For decades, the youth adventure film market has been on fire – from Harry Potter and The Hunger Games to Divergent and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, it can be hard to keep up with the action-packed franchises. In the mid-2000s, Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies book trilogy had fiction lovers talking, but it wasn’t until 2024 that a page-to-screen adaptation came to be. The movie hit Netflix on Sept. 13, bringing viewers into a dystopian future where everyone is considered unattractive until 16 when they go under the knife to become “the perfect version of themselves.”
As The Wrap notes, “enhanced looks, abilities and personalities” are just some of the shifts that occur during the transition from “ugly” to “pretty.” Leaders present the surgery as a gift that everyone can participate in to make their lives better – something to be grateful for. However, as her surgery date approaches, teenage Tally (Joey King) learns that the procedure isn’t optional, and certainly not as much of a gift as it’s made out to seem. Our Uglies ending explained analysis breaks down the final moments of the Netflix Original, so don’t read on if you don’t want spoilers!
‘Uglies’ Ending Explained
If she wants to get her surgery and finally be pretty, Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox) insists that Tally infiltrate “The Smoke” in search of her friend Shay (Brianne Tju), who’s gone missing. They’re a group of “uglies” led by David (Keith Powers), who have run away from the city to live without technology and age normally. On her journey, Tally learns from these rebels that the operation to become pretty causes lesions on the brain. “These strip everyone of their personality, making them feel happy and perfect but also keeping them fully under control of the city,” The Wrap explains.
When she learns the truth, Tally throws a tracking necklace given to her by Cable into the fire to keep her away; this has the opposite effect, instead activating the device before it’s destroyed to alert the doctor of The Smoke’s location. They act quickly to capture runaways and bring them back to the city, where Shay is forced to undergo surgery. Tally and David arrive too late to save their friend, who refuses to take the reversal treatment David’s mom has been working on.
In a moment of bravery, Tally volunteers to be the first human trial, voluntarily getting the pretty surgery and promising she’ll consent to a reversal after. David cautions his love interest to reconsider as she might not be in her right mind post-op, but she vows to leave him a sign that she’s still in her right mind. “I’m Tally Youngblood, make me pretty,” King declares on-screen, which is the last line from the first of Westerfeld’s novels. “To me, it was everything,” director McG told The Wrap of the powerful moment. “I mean that’s the line that propels you into what we’re certainly [hoping] are the second and third films.”
Will There Be a Sequel?
If you’ve tapped into the Netflix drama, you’ll know that our Uglies ending explained won’t end where the book does. Instead, we see Tally make good on her promise to David by keeping the scar she had on her hand before surgery. Earlier in the film, Peris (Chase Stokes) devastated Tally by getting rid of his matching mark after his pretty operation. We know that Tally’s mind is still somewhat intact, but her appearance has been altered to match the chiseled avatar she worked so hard to design throughout the movie.
“We really, really worked hard to get that right,” McG shared. “From a place of the hair and makeup, and the practical effects on the face, but then also the visual effects on the face to enhance it. And like I say, look at any Instagram, any Snapchat and any filter you could pick out there. That sort of face-tune is available, and people are deplying it and applying it with great regularity.”
The next books in Westerfeld’s series are Pretties and Specials, which could become films depending on how audiences react to Uglies. “We want to make sure that we do everything we can for the world to speak and make it an easy, easy decision for Bela [Bajaria, Chief content officer of Netflix], and Dan Lin [Film Chief at Netflix] and Ted Sarandos [CEO of Netflix],” McG said while expressing interest in directing. Have you seen Uglies yet? Let us know in the comments!
