, just like her late husband. The look she shot at Phil at the end of that scene, followed immediately by her planting flowers with her hands in the dirt.
    Idk, just what I gathered from it.

  18. That is a super tight theory Mr. Range.
    I am digging that quite a lot.

    Yeah, that Pete would have “commuted suicide” would be the perfect revenge against Rose. So good.

  19. I don’t think Phil wanted to kill Pete. I think for all of his crudeness and horrible behavior that Pete actually started to grow on him. Plus Phil probably thought that he and Pete had their preferences in common. But Pete had a one track mind when it came to Phil-to find out his weak spot and destroy him. Plus Phil enjoyed having people listen to his tales of Bronco Henry more than anything so I don’t think he was meaning to hang him with the rope. I think Phil actually started enjoying being with him and teaching him which in turn gave him a weak spot that Pete could use to destroy him without anyone realizing he did. Such a great film.

  20. Right Lisa, I agree that Phil was warming up to Pete, but I think at the time of the first rope scene, his intentions may have been different offering to teach Pete how to use a rope. Rose’s reaction seemed over the top, unless she had trauma triggered by the rope, and the way Phil looked at her while he was making the rope and talking to Pete… I personally think even though he was warming up to Pete after that, he needed to complete some prophecy he was envisioning by giving Pete the option of suicide if not helping him do it. He saw so much of himself in Pete, and I think it hurt him to see Pete so openly gay, and seemingly fragile. And his hatred for Rose never ceased, as she was the wind of change distrusting his chances of re-living the past, with his brother. He was always recounting the past with Bill in such fondness and so bitter about how things were now. I feel his drive to break Rose and also the threat of his attraction to Pete and the vulnerability it exposed would have kept him on his path to making sure Pete died, by one of their hands. But it would look like a suicide either way, which would in the end destroy Rose. Maybe I’m reading into it too much.

  21. Nah,
    There are two ways to read this interaction between Pete and Phil, and the only one that can categorically answer this question is Phil himself. While Phil SEEMED to be warming up to Pete, there is no way for us to know for certain what his intentions really were.

    I will say this, Phil’s about face on his treatment of Pete is incongruous. It literally makes no sense. There are two ways that we can read this… 1) Phil is hitting on Pete, and his “hidden” sexual predilections are seeing the light of day. 2) He is false. He is just luring the guy in to kill him as Range has stated here.

    It is an interesting question – WHY A ROPE? Why was Phil making Pete a rope? Such a weird gift. An annoying allusion to his father’s death? A genuine cowboy gift? A prelude to murder staged as suicide? Did Pete just beat Phil to the punch? This is just a fascinating line of conjecture. I’m here for it.

  22. Why would he dispose of the only person he knew who possibly had the same type of preferences as him? It just makes no sense. His about face happened after he knew Pete knew his secret which makes sense. Bring him close and then Pete won’t tell or possibly Phil wanted to hook up with him. Plus, him hanging out with Pete made Rose furious and he was milking that one for all it was worth because he felt she was a simpleton. I think he was a total jerk and a hypocrite, but not a killer. Phil got his kicks from getting people to admire him and his tales of Bronco Henry. Pete, however, had some psychopathic tendencies by his actions and emotionless murder of cute fuzzy animals. A rope means nothing to us but back then in that particular trade it was a necessary and useful tool. I mean look where they lived and what their livelihood was. So I absolutely disagree that Phil wanted to murder him. He got his kicks from tormenting people and if he knocks them off then he loses that. I believe the whole point of this film is that looks are deceiving and danger can come from the least expected places. Phil trying to off Pete would be too simple of an explanation when the film is trying to tell us the opposite.

  23. I tend to agree with Lisa. Whereas there is no doubt in Pete’s mind that Phil needs to be got rid of and he is going about it in a very determined and methodical way, Phil does not have a clear cut agenda. He believes himself superior to those around him, totally in control, top dog – so as long as he is enjoying himself, and as long as Pete serves his purpose as entertainment, he will let him live. However, given he is not restrained by a moral or ethical code and prone to irritability and mood swings, Phil is bound to lose his temper and kill Pete at some stage.
    I think Phil is extremely disillusioned, cynical and above all bored. Pete, being an intellectual weirdo and not fitting any standards has aroused his curiosity and at least offers some distraction from daily boredom. To me Phil is playing with Pete like a cat would with a mouse…with Pete facing a dire end…
    Ironically, when he is taken ill Phil does not even realize that he is going to die, nor does he realize that he is being murdered, least of all by Pete!

  24. Yes! Like a cat and mouse game. When the cat plays with the mouse and the mouse dies, the cat gets bored and goes to look for new entertainment. But in the end we find out who the cat really is and it’s not Phil.

  25. Phil felt he was over educated and pretty much better than everyone else and his only real entertainment in life was showing that off to his minions so bumping them off would serve him no purpose at all. See, this whole conversation just serves to show what a fantastic film this really is. Especially these days when new, good and original films seem to be at a minimum, this one truly stands out. The story plus the acting. Right down the line. I’ll be interested to see how it does when awards season comes around. BC most definitely needs to win awards for his portrayal as Phil.

  27. Of course Phil knows he’s going to die. That’s why he’s wearing his “funeral suit”
    Also – no one commented on the pseudosexual relationship between Peter and his mother. Recall that one scene where she has her hands on his face and he says “mother you don’t have to do that”.

    Regarding Peter’s father’s suicide. I agree that Pete had a role in that. He makes a comment to Phil that his father thought he was “too tough”. Maybe his father knew about Peter’s sadistic treatment of animals (sociopathy) and streak of deception and manipulation.or perhaps the father feared he would have a similar fate.
    What I liked least about the movie was the prolonged beating of the horse. The point could have been made with less abuse and the majority of the whipping off camera through sound engineering

  28. Pete’s relationship with his mother was definitely bordering on unhealthy and I agree he probably had a hand in his father’s death. This movie becomes totally something else by the end and at least for me I thought the victim was someone else entirely right up til the end! And then, wham! That’s what makes it so great!

  29. Pete is absolutely gay.

    Phil does not want to kill him. That’s a bad misreading of the film. He wants to recreate the relationship he had with Bronco Henry. He recognises, or thinks he does, his younger self in Peter. A gay man who is living his truth openly instead of repressing and hiding behind toxic masculinity. Peter figures this out and uses it to manipulate Phil so he can help his mother by getting rid of her tormentor.

    Phil shows Pete his true self in the cigarette scene. He decides to mentor Pete because Peter discovered who Phil really was when he found Phil bathing etc. Phil is repressed and continuously mourning the one person he truly loved: Bronco Henry. And, again, by mentoring Pete he was trying to travel back in time to the point he was free to be himself and happy.

  30. I wholeheartedly agree with you, Serena. Killing Pete was not his objective at all and would have probably be the last thing he ever wanted to do. He thought he could be Pete’s Bronco Henry of sorts.

  31. I wonder about the relationship the brothers had with their parents.
    Why didn’t the parents live at the ranch?
    At the funeral when George’s mother gives Rose several rings and clasps her hand in a loving way. George tells his father that he and Rose would like them to visit the father nods ‘yes’. It’s like George and Phil’s parents didn’t want anything to do with Phil. Why was Phil so awful to George?

  32. Phil considered George a simpleton that was beneath him and not suited to ranching work. Plus he was just a terrible person. As for the parents, I think they were just retired from ranching life and moved to the city.

  34. I think the mother gave the jewellery to Rose because she now knew Rose would be her only daughter-in-law, and was a sweet, kind, gentle person who loved George. She wanted to establish good relations with her. It was as if Phil’s terrible influence was removed from the family and they could now be a happy family and all be kind to each other. George’s father was so pleased to be invited to spend Christmas with George and Rose, now that Phil’s nasty presence had been removed from the scene and they would have a relaxed pleasant time together.
    Looking at other interesting comments on this site, I felt that Phil had been grooming Pete to be his next sexual partner, maybe the first after Bronco Henry died. Pete, who hated Phil for his treatment of Rose, was cleverly pretending that he was warming to him, to Rose’s distress because Phil had driven her to drink, and she could see Phil would turn Pete against her. But Pete was just acting a part in order to be trusted enough to infect Phil with anthrax.

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