The Parenting Ending, Explained: How Do Josh and Rohan Defeat Andras?

HBO Max’s ‘The Parenting’ is a horror comedy film where a meet-the-parents getaway to the countryside turns into a waking nightmare of murderous yet equally hilarious proportions. Josh and Rohan are looking forward to introducing each other to their parents over a weekend in an idyllic rental farmhouse. While the former is eager to put on a great first impression on his boyfriend’s high-maintenance parents, Rohan is preparing for a perfect proposal. However, this already high-stakes trip somehow becomes even more critical once it becomes evident that an evil spirit lurks in the old house’s alcoves. Thus, a chaotic fight for survival ensues, revolving around a vaguely bigoted poltergeist, demonic dogs, and the pitfalls of parenting. SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Parenting Plot Synopsis

The Hazelton Fields farmhouse becomes ground zero for demonic activity in the 80s when an eerie presence in the basement pulls a mother to her death and kills her two children, Jamie and Allie. Flash forward to the contemporary times, Josh, Rohan, and their dog, Kate, are driving to the same house—unaware of its past and excited for a weekend of meeting each other’s families. At the property, they meet Brenda, who shows them around the house and welcomes them with a friendly basket—which, of course, includes the house’s wifi password, “Ego Sum Tibi Andras.” As the pair prepares for their parents’ arrival, Ro remains on the edge about his surprise plans to propose to his boyfriend, an idea that his best friend, Sara, is patently against.

Sara’s biggest worry revolves around his tendency to become too neurotic around his parents, a trait that she thinks is bound to land him in trouble over the weekend. Still, despite her reservations, she never meant to actually wreck her friend’s plans by accidentally ruining the surprise through a misplaced text to Josh. However, on his part, he remains giddy at the prospect of getting engaged and decides to keep quiet about the entire affair. Nonetheless, that soon changes once Ro’s parents, Sharon and Frank, arrive. As Sara predicted, the man goes into a different mode, anxious for everything to be perfect—even his boyfriend’s unemployed status. In contrast to his hard-to-impress folks, Josh’s parents, Liddy and Cliff, prove to be much more laid back.

However, their tendency to nervously blab and three Pomeranian dogs promise a different kind of friction. Over a tense dinner, made surprisingly better by Josh’s secretly high disposition, the latter experiences something unnerving after a demonic hand reaches for him from under the table. Yet, it’s easily brushed aside since high-as-a-kite Josh is the only one who ever sees it. That following night, a number of strange happenings plague the house, including a rhythmic thudding—and the abrupt arrival of Sara. Apparently, she had received several frantic texts from Ro’s boyfriend and decided to join her friends for the weekend.

Even so, something even stranger happens under the dark cover of the night when Frank repeats the wifi password, which ignites something in him that compels him to go down to the basement. As a shadowy hand emerges from within, Frank repeats the Latin words—which roughly translates to take me, Andras. Thus, he unwittingly becomes a victim of the menacing spirit that resides in the house. The effects of this are felt the next morning when he slashes Josh’s hand with a bread knife and somehow becomes responsible for the whacky death of one of the Pomeranians.

Since the overnight snowstorm has effectively locked the families in the house, Josh ends up requiring dubious first aid from Sara for his injuries. Meanwhile, Sharon and Ro worry about Frank’s inexplicable condition. The unexpected chaos also causes some conflict between the two boyfriends, leading Ro to throw away the engagement ring in the snow in a moment of misguided frustration. However, when he attempts to fix things up with Josh, their conversation is interrupted by the presence of a ghostly woman who tries to attack the other man; simultaneously, Sara ventures into the outside shed—during which she comes across a box of Allie’s stuff—she also encounters another spirit of a teen football player. After they manage to escape from these incidents alive, they decide to go through Allie’s box, where they find a book on demonology given to the girl by someone named B that reveals the secrets about Andras.

The Parenting Ending: Does Josh Kill Rohan? How Do They Defeat Andras?

After Josh and Ro discover the depth of Andras’ plan, which is meant to be carried out by his loyal minion, Brenda, they devise a survival plan. Josh impulsively asks the woman if killing the host would terminate the possessing spirit—much to Ro’s horror since his father is the actual host. This paves the way for some bickering between the two, during which Brenda seamlessly slips away from under their nose to carry out her menacing plans. As a result, things convene back to the house, where she lights up the ceremonial circle on fire—the snow having magically disappeared, thanks to Andras. Eventually, everyone, save for Sharon, gathers outside to stop the woman with little success.

Simultaneously, Sharon attempts to talk to her demonic husband, who gains enough power through Brenda’s ongoing ritual to free himself from the barricaded room. As Ro tries to come to her rescue, Josh and Sara attempt to find the apparently misplaced gun they were using for security. Meanwhile, Ro gets his mother to safety, asserting that it’s time for him to stand up for himself. As such, an opportunity presents itself when, during his own escape, he stumbles across the gun in the sitting room. However, he notices the demonology book and the wifi password nearby—something that the spirit of Allie’s death attempts to bring focus to. Thus, Ro realizes that the spirits—for all their haunting appearances—were actually trying to help them by warning them of the house’s horrors.

Consequently, Ro makes a decision and goes outside to confront Andras. Even though he brings the gun with him, he has no intentions of shooting the demon and killing his father in the same stroke. Instead, he passes the weapon to Josh, trusting him to do the right thing. Afterward, he calls upon Andras, offering him his own body in exchange for letting Frank live. Since he’s a younger and healthier alternative, he evidently remains the better choice for the demon. Nevertheless, Josh realizes the implications of the sacrifice, much to his mounting horror.

Deciding that he can’t shoot the love of his life, Josh follows in Ro’s footsteps and also steps up as an offering to Andras, repeating the words of possession to him. Soon, it doesn’t take long for the others—Cliff, Sara, Liddy, and Sharon—to join in, forming a circle around the demon. As each individual offers themselves up as a host, they drive Andras to vehement confusion, compelling his spirit to zap around them. The energy and effort this back-and-forth requires, paired with the confusion, becomes dangerous for the demon. Sara’s academic Latin stint also comes in handy as she pulls out a few chants to command Andras back to hell. Ultimately, as the demon materializes to his true, most vulnerable form, Frank—back to his inhibitions—steps on his throat, finally banishing him for good.

Do Josh and Rohan Get Engaged? Do They Break Up?

Throughout the chaotic weekend, Josh and Rohan’s relationship possibly takes the biggest hit—perhaps save for Liddy’s unfortunate Pomeranians, one of whom doesn’t survive the night. Despite the latter’s initial intentions of proposing, several conflicts had arisen between the pair that threatened the same future in the aftermath. From Josh’s bad impression of his potential in-laws to Ro’s subconscious attempts at changing his partner to fit into a mold that Sharon and Frank would accept—the couple has been through a lot, even outside of the supernatural haunting. As such, even though Andras and his homicidal thirst did aggravate the weekend, the pair’s problems seem to be troublingly mundane.

Yet, alongside Ro and Josh’s problems, the haunting also reveals something else. On numerous occasions, the latter throws himself in the mouth of danger to protect his boyfriend’s parents, regardless of their opinion of him. Likewise, when it comes down to it, Ro is willing to sacrifice his life to save his loved ones—which includes his boyfriend and his family. Therefore, the fact remains that both men deeply love each other and are willing to do everything in their power to protect the other and his happiness. Josh, it seems, comes to the same conclusion the next morning as the families are evacuating from the nightmarish farmhouse.

Since the snow has cleared, Josh is able to find Ro’s engagement ring, which he uses to propose to him, right at the farmhouse. The question isn’t even out of his mouth before Ro accepts the proposal, as he is eager to start a future with Josh as his fiance. Even though things haven’t turned out as quiet as he imagined, he is willing to put the chaos behind him to embark on a new adventure with his partner. Furthermore, despite their lousy start, the demonic whirlwind has also brought the parents closer to their kids and their chosen partners. In the end, the couple—and their dog, Kate—return home alive and happily engaged.

Who is B? Was the House a Trap for Josh and Rohan?

Over the course of Josh and Ro’s families’ first day at the house, a multitude of unexpected and unhinged things happened around the family. Frank’s undetected possession and its violent outcomes cause enough havoc as it is without adding haunting spirits to the equation. Nonetheless, the walls seem to be closing in on all sides for the group. Therefore, the discovery of the demonology book is a great chance to understand the secrets of the house. As it turns out, Andras—from the wifi password—is the name of a marquee of hell who thrives on discord, is a master of possessions, and can control the snow.

The revelation pushes the two families to try and escape the house by waiting for a snow plow to come and clear the way for them to drive away. However, the calm only lasts for so long before one of the surviving Pomeranians—who has become a demonic hybrid—attacks Liddy. Once Cliff has taken care of the demon dog, the group notices a light in the distance outside the window, signaling the presence of another in the remote area. As such, Josh and Ro venture out to the shed, where they find Brenda. Inevitably, little by little, things fall into place. As it turns out, she has been involved in Andras’ demonic scheme all along. A few decades back, Brenda, a.k.a, B, used to be best friends with Allie, the teenager who lived in the Hazelton Fields farmhouse.

Since Allie’s mother wasn’t the biggest fan of the girls’ friendship—perhaps due to Brenda’s connections to the occult—the teens decided to take revenge on the former. Naturally, they decided to summon a demon, Andras, to do their bidding. Nonetheless, where Allie had only been hoping to scare her mother, Brenda impulsively asked the demon to “get them.” As a result, the demon brutally slaughtered the mother and the older brother, Jamie. Once a distraught Jamie left the summoning—and protective circle—Andras killed her as well. From then on, the demon has been using Brenda as his medium in the outside world.

Andras needs to consume his sacrifices, specifically under the worm moon. Thus, after fixing up the dilapidated house and turning it into a respectable rental, Brenda uses it to find the next victims for the demon. She cleverly disguises the Latin command of summoning and possession into the wifi password, hoping it would trap Josh or Ro as Andras’ host. Ultimately, to finish the sacrifice ritual, she has to free the demon from the circle she drew around the house earlier. Once freed, Andras would wreak havoc upon everyone, bringing death and destruction to all. For the same reason, Brenda believes that doing the demons’ bidding is her only chance at survival, which compels her to set up Josh, Ro, and their families as Andras’ victims. Nonetheless, after the couple and their families defeat Andras, it frees Brenda from under his thumb and also allows Allie and her family to move on from their ghostly forms to another realm.