The ending of Sadie Sink’s O’Dessa is a bittersweet one of a hero(ine) who finds herself alone, yet loved by the masses. O’Dessa tells the story of the titular character, who goes on a journey to “Satylite City” after her mum passes away from an illness. At the age of 19, all O’Dessa has known is the farms that have been poisoned by plasma in a dystopian future. But she also knows that she holds the title and burden of being the “seventh son,” a chosen one, in a prophecy foretold 7 generations earlier. With a guitar made from a burning willow tree will rise a hero who will be “the one” and save all of mankind. In this typically sci-fi dystopian story, there’s a lot more romance than you’d expect.
See, O’Dessa finds herself enthralled by a young man named Euri, who sings and sells his body for a living thanks to the assistant of Plutonovich (the dictator in purple suits), Neon Dion, who gives him away whenever she likes. O’Dessa watches Euri perform at a bar and instantly feels an attraction. Later, when he looks like he’s in trouble, she simply lets him know she’s around by whistling so he can save himself by pretending to be with her. Immediately they feel connected, like they’re destined to be together, but will destiny side with O’Dessa? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
How Does O’Dessa Get Her Guitar Back?
O’Dessa makes her way to Satylite City, the big “aspirational” city, which once was. On her way, she meets a priest, who pretends to help her out by giving her a drink and telling her he was a close friend of her father’s, but he and his goons steal her guitar and run away the next morning. O’Dessa’s dad used to be a rambler: a person who sang songs and cheered people on from place to place. One day, a coffin came back with his guitar in it, and she never saw him again. But he always sang to her about the prophecy of how she’d use that guitar to save the people. Like Woody Guthrie, this badass folk singer has a machine that kills fascists. The prophecy is made by an angel with no eyes, who comes down out of a burning willow tree. The guitar is made from this willow tree, foreshadowing what’s to come. But, I think here the guitar just reminds us that music symbolizes hope and justice. After her mother’s passing, naive O’Dessa thought she could forge her way into the big city and save the people just as she was told, but that’s not how the real world works.
O’Dessa finds her guitar in a pawn shop. She can’t buy it back because she has no money, but she thinks she can perform and make enough to buy it back. O’Dessa uses a framed picture of her parents, a pan, and some strings she finds to craft a makeshift guitar. She begins singing her melodious tune on stage, but nobody likes it because it’s too folk for them. Dejected, O’Dessa finds a spot to spend the night, but that’s where she saves Euri. He then takes O’Dessa to his place, which is sponsored by Dion. After spending some time together, they realize they’re attracted to each other and become a couple. But of course, Dion can never find out, because that would essentially be the equivalent of a breach of contract.
But, for just a little while, O’Dessa becomes a busker by day and Euri’s partner by night. They sing together, they chill together, and they hang out all the time, a perfect couple. They then decide to get married, so O’Dessa wears a white suit and Euri wears a red outfit with a matching veil, but this is when it all goes wrong. Dion finds out and teaches O’Dessa a lesson. The next thing you know, Euri’s nowhere to be seen, and Roach, from the building they stayed at, asks if she can have O’Dessa’s makeshift guitar. Roach never says a word, but wants to play music thanks to O’Dessa’s influence. O’Dessa then finds her guitar with a note from Euri. A small sacrifice so she can save the world, but also win him back. While Euri might not understand the weight of the prophecy, he loves O’Dessa’s voice and the way she sings. If she doesn’t have one love, at least she can have the other, I suppose.
Why’s The Grass Purple?
I think the whole movie is purple-coded because both O’Dessa and Euri are so androgynous. I suppose, for a musical about a future world with a queer couple at its centre, it only makes sense that Prince would be used as inspiration in some form. Now, hear me out, I know O’Dessa is ginger, but Euri has blue hair, and when pink and blue, i.e. the female and the male forms mix, they form the color purple. I think this is the reason there’s so much purple in the film overall.
What Happens At Wonderworld?
O’Dessa tries to bring Euri back, but when Dion finds out, she decides to drug him and keep him as a slave. O’Dessa brings him back and tries to nurse him back to health. Euri acts out and says something about Plutonovich. But he has eyes everywhere (as we see with the symbols everywhere like “Big Brother”), and he decides to send Euri to Wonderworld. Meanwhile, Dion cuts O’Dessa’s ring finger off, the same one where she wears the ring that bonded her with Euri. O’Dessa then pushes Dion into the sea in her anger, but even with her singing, she can’t save Euri, who gets sent off for his act of rebellion.
Wonderworld is a show that gets broadcast to everyone in Satylite City. It’s essentially a survival show like the “Hunger Games,” but instead of having to kill each other, you entertain the audience, and whoever wins lives and whoever loses gets turned into plasma people. I wonder if this is the inevitable result of living in a plastic world where in the future, plastic faces are an irreversible curse.
O’Dessa takes her guitar and makes her way to Wonderworld in her wedding outfit. She somehow manages to make it onto the stage and asks Plutonovitch to let her perform in return for Euri’s survival. O’Dessa had used the ring, which she couldn’t wear on the same finger anymore, as a string on the guitar. Plutonovitch tells her that he will allow her to try and save Euri if she is really “the one,” but he ups the stakes by cutting through all the strings on her guitar except for the one. The one with the power of love.
Somehow, even with a missing finger and a single string on her willow guitar, O’Dessa gives the performance of a lifetime, and even Plutonovitch’s partner is impressed. She shows everybody what true love is through her one song. Something they may not have seen in years, something they may not believe in anymore. O’Dessa does win the competition and gets titled “the one.” Everyone cheers her on, even the young girl who took her guitar, but O’Dessa’s one wish is Euri. When she unveils him, it’s not Euri at all, but it’s his shell with a plasma face. Her Euri is gone forever. O’Dessa may have been the one, but she lost her one.
In O’Dessa’ ending, in her anger, the titular character takes her willow guitar and lights it on fire. She then smashes the guitar into the central eye at the top of the stage. The burning willow saves the people. At the end of the movie, O’Dessa may have died with Wonderworld. A true hero, but her music stays alive through the people, and it will continue to do so. With the death of Plutonovitch, all the plasma he used to power Wonderworld can be used for other things. I’d imagine this is why the grass is green again and the young girl sings the seventh son’s song, her destiny. The movie ends with Roach singing O’Dessa’s love song. It’s a reminder that love can save all. O’Dessa and Euri are finally together and happy too. Sure, it’s a bittersweet ending, but it’s a better world for those left behind.
