‘Now You See Me’ ending explained: How did they do it?
Once upon a decade ago, the Four Horsemen rode into the heart of Hollywood in Now You See Me, bringing with them a whirlwind of magic, mayhem, and mystery. With smoke, mirrors, and sleight of hand, they pulled off the impossible, becoming people’s champions. Armed with illusions that dazzle and deceptions that deceive, their legend has only grown brighter with time. The film, currently dominating the Netflix global top ten charts, begins with the unexpected gathering of four magicians, seemingly conjured by The Eye. But how does it end?
The 2013 heist flick Now You See Me follows an FBI agent, Dylan Rhodes, and an Interpol detective, Alma Dray, who embark on a mission to unmask a group of illusionists who turned their public spectacles into a clever ruse. They use their magic tricks to steal from the wealthy and delight their audiences with a surprise windfall. The Four Horsemen include the leader, J Daniel Atlas, a street magician; Merritt McKinney, a hypnotist and mentalist; Henley Reeves, an escapist and stage magician; and Jack Wilder, an impressionist and a sleight-of-hand illusionist.
From the very beginning, every illusion and public stunt the Horsemen orchestrate targets the rich, sometimes a person and other times, an organisation. However, what pulls the audience again and again with jaw-dropping is their Robin Hood-esque redistribution of wealth. Every magic spell they utter embroils them even closer in the cat-and-mouse chase, with Rhodes and Dray always on their trail, yet never quite being able to catch them red-handed. At one point, Rhodes contacts Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician who traded others’ tricks for treasure.
There are quite a few moments in the movie when Rhodes gets too close to the Horsemen. But somehow or other, they manage to escape every time. But do they ultimately get caught by the end of Now You See Me?
What happens to the Horsemen in Now You See Me?
Now You See Me is not built upon one epic heist; it’s the heists that make the film. After the four magicians gather in a New York City apartment, brought together by a tarot card each received, they perform their first act in Las Vegas a year later, officially as the Four Horsemen. The trick culminates in a flash of magic as an unsuspecting audience member appears to be beamed to a Paris bank vault, where stolen cash is spread like confetti on the crowd. When the bank is found empty, the Horsemen are arrested. However, the lack of evidence gives them the upper hand. Rhodes and Dray then consult Thaddeus, which leads them to New Orleans.
In yet another magical masterstroke, the Horsemen disperse funds from Tressler’s account, the insurance bigwig who sponsored their first act in Las Vegas. But this time, the crowd members who receive funds are those who were denied insurance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Though Rhodes gets too close to them, a tracker switch blows the cover, and Tressler hires Thaddeus, while Dray grows suspicious of the Horsemen’s links to the Eye. However, the FBI raid their NY apartment, and though three manage to escape, Jack appears to lose his life in a car crash following an intense chase.
The film concludes with a final performance in New York City, and that is the crowning illusion. The three Horsemen pull a fast one from a security firm, only to place the cash in Thaddeus’ car. Simultaneously, the flick also lifts the lid on Jack’s true whereabouts when it’s revealed that he faked his death to ensure the eyes were only on the remaining members. With Thaddeus intentionally framed and behind bars, Now You See Me pulls another cat out of the bag.
In the final scene, Rhodes visits Thaddeus in prison, revealing himself as the true puppeteer behind the entire ordeal that landed him in jail. He further lets the former magician in on his true identity: Lionel Shrike’s son. Shrike was a magician who passed away during a botched breakout. Rhodes explains that the only reason his father agreed to the heist was because he was determined to redeem himself from the previous trick Thaddeus exposed.
As a result, he planned all these heists executed by the Four Horsemen to ensure every person and company involved in his father’s untimely death were punished. But that’s not all. Now You See Me ends with Rhodes greeting the Horsemen in Central Park. When he welcomes them to the Eye, the secret society of magicians, it becomes clear that he was pulling the strings from behind the entire time.