Badland Hunters finds Seoul ravaged by a major earthquake, rendered dry, deserted, and with no drinkable water. The plot, which follows hunter Nam-san and some associates trying to rescue Su-na and her grandmother, who fell for the promises of safe haven made by a deranged doctor, builds to an action-packed ending that also explores life, responsibility, and family in this new world.
Badland Hunters Ending Explained
Towards the end of Badland Hunters, the doctor begins to realize he is losing and tries to flee, but is soon confronted by parents of all the children he’s held captive and hurt, and they beat the life out of him. Dr. Yang manages to break free and guns down all the parents near him.
He sees the suitcase with his daughter in draining water and realizes he’s lost her. As he vomits, his skin begins to blister and burn.
Su-na is found and retrieved, and they confront the doctor about his actions. He’s about to shoot Su-na but Nam-san gets there first and kills him. Then, it begins to rain. Everyone is cheering and embracing the rain; it’s a joyous and freeing moment.
How does Badland Hunters end?
The final two scenes see Su-na crying over the grave of her grandmother, and then we cut to everyone back in their village, trying to live their best life, joking and smiling.
What I enjoyed about this ending was the fact nothing has gone back to normal. It’s about surviving and acceptance and trying to make the most out of a new way of life. It’s a happy ending, as they did succeed in their mission.
What was Dr. Yang’s plan?
There was a life-altering earthquake that turned South Korea into a desert with no clean water. Dr. Yang had a vision of creating a vaccine that stops people from dying, so they don’t need water, creating a new humanity, a new world.
This is his story, but there is a creepy section where we see Dr. Yang keep his daughter’s head/shoulder/heart in a box and the heart is beating. He’s doing all of this to keep his daughter alive.
To do this he begins experimenting on children, with a lot of them not surviving, and the rest becoming emotionless robots. They also have to keep being injected, time and time again.
This potion he’s created turns people into lizard-looking monsters, who cannot die unless their heads are chopped off.
Does Nam-san save Su-na?
Nam-san saves Su-na roughly three times throughout the film. The first is when she is almost taken by bounty hunters and he fights them all off. Even though Nam-san is on a maverick journey, Su-na is still captured and experimented on, but because she didn’t drink the water, she appears to be unharmed.
After fighting their way through multiple gangs and army men, Nam-san eventually finds Su-na and frees her. Su-na confronts the doctor and he tries to shoot her, but Nam-san shoots him first.
What happens to Nam-san?
We learn that Nam-san had a daughter and Su-na has a strong resemblance to her, which is why he needs to save her — for his own redemption, to forgive himself, and clear his conscience.
In the ending scene, we watch as he is chopping meat with Su-na and Ji-wan acting like a small family. He’s still a badland hunter, but also a father. The two cheeky teens try to set him up with a woman from the village, but he’s having none of it. It’s a happy ending for all.
What did you think of the ending of Badland Hunters? Comment below.
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