Absolution Ending Explained: Is Thug Dead or Alive?

At the end of the storyline in ‘Absolution,’ the protagonist, known only as Thug, finds himself in a morally complex situation in an isolated basement. His weight of sins bears heavily on him as he navigates his choice between violence and peace. After learning that someone he trusted dearly has betrayed him, the lead character is forced to give in to his violent streak and take action to save himself for one final chance at redemption. While dealing with threats to his own life, he must also absolve himself of his wrongdoings by helping people that he cares about. Before time runs out, he has to find a way to get through dangerous scenarios and make peace with his past and present. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Absolution Plot Synopsis

‘Absolution’ begins with an aging man known only as Thug recollecting memories about his father. He is revealed to be a low-level gangster in Boston who works as an enforcer for a local criminal enterprise headed by a man named Conner. He is assigned a pickup job from New York to Boston by a guy working at a meat shop. Conner trusts Thug to mentor his son, Kyle, in the business of crime. While meeting his boss at his criminal gang’s basement, Thug seems to forget Conner’s name. While boxing casually at his gym, Thug faces a moment of confusion and disorientation. At a local bar, Thug saves a woman from her boyfriend’s harassment, following which he gets intimate with her. While picking up drugs from a corrupt doctor called Gruber, the protagonist addresses his problem of memory loss.

After consulting a medical center, he learns that he has a condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by concussions, leading to behavioral issues, cognitive problems, and memory loss. He learns that he will not be able to live life on his own after a couple of years and will need help. Dejected by his new reality, Thug tries to shoot himself in his car but decides against it when he sees that a little girl is watching. Recognizing that he doesn’t have much longer before losing his sanity, he attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Daisy, who isn’t interested in bonding with him. He even forgets the name of his son, Colin, and is oblivious to the fact that he died.

Daisy lives with two kids and is facing financial troubles, causing her to put her house up for sale. Thug is happy to meet his grandson Dre, who is a football player. Thug gets intimate with the woman from the bar again and begins to form a stronger connection with her, but also notices that she is a victim of abuse. He begins to have dreams about floating in the ocean with his dead father, having conversations about life. While executing a pickup job from New York to Boston, Thug tries to teach Kyle a tough lesson on the criminal life, asking him to stay low when he fears a cop car might be chasing them. While delivering the truck to a local crime lord, he sees a woman being tortured by men on his orders. The protagonist bonds with Dre after watching his football game.

While driving him home, he has a deeply personal conversation with the kid. Liam visits the crime lord’s house to find out more about the girl and learns that she is a victim of human trafficking, being forced to do sex work. She desperately pleads for his help, but Thug is unable to do so. While collecting money from a local priest, he is attacked by a gang of unknown men and survives, getting only a small clue about the identity of the one who hired them. What follows is a series of events full of twists and turns that challenge the lead character’s wits, morals, and desire to absolve himself of his life of sins by doing good deeds for the people he cares about.

Absolution Ending Explained: Does Thug Die?

At the end of the story, Thug survives a brutal knife attack from Gamberro, a result of his looking to save the girls under his monstrous charge. Subsequently, Thug drives to his daughter’s place, talks only to his grandson Dre, and apologizes for whatever he may learn about his grandfather. Once he has talked everything out, he heads towards his house, still carrying the stab wounds. Instead of going into his home, Thug walks towards the neighboring house decorated with hanging blue crystals, hearing imaginary guitar strings. He repeatedly hears guitar strings from the house throughout the narrative, unsure of what it means. Realizing these may be his final moments, he enters the house, hoping to find someone. We can assume that his guilt of losing his son and not even being aware of it is troubling him. In his mind, he is presumably imagining his son playing him a guitar to bond with him.

Despite his best attempts, Thug finds no one in the dilapidated building. Traversing the dark corners of the house, he rests on the floor of a room overlooking the ocean. His conscience is not troubled by the weight of his past sins; he has achieved redemption for his own soul. Unsure of what to do, he just keeps staring at the hanging blue crystals and the light of the sun piercing through them. Although struggling with his memory loss, acts of violence, and the burden of isolation, he seems to have made peace, knowing that he has done something good in his life.

As the sun continues to pierce through his soul, it is safe to assume that Thug breathes his last as the screen fades to nothingness. He possibly sees his life flash before his eyes one last time and surrenders to death. Though not made explicit, it is logical to assume that the protagonist dies, given the fact that his continued existence would be meaningless to him, owing to his health condition, which would be a burdensome existence. Thus, Thug goes away with a faint smile, peaceful and content at last.

How Does Thug Absolve His Sins?

One of the major ideas of the narrative is Thug’s pursuit of absolution, as indicated by the title of the film. Due to his sinful life, he feels constant guilt and a sense of meaninglessness. After learning about his health condition, the lead character does everything in his power to do good deeds and earn some redemption for his soul. Thug executes a number of daring acts to help people he has come to care about. Firstly, he steals money from Conner to provide for his daughter’s home. Daisy will face a homeless existence if she doesn’t get financial aid, so Thug uses the money he steals from Conner to cover a down payment for a house that Daisy and her kids can live in. He gives the stolen money to a lawyer named Burt so that he can issue a cheque and help Daisy out with any legal troubles or paperwork. By doing this, the protagonist ensures that his daughter will have a better and safer future.

Thug then goes to the house of the woman he shares an intimate relationship with and finds her in the bathroom, drugged up and helpless due to her own actions. Thug helps her up to the bed and assures her that she will be okay and that she needs help. Despite it being the last time he sees her, he makes sure that she is in a better mental space. Thug’s final act of absolution comes at great risk to his own life. As seen earlier in the film, he develops immense empathy for a girl named Araceli, whom he sees at Gamberro’s place, being a victim of human trafficking and forced to do sex work for dangerous criminals. Thug intends to save her and goes with 30,000 dollars in hand to get her released from Gamberro. However, it is revealed that she passed away due to sexual assault by a criminal customer.

Overcome by anger against the crime lord, the protagonist holds him at gunpoint and orders him to release all the other girls forcibly working as sex workers. Realizing that his life is at risk, Gamberro tells the girl to go, and Thug distributes the money he got for the mobster to all the victims individually. However, as the girls are about to escape, one of the gang’s henchmen attempts to fire at the protagonist. Thug incapacitates the henchman and then proceeds to fight with the boss, but Gamberro stabs him multiple times, leaving him on the floor.

When the arrogant pimp is about to kill the lead character, he is shot dead by one of the girls. Thus, Thug manages to liberate many victims of trafficking. After barely surviving the knife wounds, Thug proceeds to have one last conversation with his grandson, Dre. He tells Dre that sometimes the only way to do something good is by doing something bad, and he also conveys that no matter what he hears about his grandfather in the coming days, he should remember these words. With death approaching him, Thug finally achieves absolution for his sins.

Why Does Thug Kill Conner?

In order to help out his daughter, Thug goes to his boss Conner’s basement in the shop to request 40000 dollars as a down payment for a house in Daisy’s name. As he approaches Conner, he finds Kyle there too. Before he can make a request, Conner tells him that he has learned about his medical condition through Dr. Gruber and fires him. Distraught by his boss’s ungratefulness, Thug says that this isn’t what he deserves after thirty years of service and loyalty. Kyle makes fun of the protagonist, and Conner asks him to leave. Owing to his trust and loyalty being broken by Conner and his son, Thug is overcome by a feeling of dejection. After learning that his boss has fired him just because of his medical condition, the protagonist feels let down by someone he trusted dearly. This affront is too much for the protagonist to take, and he acts on his violent impulse.

In the middle of the storyline, while collecting money from a priest, Thug is attacked by unknown gunmen but survives due to his skills and learns that they were hired by a big guy with a spider tattoo on his neck. On his way to the exit after being ordered to leave by his boss, Thug sees a new bodyguard but notices that he is a big guy with a spider tattoo on his neck. Learning that he has been betrayed, the lead character proceeds to knock the big guy out. He deduces that Kyle hired the big guy to take him out, as he was unhappy with the way he was treated during the New York job. The protagonist shoots Kyle in the leg, and Conner pleads for their son’s life. The veteran enforcer demands his boss to open his safe full of cash and steal a large sum from him. Overcome by resentment against his ungratefulness, Thug shoots Conner but spares his son and walks away, concluding his revenge.