Run Sweetheart Run ending explained – who is the First Lady and how did Cherie survive?

By Lori Meek
Published: October 29, 2022 (Last updated: October 31, 2022)
4
run-sweetheart-run-ending

We discuss the ending of the Prime Video film Run Sweetheart Run which will contain spoilers.

The thriller Run Sweetheart Run was directed by Shana Feste and finally received its streaming platform release on Prime Video. The movie is centered on Cherie (Ella Balinska), who goes on a work meeting/date set up by her boss, James (Clark Gregg). Initially, the date with charmer Ethan (Pilou Asbæk) is going so well that the young woman decides to go back to his place for one last drink. Things go south quickly after that, as Ethan turns out to be a monster, both figuratively and literally. 

After escaping the initial attack, the cops prove to be as unhelpful as possible and arrest her for “public intoxication.” In jail, Cherie meets a woman who tells her she’s “marked” and that her only chance of surviving the night is finding the First Lady. Ethan visits her in jail and tells the young woman he’s going to hunt her until daybreak and let her go if she survives that long. Throughout the night, Cherie tries several avenues to find safety, but the monster keeps tracking her down. At her boss’s house, she finds out she’s not the first employee James set up with Ethan; she also learns that her pursuer can smell her blood. Our heroine is on her period, which is a really inconvenient time to be tracked down by a creature who’s drawn to blood. When she asks her ex for help, Ethan finds her and kills everyone in his household. The church isn’t much help either, as despite Ethan being some sort of evil supernatural creature, crosses and holy water does little to stop him. 

Run Sweetheart Run ending explained – who is the First Lady, and how did Cherie survive?

By the end of Run Sweetheart Run, after Ethan killed yet another group of girls who were trying to help Cherie, she makes her way to the First Lady. It’s still unclear who this mysterious figure is, and the explanation she gives is a bit convoluted. According to the First Lady, Ethan is an entity that was sent to Earth to guide humanity. Instead, he made sure to keep the patriarchy in power. But then… something happened (read: feminism), and Ethan realized he had to do something to neutralize the threat of powerful women. And that’s why he hunts and kills women. 

While the First Lady has the means to protect Cherie from the monster, she instead wants to send her in as bait to destroy it. Initially apprehensive, the young woman agrees to dress up in a Karate Kimono and go to an abandoned funfair just before daybreak, where she intends to lure Ethan out. She proceeds to draw blood from her wounds and her tampon before Ethan finally shows up and attacks her. The evil entity also gives her a very convoluted explanation of his motives that makes little sense before literally crucifying her to a wall. 

As Ethan is about to kill Cherie, she pretends to “want him” so that he’ll remove the nails from her hands and “take her.” Ethan’s whole motive remains unclear. As soon as the young woman expresses her desire for him, the monster becomes sweet and gentle. He’s still planning to kill her, but he’s going to do it tenderly. Luckily, Cherie gets a hold of a rock she was carrying and throws it through a wall, letting sunlight in. 

As it turns out, the monster is not big on tanning. The other women from the First Lady’s lair were outside all along, and they also started throwing rocks at the wall. It’s unclear why the outside cavalry of women waited so long before intervening. Finally, Cherie sets Ethan on fire and triumphantly walks home, where the babysitter is conveniently asleep and doesn’t see that our heroine is covered in blood. While she’s still covered in blood, Cherie joyfully spends the last scene hugging her daughter. 

What did you think of the ending of Run Sweetheart Run? Comment below.

More Stories on Run Sweetheart Run

Amazon Prime Video, Endings Explained, Movies, Movies - Ending Explained, Streaming Service