Cheers to Life Ending Explained: Does Jessica Find Hava?

Netflix’s ‘Cheers to Life’ ends with a sequence of chaotic events as Jessica and Gabriel’s trip to Israel seemingly heads towards a catastrophic conclusion for the former. After spending a fortune to travel to the Middle East country, the protagonist embarks on a quest of self-discovery and finding an important person with help from Gabriel and a reluctant elder named Ben, whose wife, Hava, has gone missing ever since she left him a few days ago. While the journey proves to be worthwhile on a spiritual, emotional, and personal level, Jessica’s past catches up with her as she is taken in by the authorities for a crime. However, it prompts those close to her into action, showing that love, connection, and family extend beyond the confines of the norm, setting up a seemingly wholesome ending for everyone involved. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Cheers to Life Plot Synopsis

As the movie begins, we are introduced to Jessica, a young woman who works as a saleswoman at an antiquities shop in the city. While the job is necessary for her day-to-day living, her energetic and abrasive attitude often runs her into trouble with customers and her boss. Outside work, Jessica is struggling to make ends meet at home, where she receives an eviction notice from the building owner, which is further compounded by the fact that there is no power in her apartment. The only solace in her mind is the medallion around her neck, a family heirloom passed down to her by her mother, Deborah, who passed away in a tragic car accident. For the time being, Jessica sticks to her regular schedule, dreaming that one day, she might learn more about the medallion.

One morning, while unpacking some goods at the store, Jessica accidentally drops a porcelain vase on the floor, shattering it into a million pieces. While cleaning the debris, she finds an identical medallion to hers amongst the broken pieces. She immediately tracks down the person who sent the goods, a man by the name of Gabriel. After talking with him, she realizes that he might be related to her somehow, although the exact connection still eludes her. However, Gabriel’s mother answers her query by stating that the medallion in Jessica’s possession was worn by three sisters – Raquel, Miriam, and Hava. Years ago, Hava ran away from her family to marry her lover, Benjamin, which caused her to split away from the main family tree. Later, she gave birth to Deborah, Jessica’s mother. Thus, the protagonist learns the identity of her grandmother.

The car accident that killed Deborah was also responsible for killing Raquel. This is the main reason why Jessica has no remembrance of a family beyond those two women in her life. It explains why she is desperate to find answers about her place in the world. To that end, she becomes obsessed with tracking down Hava next, who she finds out lives in Israel from her social media feed. She calls Gabriel, telling him that he is a distant cousin of hers as he is Miriam’s grandson and enticing him with a free ticket to the Middle Eastern country. To fund the trip, Jessica steals a valuable necklace from the antiquities store, hoping it will fuel her dreams of reunion with Hava. However, little does she know that the theft of the necklace will come back to haunt her down the line.

Cheers to Life Ending: Does Jessica Find Her Grandmother?

After flying to Israel, the majority of ‘Cheers to Life’ centers on Jessica and Gabriel touring across the land in search of Hava. At their first stop in Tel Aviv, they run into Benjamin, Hava’s husband, who is desperate to find his wife. She left him because she got disgruntled with Benjamin’s lack of adventure spirit, which was his unique selling point in the past. To that end, Jessica and Gabriel bring Benjamin along with them in hopes of finding Hava. However, their search takes them to places such as Jerusalem, Eilat, and Judea with little to no results. Eventually, Jessica and Gabriel strike out on their own and locate Hava at a beautiful cliff overlooking the sunset. There, Jessica reunites with her grandmother in an emotionally charged scene that brings two disparate souls tied by blood into each other’s orbit.

From the beginning, Jessica is desperate to find her roots as a person, something she has constantly felt deprived of because of her mother’s early death and the secrecy behind her family’s identity. The protagonist was also left at an orphanage by her father, exacerbating her distrust and abandonment issues. Thus, deep down, she has always yearned for a sense of connection and belonging in the world, even though she tries to mask it with humor and a general sense of apathy. To that end, finding out that Hava is even alive is a huge deal in her world, mainly because it proves that she was never alone from the start. All she needed to do was reach out to the right people to find a place to call home. However, the fear always remained that she might be rejected like she was rejected in her childhood by her father.

Fortunately, when Jessica meets Hava, the latter accepts her as her granddaughter without too much hesitation. In fact, Jessica’s existence comes as a huge relief to Hava, who still mourns the loss of her daughter, Deborah, very deeply. As such, it comes as a great source of comfort to realize that the protagonist is living, breathing proof that her daughter’s legacy lives on. It also allows her to make amends for her complicated relationship with Deborah before the latter passed away. Both Hava and Benjamin have been suffering as a couple because of the pain left behind by Deborah’s death, an incident that stings even more because they were not on speaking terms with her. Thus, seeing Jessica come into her life likely offers Hava a chance for salvation just as much as it provides the protagonist a means to find a family in an otherwise lonesome world.

Is Jessica Sent Back to Brazil?

The long, hard search for Hava leads Jessica, Gabriel, and Benjamin down a path of self-discovery and internal reflection throughout the movie. However, this journey only has meaning because it has an objective at its end – finding Hava. After reuniting with her grandmother in the final parts, life seems to be taking a positive turn for Jessica, especially as she realizes that she is not alone in the world. Her time with Gabriel and Benjamin is a huge reason for this change. This catalyzes even further following her union with her grandmother, who accepts her into her arms with a wide open stance atop the cliff where they meet for the first time. Unfortunately, the duo’s joy is cut short when, after their return to the hotel, Jessica is arrested by cops for stealing the necklace back in Brazil.

As a result of the police intervention, Jessica is ripped away from her grandmother’s arms moments after realizing that she finally has a family that goes beyond her mom and Raquel. However, despite finding the warmth and comfort she had been seeking all her life, it turns out to be a momentary blanket of relief that cannot hold back the cold harshness of reality. The authorities inform Jessica that because of her robbery, she has to be extradited to Brazil as the charges against her are severe, requiring her to answer for her crimes in person. This signifies that her Israel trip is set to be canceled immediately because a private flight has already been chartered for her to be flown back to Brazil at a moment’s notice. Gabriel and Hava are apoplectic about this turn of events and try their best to stop it from happening.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, Jessica’s fate seems sealed, even after Hava pledges to clear the debts from the stolen necklace with her own money. However, the cops tell her that their hands are tied in the matter. Thus, things look bleak for Jessica, who is consoled by Hava at the airport later. With time running out, the protagonist’s extradition needs a miracle to be stopped, which is when Benjamin steps in. After decades of living a quiet and sedentary life, Benjamin breaks the mold and shows up on his impressive bike, prepared to do anything to stop Jessica’s plane from hitting the sky. He and Gabriel join hands and try to block the runway. Meanwhile, a transmission goes through to the flight crew that Jessica is to be released because her charges have been settled. We learn that it was Benjamin’s doing, saving Jessica from deportation at the last second.

Why Does Ben Save Jessica? What Changes His Mind?

While Benjamin ends up playing a pivotal role in Jessica’s rescue, the actual reasons behind his actions are somewhat more complicated because he initially refuses to accept the protagonist as his granddaughter. The real thrust of this denial is mainly down to Benjamin believing that his daughter Deborah would never have kept something as big as having a daughter a secret from her parents. Benjamin is laboring under the illusion that no matter how bad his relationship was with Deborah, she would still be open to talking about big things. However, this notion makes him blind to the true reality of his circumstances. It also speaks to the current state of his mind, a state of reclusiveness that makes him numb to the pain that lingers in his heart.

After hearing about Jessica robbing a priceless necklace, Benjamin takes it as confirmation that the girl has no connection with him. He is more comfortable with labeling her as a scammer and someone trying to steal his wealth. However, Hava urges him to consider the possibility that Jessica is their granddaughter, reminding him that their bond with Deborah was fractured enough that their daughter might have kept the protagonist’s existence a secret. Although it does not entirely change Benjamin’s mind, it seeds some doubts about what to believe and what not to. He also realizes that he is no longer the person he used to be. The real concrete change occurs in his mind when Benjamin discovers an old photograph in the hotel reception showing Deborah, Raquel, and Jessica. After seeing the picture, Benjamin finally breaks down in tears, prompting him to save Jessica from the cops.

Do Jessica and Gabriel End Up Together?

In the final parts of the movie, we witness Benjamin and Hava renew their vows as they both finally come out of their relationship slump. The former’s lack of adventurism was the main reason Hava felt disgruntled in her bond. However, with Jessica’s appearance in their life, Benjamin rediscovers his former poise, which brings the couple back together. Intriguingly, they are not the only ones who find love at the end of the film, as Jessica and Gabriel also seem to be happy to be by each other’s side. Throughout the movie, the duo have a growing sense of chemistry, attraction, and liking for one another but find it impossible to make it serious because of the likelihood that they might be related to one another. As such, they are unsure if they might be crossing a line too far, even though they feel strong emotions for one another.

By the end of ‘Cheers to Life,’ it becomes clear that Jessica and Gabriel are not “cousins” as they initially believed was the case. After learning that Hava might have been adopted, the duo are finally free to romance one another without feeling icky about their close blood ties. Although it is not made evident that they are officially in a relationship, judging by their supportive gaze and comfortable stance, they are likely heading that way sooner rather than later. Ultimately, such a development would be beneficial for them as they both seem highly compatible and have also gone through a hugely cathartic and spiritual quest together by traveling across Israel. It will serve as a seminal moment in both their lives, making their connection even more special than usual.