Heretic Ending Explained: What Happened to Sister Paxton and What the Butterfly Means at The End?

Heretic Ending Explained: While Hugh Grant had already been taking steps to get the image of a good boy out once and for all, he is with Heretic that ends up breaking with the past. Those who have not followed the trail after successes like “Notting Hill” or “Love Actually” will be pleasantly surprised. Now, under the A24 label (which gives clues to the role he has chosen) and taking advantage of the script by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (those responsible in part for the success of the franchise A Quiet Place), Grant plays Mr. Reed, an apparently innocent older man who has planned the visit of Mormon missionaries, Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East) to delve into the proposal of this religion. However, something else is at hand.

Raised at first as a duel of faith between believers and veteran host, reminiscent of the tug-of-war between Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited, the Beck tape and Wood becomes a less neat closure, in which physical confrontations are inevitable and the motivations of the most mundane characters. However, there is a final scene that has generated a lot of debate, and we will arrive at it, after the necessary spoilers. So if you haven’t seen the movie, we recommend that you stop and return to these lines when you have. It is worth specifying that the tape develops over 110 minutes of footage, time in which we know Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), two young religious who, after knocking on the wrong door, are received by the lonely and mysterious Mister Reed (Grant). In this way, caught in a death trap, the teenagers will have to face the consequences of having entered a stranger’s house and find a way to escape.

Heretic Ending Explained: What Happened to Sister Paxton and What the Butterfly Means at The End?

Towards the end of the horror movie,  Sister Barnes is apparently killed by  Mr reed who tries to convince  Sister Paxton that he lives in a simulation. However, the young woman realizes that the man is trying to trick her and discovers a room with numerous caged women. There, the girl deduces that “The Prophet” was not one person, but two. Furthermore, it infers that the unique “true religion” than Reed considered was the desire to control others.

After this, the girl stabs the subject, but he responds to the attack… Thus, both end in an arduous battle, in which Paxton manages to win with the help of Barnes, who uses his last strength to kill Reed with a wooden plank. Although, just a few moments later, the young woman finally dies. The Sister for its part, goes outside and runs to freedom. Next, we see a butterfly pose in her hand, the same animal in which she would have wanted to reincarnate after death.

Heretic conquers the viewer from the beginning because it is intuited that he is facing the typical case of the game between cat and mouse without being clear why. This has become obvious since Mr. Reed does not present his wife, an essential requirement for girls to enter the house to talk about religion. The trap is confirmed when the girls flip a candle and discover that the smell of blueberry pie comes from there. So, there is no Mrs. Reed, who was allegedly baking the cake. Uncovering the letters, what remains is to know exactly what the host’s intentions are to keep them there, at home.

And the intentions of the character Grant plays begin with a very particular explanation. All parts of an old vinyl record. The theme that plays is The Air That I Breathe, 1974 single by the British band The Hollies. The production house that recorded this English group would sue Radiohead years later for the song «Creep«, released 20 years later. The funny thing about the lawsuit is that Radiohead never denied the resemblance between the two songs. Even on a live recording, ironically, they included exact bars of the 1974 theme. It was that version that went on the market. Although it did not succeed immediately, over time it became a global phenomenon and today it is considered one of the great successes of melancholic rock and in general of the group led by Tom Yorke.

However, this does not stop there. Radiohead would sue Lana del Rey when she released Get Free in 2017. Although the artist denied inspiration, the resemblance at the beginning and other parts of the subject are so obvious that everything was settled in court and silently. What does this have to do with the film and with religions? Well, Reed wants to demonstrate that our society has always been inspired by the past to create new things. He doesn’t just use music. The villain gives other examples, from Monopoly (inspired or copied board game of ‘The Landowner’s Game’, created and patented by Elisabeth Maggie more than 30 years earlier) until Star Wars (which uses precisely the principles of all the world’s religions, from Judaism to Buddhism and inspired by the Japanese samurai cinema).

In this way, for Reed, religions are like some songs, pure recycling; the sum of ideas present from the beginning of civilization and that were modified conveniently to attract as many people as possible. So he refers to the many gods, who enact themselves as the only and true ones, who have the same beginnings: born on December 25 or to virgin mothers. Just to cite some examples. Deep down, Reed seeks to dismantle the beliefs of the Mormon sisters. His speech aims to generate enough doubts during the visit -and in the public – to establish a point: religion is based on fear, the greatest force to control people.

Explanation of the Two Doors?

Throughout his plea, Mr. Reed only finds opposition in Sister Barnes, who seems to have had much stronger experiences than his partner, Paxton. To break with this dynamic and demonstrate whether or not believing can lead to liberation (from the house, but also metaphorically speaking), the host presents two doors to visitors, one for believers and one for non-believers. The two girls are divided into preferences, showing their already-known character differences (Paxton is more obedient). They end up opening the non-believers, where they are supposed to witness a miracle. It is there where everything begins to derail and the psychological thriller, very well carried so far, she loses a little and we enter a terrain already known to fans of terror.

In this first basement, they know an old woman who eats a poisoned blueberry pie. The intention is for him to be resurrected and at that time «the truth » be revealed to the girls. The act is interrupted by the pastor who is looking for the two girls and who leaves without suspecting Reed. In the basement, the mysterious old woman comes back to life, saying that she saw clouds and angels during the brief death, and then added to the ear of the two young women that “is not real”. Before the viewer and Mormons can understand what the woman “is not real” is referring to, Reed makes the first move that changes the movie. He cuts Barnes’ throat with a razor. The idea is for the young woman to be resurrected, as the old woman did. But that does not happen, and the man attributes it to the implant that she has in her arm.

Following the previous order of ideas, Reed asks Paxton to commit suicide, arguing that the chip in Barnes’ arm only shows that they are in a simulation (Here one of the ideas most used in recent years by sects and conspiracy groups is given input). Supposedly if he takes his life, he will end such a simulation and leave the house, resuming his life. However, Paxton gradually understands exactly what a mess she’s in. Somehow it starts to wake up. First, because she knows that it is not a chip that came out of the friend’s arm, but that it is a device to prevent pregnancy. Thus, he discovers that his enemy is only improvising after the initial plan gets out of hand. Paxton exposes his theory: the old woman was not resurrected. Reed used the time he went to open the door (when the pastor arrived), to do a trick. Another woman took the position of the old woman’s body and posed as resurrected. What the man did not count on was that the «double » warned the girls that what was happening was not real. I mean, it was all a hoax.

What is the True Message Behind Mr. Reed’s Vision?

In the climax of “Heretic”, Mr. Reed argues before Sister Paxton that true “religion” is control. Through captive prophets, Reed attempts to demonstrate that weak and vulnerable individuals are easier to manipulate, posing a dark vision of human nature. However, Sister Paxton rejects this position, affirming that her faith is not based on dominating others, but on autonomy and love. This final act of resistance reinforces the idea that, although prayers and faith do not always change reality, these practices have value in the sense of unity and hope that they provide to those who practice them.

Sister Paxton’s Moment of Revelation and Butterfly Symbolism?

After escaping, Sister Paxton sees a butterfly perching on her finger, an image that represents her beliefs and desires for peace. Although the camera later reveals that the butterfly is an illusion, this does not weaken your faith; rather, it emphasizes that your beliefs do not need to be “real” to offer comfort. This moment symbolizes his liberation and reaffirms his ability to maintain his own faith despite Reed’s manipulation.

Sister Barnes and Her Final Act of Justice Against Mr. Reed

When Sister Barnes, apparently dead, returns and sticks a board into Mr. Reed’s head to save Paxton, it is a moment that represents the destruction of Reed’s control. Some may interpret it as a miracle, while others see Sister Barnes resisting to the end by the force of her will. This scene destroys the illusion of control that Reed valued so much, showing that, despite everything, his power over the missionaries was limited and fragile.

Final Thoughts: Is Religion a Means of Control or a Source of Personal Peace?

“Heretic leaves many questions open about religion, control, and human nature. Is faith a mechanism of domination or a way of hope? The confrontation between Reed and the missionaries suggests that, although some may see religion as a tool of manipulation, for others it represents a form of acceptance and inner peace. The outcome of the story invites reflection, suggesting that the value of faith does not depend on its objective “reality”, but on its ability to offer comfort to those who practice it.

Social Criticism in “Heretic” and The Message of Personal Resistance

“Heretic” not only explores religious conflict but also criticizes ideologies that impose control on people. The resistance of the missionaries, especially that of Sister Paxton, symbolizes the ability of each individual to decide what to believe in and how to interpret their faith without having to dominate or be dominated. Through this powerful message, the film becomes an analysis of both the dangers of manipulation and the inherent strength in the act of believing for oneself.

Explanation of the Final Scene?

Paxton tries to escape, only to discover that there are more women locked up (some dressed as the old woman), and runs into Reed again, who seems really excited and asks if he has already figured out what it is. The true religion. She answers yes, which is control. With this answer you are reaching the point that the host wanted to establish from the beginning: there really are no gods. It is man who lets himself be carried away by religions for fear of believing in a random world, in which there is no order written by a divine being. So Paxton stabs Reed with the letter opener we’ve seen in the living room since the middle of the movie and runs to the basement to check on Barnes. The villain returns badly wounded and stabs Paxton, who takes refuge in a corner of the room and begins to pray.

Reed, badly injured, tries to get closer to her, it is not clear if to spend his last seconds of life accompanied or to cut her throat. And there is no answer because Barnes miraculously resurrects for a few seconds and deals a fatal blow to the head. With Barnes and Reed dead, Paxton manages to escape through a window, to discover a great snowfall. It is as if he were in the clouds, as the resurrected old woman had told him. At that moment he receives a butterfly that perches in his hand. Suddenly, the insect disappears. Why? The directors want to leave everything to the free interpretation of the viewer.

• Interpretation 1: Barnes has clung to life and with her last breath she managed to save the life of her friend, Paxton. Although wounded in the stomach by Reed’s stabbing, Paxton manages to escape through the window and the butterfly is Barnes’ soul.
• Interpretation 2: Paxton was killed by Reed and the snow is the entrance “to the afterlife”. The butterfly is the angel that accompanies you on this journey.
• Interpretation 3: Paxton died or is about to die and is only imagining his arrival in heaven or his liberation. In any case, it is a hallucination.

What Do Grant Said?

Hugh Grant revealed Games Radar who filmed two separate endings: «There is a time when I crawl across the floor towards her (Paxton), after being stabbed, which I did in two ways. In one, he’s still trying to do the ‘this is all fun’ as he’s been trying to make the whole night fun. He says: ‘Look at this, this is fun, die’. And then I made another one where all his defenses disappeared and he’s screwed because he’s going to die, and he’s so scared. He wants some comfort and wants her to comfort him, perhaps with a prayer.

He added: «I am not entirely clear how they edited it, which of those two performances they will choose. I think it is the last one. But I know they shortened the last 20 minutes quite a bit, the movie was spreading a lot. So it may not be entirely clear. I quite like the second way: finally, after an hour and a half of this guy having full control, he’s a scared rabbit. Heretic arrives in movie theaters around the world on different dates: between November, December, and January. And soon it will be released in streaming.