Fountain of Youth Ending Explained: Is Owen Dead?

Apple TV+’s ‘Fountain of Youth’ is an adventure action film that follows a team of adventurers on the quest to find the infamous fountain. The film begins with John Krasinski’s Luke Purdue in Thailand, where he steals a priceless painting from some very dangerous people. While he evades them, there is another group of people who don’t want him to get away with the painting. This group, later identified as the Protectors of the Path, is led by Eiza González’s Esme, who relentlessly chases after Luke to stop him and his team. It is revealed that Luke is working with Murphy and Deb, who also worked with his father in his search for lost and priceless items, and their expedition is funded by a billionaire named Owen Carver, who is dying of a terminal illness.

While Luke’s team already has the most refined people in their fields, he still needs his sister, Charlotte, for the job. She left the life of adventure behind years ago. She got married and had a kid, but then her husband cheated on her, which led to their divorce. Now, she works as a curator in a London museum, where Luke believes her talents are being wasted. When he brings her on board, she is initially reluctant, primarily because her brother’s actions are often illegal, and there is already an Interpol officer, Jamal Abbas, chasing them, after Luke stole a painting from Charlotte’s museum.

She discovers that Luke and the team are looking for the Fountain of Youth, mainly because Owen believes that this is the only thing that can save him from certain death. The closer they get to the Fountain, the more excited she gets. However, she also cannot shake the fact that something is off about the whole thing and believes that the price to get the prize might be higher than all of them anticipate. In the end, all her doubts are proven right. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Why doesn’t Luke Drink from the Fountain of Youth?

Luke and Charlotte inherited their sense of adventure and curiosity from their father, who also went on insane trips to locate the things that were otherwise thought to be lost to history or hidden so well that no one had found them for several centuries. They would join him on these trips, and much of what they know now is what they learnt from him. The most important lesson that Charlotte learned was that it is about the journey and not the destination. There was a time when her father found a lost artefact which he could have taken with him. It would have brought him money and fame, but even though he found it, he decided not to move it from its place. It was enough for him to know that he’d found and seen the thing.

She keeps reminding her brother of this repeatedly, especially with each step they take towards the Fountain. She even asks him if he would drink from it, and at the time, it seems that he would be tempted to do that. In fact, unlike their father, he believes that the things they find should bring them fame and money. This is part of the reason why he is on this expedition, because he believes that finding the Fountain of Youth would establish his father’s name and legacy. However, when the time comes, when he actually has the water in his hands, he does not drink it, because he realizes that his sister was right.

The thing about the Fountain is that it will give a person everything they want, but in return, it will take away the thing they love the most. Before this transaction is done, it shows the person what they will be losing in order to gain what they want. When Luke has the water in his palms and he is about to drink from it, he sees Charlotte and her son, Thomas, ageing and dying right in front of his eyes. He realises that, should he drink from the Fountain, this is the price he will have to pay, and no matter what he gets from the water, it will not be worth losing the people he loves. So, he gives up the promise of eternal youth, wealth, or whatever else the Fountain could have given him and chooses his family instead.

Why does the Fountain of Youth Kill Owen?

After travelling the whole world to piece together the puzzle of the Fountain of Youth, Owen and his team end up in Egypt in the Pyramids of Giza. The closer they get, the more excited he gets to see the Fountain and drink from it, and Luke believes this is because he is a dying man who finally wants to have the thing that can save his life. Charlotte, however, sees through his facade and knows that Owen has other motives. In the end, as they stand in front of the Fountain, she calls him out for his lies. He had never been terminally ill. This was just an excuse he needed to get Luke and his team on board, as he knew he couldn’t find the thing without them.

Owen’s excitement also comes with caution. Even as they stand in front of the Fountain, he forces Luke to go first, even if it means shooting the man. Sure enough, the Fountain heals Luke. No matter how much Owen shoots at him, all his wounds are healed. This convinces the billionaire that the water is safe to consume, but what he doesn’t realise is that the water healed Luke because he did not drink it. Previously, Luke and Charlotte noticed paradoxical messages written inside the walls of the pyramid. One of those messages said that a person without thirst would be worthy of the water, but a thirsty person would have to pay the price. In addition to this, there were other messages that made it clear that all the things that the Fountain offered came with a price. Owen, however, paid no attention to these warnings.

When Luke chose his loved ones, the Fountain rewarded him by healing his wounds and saving his life. However, when Owen stepped into it, the Fountain did not show him anything because he didn’t really care for anyone besides himself. If Luke drank from the Fountain, the balance would show up in the form of Charlotte and Thomas’ deaths. However, in Owen’s case, the balance would be exacted from him because he only loved himself. So, when he drinks the water, the Fountain gives him everything he wants, but at the same time, it also balances the scales, which means that Owen is stripped of whatever he had before he came to the Fountain. Had Owne heeded the warnings on the walls, or if he’d stopped for a second to consider why Luke didn’t drink the water, he would have realised what he was getting himself into, and he would have been saved.

Does Abbas Arrest Luke? Why does He Let Luke and Charlotte Go?

In the quest to find the Fountain of Youth, Luke and his team break quite a few laws. After their heist in the London Museum, where Luke steals a Rembrandt, Interpol officer Jamal Abbas makes it his mission to find and stop him. He may or may not know what Luke is after, but he does know that man is breaking one law after another and needs to be reined in. The chase eventually leads him to Egypt, where he has to fight off Owen Carver’s mercenaries to get inside the pyramid. Thankfully, Esme and her team arrive at the same time and ease his task. Once inside the pyramid, he realises the true scale of Luke’s expedition. After Owen drinks from the Fountain, Esme shuts the whole place down by using the key given to her by her boss to be used under extenuating circumstances.

While the Fountain sucks the life out of Owen, the rest run for their lives as the pyramids starts to close, and this process is more violent than it was to crack the puzzle and enter all those doors without a hitch. Everyone runs for their lives, and fortunately, the only casualty is Owen and his henchmen. Once everyone is safe and sound outside the pyramid, Esme takes her leave as her task is done, though she does warn Luke to stay away from the things that are supposed to stay hidden. Meanwhile, Charlotte talks with Abbas, pointing out that in their previous interaction, he had already gotten his hands on all the paintings that Luke and his team had stolen. Now, he has Luke in front of him, whom he can take into custody. However, Abbas doesn’t seem to have that intent anymore.

It seems that the experience of the pyramid has changed his mind, especially now that he knows that Luke stole the paintings to find the hidden treasure, not to sell them or benefit from them in any way. This changed perspective makes him not fret over Luke and Charlotte anymore, and he decides to let them go. However, as the siblings have no intention of slowing down and are already planning another adventure, it seems that their paths might cross again, and next time, the Interpol officer might not be as benevolent. Still, for now, he is ready to forgive their trespasses, mostly because he, too, is reeling from the fact that he almost died and needs a break before he can start chasing criminals again.