With such lofty themes as “good” and “bad”, it was inevitable that The school for good and evil would have an eventful ending. Based on Soman Chainani’s novel of the same name, the Netflix film follows two childhood friends, Agatha and Sophie, who attend titular school. Despite Agatha being called a witch in their hometown and Sophie’s princess-like qualities, the two are classified into the schools of Good and Evil respectively. Believing they are both in the wrong school, Agatha and Sophie try to prove their true nature to get sorted into the right schools, but instead they discover the truth behind their school.
Though Agatha and Sophie initially thought they were in the wrong schools, they eventually discover they were where they needed to be. Not only do they grow as a result of the events of the Netflix movie, but they also challenge notions of good and evil. The friends go through various trials and tribulations over the course of the film, meaning there are a lot of loose ends to tie up at the end of the film. Here is the end of The school for good and evil explained.
What happened at the end of school for good and evil?
The school for good and evil’The action-packed ending is set in motion when Sophie and Tedros begin to fall for each other, leading to an intervention from the school. The pair insist that Sophie is actually good, and the headmaster (Laurence Fishburne, of Morpheus fame in .) The Matrix) tells them to undergo a Trial By Tale to prove it. In the Trial, the two dangerous monsters must survive in a forest and find each other at dawn. Agatha sneaks into the woods to help Sophie. Tedros forfeits the Trial By Tale when he realizes that Sophie isn’t really Good and was helped by Agatha, despite Agatha’s insistence that she acted on her own accord. Sophie blames Agatha for everything, and she finally embraces Rafal’s evil temptations.
Using the new powers Rafal has given her, Sophie (played by Sophia Anne Caruso, who appeared in the Broadway adaptation of Tim Burton’s beetle juice) crashes the Evers Ball. Tedros tries to stop her, but since it’s not supposed to be good to attack, only to defend, Sophie declares that good and evil have switched sides, turning the Evers and Nevers into each other. Sophie tries to confront the headmaster, and it’s revealed that the headmaster was actually Rafal in disguise. Although Sophie initially sided with Rafal, she changes her mind when she realizes he will destroy the school and everyone in it. Agatha arrives to help Sophie fight Rafal, and Sophie sacrifices herself to save Agatha. After defeating Rafal, Agatha sobs over Sophie’s body and her tears heal Sophie’s wounds. Although the school has been restored, Agatha and Sophie choose to go home and return their lives to the way they used to be.
How The Trial By Tale Reveals Sophie’s Truth
During the Trial By Tale, Sophie and Agatha witness Tedros being attacked by a Reaper, and he loses Excalibur. Agatha urges Sophie to grab the sword and help Tedros, but Sophie doesn’t listen to her advice, forcing Agatha to step in and save Tedros. Since Sophie chooses not to defend Tedros, which is fundamental to Being Good, the truth is revealed that Sophie is Evil. Agatha’s choice to help Sophie in the forest during the trial (somewhat against the rules) supports this, showing that Agatha doesn’t really believe that Sophie is good. In the end, the Trial By Tale serves its purpose and reveals that Sophie is really bad and therefore attends the right school.
Why Agatha doesn’t change at the Evers Ball
When Sophie crashes the Evers Ball, she declares that Good and Evil have switched, causing the Evers and the Nevers to merge, with the Evers now dressed in black and the Nevers in white. As the rest of the School of Good transformed, Agatha (played by Sophia Wylie or High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fame) does not change its appearance. While this may seem like a bug of sorts at first glance, there’s a reason Agatha doesn’t turn into a Never. During the whole The school for good and evil, Agatha has claimed she doesn’t believe in right or wrong, and advocates a grayer view of the world. This is why Agatha stays the same when her other classmates switch: she is neither Good nor Evil in the first place.
What Agatha’s wish really means
rather in The school for good and evil, the School Of Good take part in a lesson with Professor Dovey (played by Kerry Washington) where their true desires are shown by Wish Fish. During her turn with the fish, Agatha wishes “for home…for all of us‘, which manifests in this scene as helping several students who didn’t leave school to return to their human form in the real world. While this scene shows that Agatha is different from her classmates and belongs in the School Of Good because of her selflessness, it has a deeper meaning.
Agatha wishing everyone to go “home” kicked off the Netflix movie’s ending. When Sophie sacrificed herself for Agatha, they mend their friendship and affirmed that they would always be there for each other. After Sophie was healed by Agatha’s tears, the two chose to return to Galvadon instead of staying in school. Therefore, Agatha’s wish to the Wish Fish manifested the ending of the Netflix movie, allowing her and Sophie to find “home”: both Galvadon and each other.
Rafal’s School of Good and Bad Motives Explained
When the headmaster is revealed as Rafal, the villain’s true motives are revealed during The school for good and evil are explained and add context to previous scenes in the film. Rafal and his brother, Rhian, were entrusted to run the school, balancing good and evil, which in turn made them immortal. Rafal became dissatisfied with the arrangement and decided to duel his brother. This was depicted in the opening scene of the film, although Rafal reveals that he killed Rhian and assumed his identity. As Rhian, Rafal destroyed the balance between Good and Evil by corrupting Good’s values. He tells Sophie that everything she’s been through so far has been a test, and she’s shown herself to be “chaos” (which he told his brother during the duel that he preferred to balance). Rafal (played by Kit Young from Shadow and Bone) reveals that he is behind everything that happened during The school for good and evilas he trained Sophie, who he believed to be his true love, to embrace Evil.
The real meaning of the school for the end of good and evil
While the Netflix movie’s title implies a natural dichotomy between good and evil, the real meaning of The school for good and evilthe end is that there is no fundamental right or wrong, rather there are only good or bad choices. Sophie’s steadfast belief that she is Good and her desire to change schools leads her to make selfish decisions without regard for the consequences, which makes her evil. Agatha never believed in the idea of a fundamental dichotomy between good and evil, allowing her to make uninfluenced, organically selfless choices to help others (including Sophie). This theme is reinforced by Sophie’s renunciation of Evil and Agatha’s aid at the end ofThe school for good and evilwhich shows that no one is locked into a particular fate and that people are not defined by their choices.
