When Everything Everywhere All At Once premiered in 2022, it quickly became one of the most celebrated and discussed films of the decade. A genre-bending spectacle filled with absurd humor, heart-wrenching emotion, and mind-boggling multiverse chaos, the film took audiences on a journey unlike any other.
But beyond the googly eyes, martial arts, and bagels of doom lies an ending rich with philosophical depth. The true meaning of the film’s conclusion doesn’t just resolve the plot—it redefines how we view connection, identity, and existence itself.
A Brief Recap of the Chaos
At its core, Everything Everywhere All At Once tells the story of Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American laundromat owner juggling a failing business, a strained marriage, a rebellious daughter, and an overbearing father—all while facing an IRS audit. But in a wild narrative twist, Evelyn is thrust into a sprawling multiverse, where she discovers she’s the “prime” version of herself in an infinite sea of possible Evelyns.
Her journey is spurred by the arrival of Jobu Tupaki, a chaotic multiversal entity who happens to be an alternate version of her daughter Joy. Jobu, having seen every possible reality and outcome, concludes that nothing matters—so she builds the everything bagel, a black hole-like object intended to erase herself from existence.
The story builds toward a massive emotional and existential crescendo, with Evelyn facing the same temptation: to give in to nihilism or to find a reason to keep going.
The Emotional Core: Mother and Daughter
As surreal as the film becomes, the emotional climax narrows to a profoundly human struggle—the fractured bond between Evelyn and Joy. While universes collapse and kung fu battles erupt, the true conflict is generational and personal.
Evelyn’s inability to accept Joy’s identity, choices, and desire for autonomy mirrors the expectations many immigrant parents place on their children. Joy, crushed under the weight of conditional love and the pressure to meet unreachable ideals, transforms into Jobu Tupaki—a being consumed by the meaninglessness of it all.
In the end, Evelyn doesn’t defeat Jobu with force. She wins her back by listening, understanding, and ultimately choosing to love her daughter as she is—not as who she could have been. That choice becomes the antidote to despair and is, perhaps, the film’s most radical statement.
Rejecting Nihilism Through Connection
One of the central themes of Everything Everywhere All At Once is the seductive pull of nihilism. When every possible version of every possible life exists, the idea that “nothing matters” can be overwhelmingly persuasive. This is Jobu Tupaki’s worldview: after experiencing the totality of the multiverse, she no longer finds meaning in anything.
Evelyn flirts with the same idea, especially after being exposed to her other lives—wealthier, more glamorous, more fulfilled. She begins to wonder whether the struggles of her current life are worth it at all.
However, the film rejects this multiversal nihilism not through logic or cosmic answers, but through love, humor, and choice. Evelyn realizes that if nothing matters on a cosmic scale, then she is free to assign her own meaning. She chooses kindness, compassion, and the messy, imperfect relationships that anchor her.
This message is crystallized in the quietest moments—when Evelyn and Joy, in the form of two rocks, sit silently above a canyon. Even without bodies or words, their bond remains, proving that connection transcends form, time, and possibility.
Waymond’s Philosophy: Kindness as a Superpower
While Evelyn undergoes the most visible transformation, Waymond—her seemingly meek husband—provides the emotional compass of the film. In every universe, he leads with compassion, humor, and empathy. He doesn’t fight with fists or rage; he resolves conflict by disarming others with decency.
In the IRS office, in a parallel glamorous world, and even in absurd hot dog-finger timelines, Waymond’s belief in kindness remains constant. His philosophy offers an alternative to both the chaos of Jobu and the resentment Evelyn carries.
Near the climax, Evelyn sees Waymond’s kindness not as weakness, but as strength. She embraces his approach, using empathy to resolve conflict across universes. She hugs her enemies, returns emotional blows with understanding, and uses “love as a weapon,” a phrase that might sound trite until seen in action during the film’s final act.
Waymond’s enduring message—“Be kind, especially when you don’t know what’s going on”—becomes a spiritual thesis for the entire film.
The Everything Bagel: A Symbol of Modern Existentialism
The everything bagel is the film’s most absurd and most powerful metaphor. A literal and figurative black hole, it embodies the idea of totality. By putting everything on it—hopes, fears, thoughts, possibilities—Jobu creates a singularity of meaninglessness.
This image speaks directly to a modern anxiety: being overwhelmed by too much information, too many choices, and too many versions of ourselves to ever feel whole. In the age of social media and digital identity, we are all navigating infinite possibilities and personas. The bagel becomes a symbol of that existential fatigue.
But Evelyn’s choice to step away from the bagel, to not be swallowed by its void, is a call to reclaim individuality from the abyss. She doesn’t deny the chaos; she just chooses not to be consumed by it.
Returning to the Ordinary
Perhaps the boldest move in Everything Everywhere All At Once is its ending: despite all the cosmic drama, the resolution is quiet. Evelyn returns to her life—still full of IRS appointments, still running a laundromat, still dealing with family challenges.
And yet, everything has changed.
Her perspective has shifted. She now sees beauty in the mundane. She chooses to be present, to engage with the people she loves, to make small moments matter. The multiverse no longer distracts her from her own timeline—it enhances her appreciation of it.
This embrace of the ordinary reflects a core philosophical message rooted in Eastern thought: true peace is not found in escaping reality, but in accepting and inhabiting it fully.
Everything Everywhere All At Once ends not with a bang but with a breath—a reaffirmation of life in all its imperfections. Its final message is not about solving the universe’s mysteries or discovering a higher truth. It’s about finding clarity within chaos, purpose within absurdity, and love within disconnection.
The film invites viewers to confront the overwhelming nature of existence not by retreating or numbing out, but by leaning in—with curiosity, humor, and compassion. It tells us that in a world where everything is possible and nothing seems to matter, the things that do matter are the people we love, the choices we make, and the moments we choose to care.
In the end, the multiverse is vast—but the human heart remains the most powerful force in all realities.