This article discusses the ending of the Netflix film Yes Day, so it will contain major spoilers.
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When the parents in Yes Day decide to give their children free rein of the day, they must have been suffering from concussion. It’s the worst idea a parent could have, regardless of the psychological factors of instilling discipline — it’s not worth the day’s stress. As the film progresses, the day gets so wild that the parents (Allison and Carlos) end up momentarily in prison after a scuffle with a lady at an amusement park.
The rebellious eldest child Katie lies to the police officer and makes out that their parents have already left the police station — she tells her siblings to have a party at home while she heads to a music festival to chill with her friends.
At this point, we reach the ending — Carlos is in charge of shutting the party down with the younger children at the family home, while Allison heads to the music festival and grabs Katie.
Netflix’s Yes Day – the ending explained
The party at the family house with the kids is an absolute disaster — there’s foam, the TV drops off the wall, lamps break — it’s the one thing a parent does not want to have to face when returning home from holiday to see that their children have decided to have a party that completely needs a call with an insurance company afterward. When Carlos returns home, he asks his youngest children to stop the party, and then everyone helps clean and tidy up. There’s context to this, of course; Carlos is the “fun dad” that does not like to assert authority on his children, so this was a big move for him.
As for Katie at the festival, she soon realizes that her mother was right — she’s not ready for this environment, and she becomes a little spooked when her friend asks her to “hang out” with a couple of guys in a tent. And then when the concert starts, her phone goes completely dead. Katie is in complete panic mode with no way of getting home. Luckily, her mother has managed to get on stage, and she sings until she gets Katie’s attention. Despite their arguments and differences throughout the film, the mother and daughter embrace each other.
What happens next?
The ending of Yes Day gave the family members clarity on themselves; Carlos needed to be more of an assertive dad, Allison needs to try and be less controlling and let her fears ease when her children grow up, and Katie realizes she has more growing up to do and find ways to be more responsible. The Netflix film became a “lessons learned” adventure.
