Sicario 2’s Ending, Final Scene & Sicario 3 Setup Explained

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is the next chapter in the dark and intense franchise with Sicario 2‘s ending providing big twists, interesting developments, and a setup for more. Following a domestic attack, the US government decrees the drug cartels as a terrorist threat. Josh Brolin’s Matt Graver and Benicio del Toro’s Alejandro Gillick kidnap the daughter of Carlos Reyes, leader of one of the cartels, intending to frame it as an act from a rival gang only for the plan to go awry, leading to Sicario 2‘s ending.

Like the first Sicario movie, Sicario 2 is a complex look at the war on drugs, its failings, and the ambiguity of the good and evil within it. While it is a tense and brutal thriller for most of the runtime, the ending sets up some more compelling questions while also throwing in moments that will likely catch the audience off guard. As a result, it might be beneficial to step back and examine the ending of Sicario 2 as a whole and all that it reveals.

Why Does Matt Save Isabela?

The Act Of Mercy Is Out Of Character For Josh Brolin’s CIA Operative

Josh Brolin returns for the Sicario sequel as the shady operative Matt. While he is once again shown to be a close ally of Alejandro’s, Matt is put in a difficult position leading to the Sicario 2 ending. When Alejandro activates his tracking beacon, he hopes rescue will come but instead puts himself and Isabela in danger as Matt has been tasked with cleaning up the mess, which includes eliminating both of them. Matt leads a task force to take out him and Isabela.

Emily Blunt was initially meant to return for
Sicario 2,
but screenwriter Taylor Sheridan and director Stefano Sollima couldn’t think of a way to include Kate Mercer in the story.

However, during his attempt to cross the border as a Mexican migrant, Alejandro is identified by a new smuggler he crossed paths with earlier. He attempts to talk his way out, but winds up being taken out into the desert where he’s shot in the head. For Matt, this is both a relief and a horror. He was struggling with the command to kill Alejandro given the pair’s close working relationship and the fact he was the one who called upon the sicario in the first place, so this frees him of the killing task.

The final shot of Matt in the movie shows the conflict on his face, pondering if allowing Isabela to live is a righteous act or a huge mistake.

However, it still sees his friend murdered, a loss which weighs heavily on him, to the point that when attacking the smugglers to reach Isabela, he takes her instead of killing her as instructed. It is the guilt of Alejandro’s death that moves Matt to spare Isabela’s life, an act that has shown to be quite out of character for the calculating CIA man.

Across both Sicario and Sicario 2, Matt has been personified by his willingness to do what is necessary, regardless of typical morality. The rules exist for the illusion of protection, but what he does exists beyond them. Indeed, he opens the movie saying he could pick off a suspect’s family one by one all day. Yet, on seeing that callousness applied by others so close to home, he’s forced to check himself. The final shot of Matt in the movie shows the conflict on his face, pondering if allowing Isabela to live is a righteous act or a huge mistake.

Isabela Is Saved But Still A Pawn In The War

Isabela’s Character In Sicario 2 Represents The Collateral Damage

Isabela Reyes goes through one of the most interesting journeys from the beginning to the end of Sicario 2. She starts off as a dangerous teenager, fighting classmates and successfully threatening teachers, but the moment the protection of her kingpin father is gone, she’s forced to fend for herself. She’s in danger from everyone, and in Alejandro, she begins to see the human cost of her life of privilege. The world she inhabits is unexpectedly fragile, especially with the US government involved, and so Isabela must look elsewhere for safety.

After saving Isabela at the end of Sicario 2, Matt says he’ll put her under witness protection. The act says more about his journey towards compassion but also goes some way to summarize Isabela’s ultimate powerlessness, changing hands as a commodity no less than the immigrants the cartels trade-in. She is a character caught in the middle of the war on drugs, which would make for an interesting avenue to explore in Sicario 3.

Matt’s Tactics Fail In Sicario 2

The Brutal Approach To The War On Drugs Falls Apart

The first Sicario made a big point about the questionable legality of the nevertheless Washington-approved inter-agency mission, with Emily Blunt’s Kate Mercer in Sicario is only involved because the CIA needed an FBI agent. Sicario 2 comes at the story from another angle. With Kate absent and Matt the lead, it’s one of knowledge — and in doing so has less concern for the public face — until it comes crashing down.

It’s the realization of what Kate threatened at the end of
Sicario
and highlights how fragile the brutish approach to international relations is the moment it’s outside hushed conversations in dark rooms.

In Day of the Soldado, how the US is trying to silently influence the cartel power balance is revealed to the public through the botched mission. The President loses confidence and everything crumbles. It’s the realization of what Kate threatened at the end of Sicario and highlights how fragile the brutish approach to international relations is the moment it’s outside hushed conversations in dark rooms.

The first Sicario movie showcased the moral grey area of this kind of approach to the issue. Sicario 2 shows what happens when the direct approach fails and there is political fallout. Should Denis Villeneuve return for Sicario 3, it would be interesting to see him explore the response to what tactic is used next.

How Alejandro Survived

Is Alejandro A Changed Man At The End Of Sicario 2?

Since he is the main character in the movie, Sicario 2‘s ending including a scene in which Alejandro is shot in the head was quite shocking. Although he’s presumed dead, the shot by Miguel Hernandez — the up-and-coming smuggler seen throughout the film — it ended up simply being a close call. It’s not stated explicitly, but it appears that Miguel spared Alejandro’s life, shooting him in the jaw and leading to serious blood loss but nothing fatal.

Day Of The Soldado
explores Alejandro beginning to question his choices and whether he is becoming the kind of man who he insists on hunting.

In Sicario, Alejandro was working with the CIA primarily so that he could kill Fausto Alarcón, the man who murdered his wife and family. While there is a sense that the audience wants Alejandro to get his revenge, when he does, he makes the shocking decision to murder Alarcón’s family as well. Day Of The Soldado explores Alejandro beginning to question his choices and whether he is becoming the kind of man who he insists on hunting. Sicario 2 ends with him truly “free” — he’s presumed dead by the CIA and so able to operate without any oversight.

What Does Alejandro Want With Miguel?

Is The Final Scene Revenge Or The Start Of A New Chapter?

The final scene of Sicario 2 takes place one year after the main events of the film, picking up with Miguel now fully embodying his gang member position: his arms are covered in tattoos, his hair crew cut, and his clothing chequered. He goes to visit his cousin’s work in the mall, only to be confronted by Alejandro, sporting only a small scar as a reminder of their previous encounter. At first fearful, it’s clear Alejandro has no revenge plan on Miguel: “you want to be a Sicario?” he asks, then closes the door.

Even for the frank presentation of
Sicario
2, this is a highly ambiguous note to end on.

Even for the frank presentation of Sicario 2, this is a highly ambiguous note to end on. The implication, of course, is that Alejandro recognizes the act of compassion and sees Miguel as a potential student. He does, after all, have the stomach to stand against authority even while looking to be part of it, just as Alejandro has been in the previous two movies.

How The Ending Sets Up Sicario 3

Three Key Characters Need To Intersect

The ending of Sicario 2 suggests that going into Sicario 3, Alejandro will have an apprentice of sorts, someone to help him in his quest for Reyes from the inside. This mission is the real overarching narrative, and now the titular hitman has truly been set loose. Of course, this will also put him on a collision course with the authorities, as Alejandro is now operating on his own.

The really interesting hook for Sicario 3, though, is the reintroduction of Kate Mercer. The producers want Emily Blunt to reprise her role, and the narrative almost demands it. Sicario 2 saw Matt question his place in the crime-fighting world in a direct mirror to how she did in the first Sicario. The two movies have brought two very different people much more ideologically close than they ever thought possible. That relationship and potential clashes or partnerships are just as exciting as a gang war.

The third movie could see the war fought on three different terms: Kate’s idealistic approach, Matt’s government-sanctioned and morally dubious tactics, and Alejandro’s no-rules warfare.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a murkier movie than Sicario, in both the presentation of the American drug war and how it discusses its themes. That’s mainly because the message is less clear-cut, and so the movie struggles to fully define itself. What it does incredibly successfully, though, is move the pieces in position for a third movie while very much feeling like a standalone film. There is a sense that the third movie could see the war fought on three different terms: Kate’s idealistic approach, Matt’s government-sanctioned and morally dubious tactics, and Alejandro’s no-rules warfare.

The Real Meaning Of Sicario 2’s Ending

The United States Government Is Lethal In The Drug Wars

The real meaning of the Sicario: Day of the Soldado ending is simply that the United States government will do anything to win its war on drugs. This includes killing its own people, its own agents, and even innocent bystanders if it means achieving whatever its goal is at the time. The minute that the government officials ordered Matt to kill their own assassin just to cover up what they were doing, they proved there are no good guys in this war, and it is really just everyone out for themselves.

The ending also showed that Miguel choosing not to kill Alejandro means he has more integrity as a bad guy than the U.S. government did as the so-called heroes in the war. Matt crossed the line to protect Isabel, which could lead to punishment from his take-no-prisoners commanding officers. Still, he would easily have murdered Alejandro in cold blood if forced into the situation under the CIA’s orders, so he is no better than anyone else on either side of the border.

When Alejandro offered to take Miguel under his wing, the Sicario: Day of the Soldado ending also had another hidden meaning. While the United States has no problem ordering the murder of even innocent civilians to cover up its part in the drug wars, these killings often help create new enemies in the future. Alejandro, once a loyal ally to the U.S. CIA forces, was expandable, and now he and Miguel might prove to be major enemies of the U.S. if their hands are forced in the future.