Netflix’s latest animation flick tells the story of Nimona, a gender-fluid teen who helps murder accused Ballister Boldheart, a knight, to find the person who killed the Queen of Glorodome and thereby prove himself innocent. In this article, we bring you the Nimona Ending Explained.
Based on ND Stevenson’s popular graphic novel of the same name, Nimona is directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, with the animation done by DNEG. The lead voice actors include Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character, Riz Ahmed as Ballister Boldheart, Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius Goldenloin, Frances Conroy as the Director, and Lorraine Toussaint as Queen Valerin.
According to Glorodome folklore, 1000 years ago, Gloreth, a warrior, defeated a fire-breathing monster and established peace in the kingdom of Glorodome. She established an order of knights that would protect the kingdom from such monsters. This even led the kingdom’s government to build a wall all around itself as a means of protection. But no one knows that the lore is based on a lie.
Nimona Ending Explained
What Happened to Nimona?
1000 years ago, when Nimona, a shapeshifting teen, found a friend in golden-haired Gloreth, a strong bond grew between them. But it didn’t last long as she was spotted as a bear by a passerby from the village Gloreth lived in. Nimona tries to convince all the people that she doesn’t mean harm, but everyone is convinced that she is a monster, owing to how she can shapeshift. One of the villagers throws a torch at her, and it inadvertently sets the village on fire. That’s when Gloreth raises her wooden sword and points it at her former companion, addressing her as a monster and telling her to go back to the same darkness where she came from.
Years turned to decades and decades to centuries, and Nimona saw how the hatred for her only grew among the people of Glorodome. Ultimately, she became the very thing that people thought she was, a monster filled with hatred and a love for death and destruction. So we can understand that Gloreth was never really a warrior. She didn’t kill any monster because there was no monster. It was her friend that she took up arms against without even trying to understand her. But can we really blame her for this? She was just a kid who listened to her parents.
After Nimona left, Gloreth went on to become the people’s warrior who found a shapeshifting monster. Word must have been spread by her family and the others only to claim the popularity that came with such deeds. Those words, or lies, would go on to become the pillars on which the order of knights stood.
Does Ballister Find Who Killed The Queen?
He does. With Nimona’s help, Ballister finds out that it was the Director who changed his sword that led to the Queen’s death. But it is not the person who killed the Queen that affects us but why she was killed. The Director was born and brought up in a kingdom forged with tradition and the tales of warrior Gloreth.
So while the Queen understood what it meant to have a good heart and gave a chance to Ballister, who was a commoner, to be a knight, the Director’s belief was that only a descendant of Gloreth or one from the original order of knights could be a knight. She feared that making Ballister a knight would only compromise the great walls of Glorodome and bring in the monsters from the beyond. Thus, her conservative made her chalk out a plan to have not just the Queen killed but also get rid of Ballister.
Did Nimona Die?
No, she doesn’t, or at least that’s what it seems. We’ll talk about the ending after this. Nimona turns into a huge dark monster bent on destroying Glorodome. This is again a result of people’s insecurities taking the better of them when those around them judge them without even trying to understand.
The monster we see at the end of the movie is her pain manifested. If only Ballister listened to her before pointing a finger at her, she wouldn’t have had to undergo this. But Ballister, too, was confused about who to trust. On the one hand, he had his lover Ambrosius, and on the other hand, he had Nimona, his companion, the only person who believed him when no one else did.
Be that as it may, it is Ballister whose love calms down the rage in Nimona, and she returns to her human self. She ultimately sacrifices her life to save Glorodome from the Director and her cannons. Ballister, as well as we think that she is gone. It is only at the very end of the movie that it is revealed that she is alive. Well, considering she is a shapeshifter, she is more than just human. So while we may not be able to explain how she survived, deep down, we knew she would, even if in some incorporeal way. That’s the power of faith. And faith is magical, just like Nimona.
The Nimona Netflix film is now available on the streaming platform. Did you watch it yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Nimona was Definity an interesting movie. How its even rated PG is almost baffling