The ending of *There Will Be Blood* remains one of the most discussed and analyzed conclusions in modern cinema, with Daniel Plainview’s final declaration of “I’m finished!” resonating through film history as a moment of terrifying catharsis. Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 masterpiece concludes with a bowling alley confrontation that has sparked endless debate about its meaning, symbolism, and what it reveals about the characters who have been locked in ideological warfare throughout the film. Understanding the *There Will Be Blood* ending explained in full requires examining not just the surface violence, but the deeper themes of capitalism, religion, family, and the corruption of the American soul that Anderson meticulously developed over the preceding two and a half hours. This conclusion matters because it serves as the culmination of one of cinema’s greatest character studies.
Daniel Plainview, portrayed in an Oscar-winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, has spent the entire film building an oil empire while simultaneously destroying every human connection in his life. The final scene with Eli Sunday, played by Paul Dano, brings their conflict to its inevitable and brutal resolution. For viewers who found themselves stunned by the abrupt violence and ambiguous final line, unpacking the ending reveals the full extent of Anderson’s thematic vision. By examining this ending in detail, readers will gain insight into the symbolic significance of the bowling alley setting, the meaning behind Eli’s humiliation and Daniel’s triumph, and how the conclusion reframes everything that came before. The final scene is not merely shocking for shock’s sake””it is the logical endpoint of a story about what happens when greed becomes the sole organizing principle of a human life.
Table of Contents
- What Happens in the There Will Be Blood Ending Scene?
- The Symbolic Significance of the Bowling Alley Setting
- Daniel Plainview’s Character Arc and the Ending’s Resolution
- Eli Sunday’s Downfall and What It Reveals About Religion in the Film
- The Meaning Behind “I’m Finished” and the Film’s Final Moment
- How the Ending Reframes the Entire Film
- How to Prepare
- How to Apply This
- Expert Tips
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens in the There Will Be Blood Ending Scene?
The final sequence of *There Will Be Blood* takes place in 1927, roughly two decades after the events in Little Boston that form the heart of the film. Daniel Plainview has achieved everything he set out to accomplish: he is fabulously wealthy, owning a mansion modeled after Greystone in Beverly Hills, complete with a private bowling alley. Yet he lives alone, estranged from his adopted son H.W., drinking heavily, and sleeping on the floor surrounded by his possessions like a dragon guarding its hoard.
Eli Sunday arrives at the mansion seeking Daniel’s help. The tables have turned dramatically from their earlier encounters””Eli’s church has failed, and he has lost his fortune in the stock market crash that preceded the Great Depression. He comes offering a business proposition: the Bandy tract, a piece of land surrounded by Daniel’s holdings, is available for drilling. Eli believes he can broker the deal in exchange for a commission that will save him from financial ruin.
- Daniel forces Eli to renounce his faith, making him repeat “I am a false prophet, God is a superstition” multiple times with increasing intensity
- Daniel then reveals that the Bandy tract is worthless because he has already drained the oil through his surrounding wells, using drainage techniques
- In a fit of rage and what appears to be years of built-up contempt, Daniel chases Eli through the bowling alley and beats him to death with a bowling pin
- The film ends with Daniel sitting beside the body, telling his butler “I’m finished”
The Symbolic Significance of the Bowling Alley Setting
The choice to set the climactic confrontation in a private bowling alley carries substantial symbolic weight that enriches the *There Will Be Blood* ending’s meaning. The bowling alley represents the absurd excess of Daniel’s wealth””he has accumulated so much money that he built a recreational facility in his basement that he appears to use alone. It is a monument to his victory in the capitalist game, yet it also resembles a tomb or a prison.
The long, narrow lanes of the bowling alley create a visual metaphor for the tunnel vision that has defined Daniel’s existence. Just as a bowler focuses on knocking down pins at the end of a lane, Daniel has spent his life with singular focus on accumulating wealth and defeating enemies. The pins themselves become a murder weapon, transforming a tool of leisure into an instrument of death. This subversion speaks to how Daniel corrupts everything he touches””even play becomes violence in his hands.
- The bowling alley’s location underground, in the basement of the mansion, suggests a descent into hell or the subconscious
- The pristine, controlled environment contrasts sharply with the muddy oil fields where Daniel made his fortune
- The echo and acoustics of the space make Daniel’s words reverberate, giving his condemnations of Eli an almost biblical quality
- The setting removes both men from the outside world entirely, making their confrontation feel like a reckoning outside of time
Daniel Plainview’s Character Arc and the Ending’s Resolution
To fully grasp the *There Will Be Blood* ending, one must trace Daniel Plainview’s psychological journey throughout the film. From the opening scenes of him working alone in a silver mine, Daniel has been defined by his misanthropy and his drive for dominance. His famous confession to Henry”””I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed”””provides the key to understanding his final actions. Daniel’s relationship with his adopted son H.W.
represents his only genuine attempt at human connection, and even this is complicated by its origins in opportunism (the boy’s real father died in an oil well accident, and Daniel recognized the value of appearing to be a family man). When H.W. is deafened in an accident and later sent away to a school for the deaf, Daniel is relieved of the one responsibility that required him to be something other than a predator. His later disowning of H.W. in the scene preceding Eli’s arrival shows that Daniel has finally shed even the pretense of love.
- Daniel’s murder of Eli completes his transformation into pure misanthropy””he has now destroyed both his rival and any remaining moral restraint
- The killing is motivated not by business necessity but by psychological need; Daniel wants to humiliate Eli completely before destroying him
- His declaration “I’m finished” carries multiple meanings: finished with the murder, finished with his lifelong competition with Eli, and perhaps finished as a human being capable of any other mode of existence
- The ending suggests that Daniel has achieved his goal of total victory, but at the cost of everything that makes life meaningful
Eli Sunday’s Downfall and What It Reveals About Religion in the Film
Eli Sunday’s arc provides the necessary counterpoint to Daniel’s story, and his fate in the ending carries significant implications for the film’s treatment of religion. Throughout *There Will Be Blood*, Eli represents religious authority, but Anderson portrays this authority as fundamentally similar to Daniel’s capitalism””both men are performers, manipulators, and seekers of power over others. Eli’s return to Daniel’s mansion reveals the hollowness at the center of his faith.
He has lost everything, suggesting that his prosperity gospel””the belief that God rewards the faithful with material success””has proven false. More damningly, he is willing to renounce his entire belief system for money. When Daniel forces him to declare himself a false prophet, Eli complies with disturbing enthusiasm, revealing that his faith was always a tool for advancement rather than a genuine spiritual commitment.
- Eli’s humiliation mirrors the earlier baptism scene where he forced Daniel to confess his sins and slapped him repeatedly
- The reversal of power dynamics completes a pattern of mutual degradation between the two characters
- Eli’s murder can be read as capitalism literally destroying religion, or as one form of false prophecy defeating another
- The ease with which Eli abandons his faith suggests that neither man ever truly believed in anything beyond their own advancement
The Meaning Behind “I’m Finished” and the Film’s Final Moment
The final line of *There Will Be Blood*”””I’m finished”””has generated extensive analysis and debate since the film’s release. Delivered by Daniel Day-Lewis in a strangely calm tone as he sits beside Eli’s corpse, the line’s meaning shifts depending on interpretation, making it one of cinema’s most memorable closing statements. On the surface level, Daniel is responding to his butler, who has come downstairs after hearing the commotion.
He is explaining that the violence is over, that there is nothing more to see. But the line resonates far beyond this mundane meaning. “I’m finished” suggests completion in the sense of a craftsman declaring their work done””Daniel has spent his life building an empire and destroying enemies, and with Eli’s death, the project is complete. There are no more rivals, no more pretenders to defeat.
- The line may also suggest exhaustion and emptiness””Daniel has achieved everything and has nothing left to strive for
- Some interpret “finished” as a moral statement: Daniel recognizes that he has damned himself beyond redemption
- The abrupt cut to black after the line, followed by Brahms’ Violin Concerto, creates a jarring shift that leaves the audience in a state of unresolved tension
- Anderson has noted that the ending was always planned, though the specific line evolved during filming
How the Ending Reframes the Entire Film
Watching *There Will Be Blood* again after understanding the ending transforms the viewing experience. Every scene of Daniel’s apparent warmth or humanity becomes shadowed by the knowledge of what he will become. The ending explained in this context is not just a conclusion but a lens through which the entire narrative comes into focus.
The milkshake speech that Daniel delivers before killing Eli””explaining how he drained the Bandy tract’s oil through neighboring wells””serves as a metaphor for his entire approach to life. Daniel drains people of their usefulness and discards them. He drained H.W. of the family-man image he provided, drained Henry of companionship when he was useful and killed him when he wasn’t, and now drains Eli of his dignity before taking his life.
How to Prepare
- **Pay attention to the baptism scene** in the middle of the film, where Eli forces Daniel to publicly confess his sins and slaps him repeatedly. This humiliation directly parallels and sets up the revenge Daniel takes in the finale, creating a structural symmetry that makes the ending feel inevitable.
- **Note every instance of the word “brother”** throughout the film. Daniel’s relationship with the false Henry, his use of brotherhood rhetoric in business dealings, and Eli’s references to Christian brotherhood all connect to the theme of failed human connection that the ending crystallizes.
- **Track Daniel’s drinking** as the film progresses. His alcoholism escalates significantly, and by the ending, he is clearly suffering from the effects of prolonged heavy drinking, which contributes to his mental state during the confrontation with Eli.
- **Consider the historical context** of 1927 America, on the eve of the Great Depression. Eli’s financial ruin reflects the real collapse of many religious figures and prosperity preachers who had tied faith to material success during the Roaring Twenties.
- **Listen to the score by Jonny Greenwood** throughout the film, noting how it builds tension and creates dissonance. The musical choices in the finale, including the unexpected use of Brahms, are essential to the scene’s emotional impact.
How to Apply This
- **When discussing American mythology**, use the ending as evidence of the film’s critique of the American Dream. Daniel’s success story reveals the darkness underlying narratives of self-made men, showing how extreme individualism leads to isolation and destruction.
- **In conversations about capitalism and religion**, cite the parallel downfalls of Daniel and Eli as Anderson’s commentary on how both systems can become corrupting forces when pursued without moral grounding.
- **For film analysis**, examine how the ending’s violence is both shocking and inevitable””Anderson has carefully constructed the entire film to make this conclusion feel earned rather than gratuitous.
- **When comparing adaptations**, note that while the film is loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s novel *Oil!*, the ending is entirely Anderson’s creation. The novel ends very differently, making the film’s conclusion a deliberate artistic choice rather than an adaptation requirement.
Expert Tips
- **Watch Daniel Day-Lewis’s physical performance** in the final scene. His body language shifts from predatory stillness to explosive violence, demonstrating the actor’s complete transformation into the character.
- **Consider the bowling pin as a symbol** connecting to the opening mining sequences. Daniel has always been a man who uses tools to extract value, whether from the earth or from people.
- **Notice what Daniel doesn’t do** after the murder. He shows no remorse, makes no attempt to hide the crime, and seems entirely at peace with his actions. This absence of moral response is more chilling than any expression of guilt would be.
- **Remember that Anderson wrote the screenplay** with Day-Lewis and Dano in mind. The ending’s power derives partly from the actors’ real-world preparation, including Day-Lewis’s famous method approach to the role.
- **Compare the ending to other American epics** like *Citizen Kane* or *The Godfather*. Each concludes with its protagonist alone, surrounded by wealth but spiritually destroyed, suggesting a consistent critique in American cinema of unchecked ambition.
Conclusion
The *There Will Be Blood* ending represents a masterful culmination of themes, character arcs, and symbolic imagery that Paul Thomas Anderson developed throughout the film. Daniel Plainview’s murder of Eli Sunday is not merely violence but the logical conclusion of a worldview that sees all human relationships as competitions to be won. The bowling alley becomes a gladiatorial arena where capitalism finally and literally destroys religion, and where a man who wanted no one else to succeed achieves his bleak victory.
Understanding this ending enhances appreciation for the film’s place in American cinema as a profound meditation on greed, faith, and the costs of single-minded pursuit of power. The questions it raises about American identity and values remain relevant decades after the period it depicts and years after its release. For viewers willing to engage with its complexity, *There Will Be Blood* offers one of the most rewarding and disturbing conclusions in film history””a finale that continues to provoke discussion and analysis with each new generation of filmgoers who discover it.
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