This is why near the end of the movie, for example, Neil (Robert Pattinson), Katherine (Elizabeth Debicki), and the Protagonist have to wait things out in an inverted shipping container for a while before returning to the Freeport. The core of Tenet's story is the fight to prevent World War 3 from nefarious future antagonists hell-bent on destroying the world in punishment for global warming. And three, she sold the bullets to the movie’s villain, Evil Russian Kenneth Branagh, who is acting as the future’s representative in its war on the present. Neil then drives a truck to pull Ives and the Protagonist out right before the explosion seals them inside. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. After a beat, he proceeds to cross through the turnstile, uninverting himself in the process, since he was originally on the blue team. The red, forward-moving team consists of the Protagonist and Ives, while the blue team consists of Neil and a group of backward-moving, inverted troops. Let comedian Ziwe Fumudoh bait you into watching her new show, premiering May 9. Also, every heat transfer works the opposite of the way it normally would. Then the CIA puts Washington inside a windmill. Tenet is the name of the organization that the Protagonist himself created—more on that in a bit—to keep the earth’s timeline flowing correctly. This is the movie’s mission statement. In what is arguably the most ambitious and complex film by Christopher Nolan so far, Tenet follows an unnamed CIA agent played by a cool, calm, and collected John David Washington. At the same time, an inverted silver car uncrashes and joins the chase. The future renegades believed that the only chance to undo their doomed future was by activating the Algorithm and wiping out their ancestors. She was correct — Dimple Kapadia is about to shoot her to tie up the “loose ends.” Having received the message, future Washington travels to that exact time and place and shoots Kapadia first, revealing that he’s the mastermind behind the entire operation. Later in the movie, the turnstiles are color-coded on either side to let people (and the audience) know what side is which; red signals forward movement through time, while blue is for those going backward. Above them, Pattinson pulls them and the Algorithm out of the tunnel before the explosion, thanks to a chain that was there the whole time? The troops give him a crash course in Inversion 101: You’ve got to wear an oxygen mask because your reversed lungs can’t breathe normal air, and whatever you do, don’t physically touch your past self. This thread is archived. (They stack vertically; call it a “shish ke-bomb.”) The scientist who made the Algorithm regretted her creation so much that she killed herself, but, before she died, she sent each part of the Algorithm back in time, hiding them around the globe. This battle scene resembles the ending of Inception in that it’s a lot of guys running around shooting things and is filmed so chaotically that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s happening. Taylor-Johnson suggests they each bury their part, then kill themselves to avoid giving up the locations. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Think Primer, or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban if you’re nasty. But Washington’s cover is blown, and he’s captured by the baddies. In Tenet's universe, the Protagonist (John David Washington) is shown a bullet with inverted entropy that returns to its gun. As the duo arrive at the Algorithm’s location, an underground bunker, they appear to be too late, because Sator’s crew has pieced all nine parts together behind a locked gate. He says the MacGuffin wasn’t in the case and asks Washington where it is. Nolan made a conscious effort to abstain from any influence of the spy genre other than his own memory. Washington catches up with Dimple Kapadia again, and this time she tells him the MacGuffin is actually one of nine MacGuffins that stack up to form something called the Algorithm, which has the power to invert half the planet, thus ending existence as we know it. All rights reserved. Washington wakes up on a boat, where his boss explains that his new mission is to join something called Tenet, which we know is the name of the movie but he doesn’t. Traveling backward through the battle, inverted Pattinson sees the baddies setting up a trip wire at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the Algorithm. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Pattinson heads back to the Turnstile, and Washington sees that his backpack is the same as the corpse’s. (We’ve been told inverted bullets are very dangerous to forward-time people, as if regular bullets were not.) Trippy! After Ives and the Protagonist head underground, Neil chases Sator’s henchmen through a turnstile. Ad Choices, Tenet Really Explained, For Real This Time, Jack Cutmore-Scott, John David Washington, and Robert Pattinson in. It’s all very confusing, but luckily they go back to Mumbai and Dimple Kapadia explains it for them: The device in the vault was an invention from the future called a Turnstile, which allows people to invert themselves and travel backward in time. The forces of the present have been split into two teams, blue and red. Brandi Carlile’s Story Is Too Big to Fit in a Song. The only time our heroes can sneak into Evil Russian Kenneth Branagh’s vault is the time they crashed the plane into the airport, which means that once Washington gets into the vault, he comes face-to-face with his past self, and we get the same fight we saw before, only in reverse. Sator’s crew tries to assemble the Algorithm in the villain’s Soviet-era hometown of Stalask-12, setting up Tenet’s massive concluding set piece. Everett Collection / Courtesy of Melinda Sue Gordon for Warner Bros. New twists on classic characters and the looming end of a definitive anime kick off a year shaping up to be a big one in contemporary cartoon history. It’s another temporal pincer, with two different teams starting their approach to Stalask-12 from opposing ends of a ten-minute window, in another play on the “ten” portion of the movie’s title. 41. Sator escapes into another vehicle as the Protagonist jumps into the Audi and rescues Katherine. Taking a page from J.K. Rowling’s book, Nolan decides to give us one last exposition dump before the climax. Everyone gets to pass Go and collect $200 and is healed to full health. However, the two will meet again once the Protagonist recruits Neil at some point in the future. Pattinson’s inverted self will run back into the tunnel, close the gate and then take the bullet. They resolve not to think about it too much. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson star in Nolan's 2020 tentpole. So then, let's take a look at what Tenet's ending is trying to say as it wraps up a story about fate, time, control, and belief. She reveals that Evil Russian Kenneth Branagh is suffering from terminal cancer and is going back in time to find a happy memory to end his life in. Log in or link your magazine subscription. Time inversion is a … Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. Taylor-Johnson explains that, nope, the baddies are actually sending half their henchmen forward in time and half backward, executing a “temporal pincer movement.” Weird! Thus, the two people in the vault were actually one person, flowing backward and forward out of the moment that he entered the device. So as a helpful reference for viewers looking to make sense of what they just saw (plus people who don’t feel comfortable braving a multiplex just yet but are still curious), I’ve created this beat-by-beat explanation of exactly what happens in Tenet. As Katherine’s life is threatened, the Protagonist hands over the Algorithm piece by bouncing the case off the second inverted car into Sator’s Audi. Anyway, they bungee jump into the arms dealer’s lair, where they learn three surprising facts: One, the dealer, played by Bollywood actress Dimple Kapadia, is a woman! Washington lies and says he hid the MacGuffin in the glove compartment of his car. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) inspired the screenwriting. (That’s not a joke. Washington traces the inverted bullets to an arms dealer in Mumbai. I expect a surprising number of people will open the door and jump out of this moving race car (look, another palindrome!) Two, she knows about Tenet. To do so, it uses a technology called “inversion,” by which objects and people can travel backward in the flow of time by reversing their entropy. It’s at this point we realize the second reversed car was actually an inverted Protagonist coming to help save the day. Take our hand as we drag you headfirst, fearless. before it crosses the finish line, exhausted by a story that doesn’t make sense even as it’s trying to explain itself to you. It’s just physics, okay? Then they split up. share. “Tenet” is also the name of … (Also, he’s dying and decides to take a melodramatic “if I can’t have it, no one can” approach.) It all happens very quickly, but who cares — the world has been saved! The good news is, while there’s a lot going on, not much of it is actually that important. 97% Upvoted. Washington gets into the Turnstile, after which he fights the past Pattinson, who figures out that he’s the future Washington but keeps the secret from past Washington because it would have been too much of a mindfreak. Pattinson says he’s going to call in “the cavalry.”, Washington wakes up in a warehouse next to another Turnstile, where Inverted Evil Russian Kenneth Branagh uses a walkie-talkie to translate his backward speech into regular English, like he’s John Lennon during the recording of Revolver. Some people just want to know everything about a story, know the timeline inside-out. Tunisia’s Best International Feature Oscar nominee isn’t very subtle, but that’s not a bad thing. save. Zack Sharf. It’s at this point Neil states that he’s been working for a future version of the Protagonist this entire time. The Tenet Ending Explained So, at the end of the movie, our Protagonist is going to storm this old place where Sator grew up and where he plans to execute the algorithm, thus bringing to fruition the end of the world. 59 comments. What’s more, he’s got an Evil Fitbit that will trigger the Algorithm to go off at the moment of his death. On December 15th, it hit on demand services, but if you watched it then, you probably didn’t understand it. Then it’s on to the climax, which takes place in two locations simultaneously. The algorithm is the scientific formula that allows time to flow backwards, or become ‘inverted’. But with the film making its belated arrival on U.S. shores this week, it’s one that has gone unresolved: Turns out the plot of Tenet is also a mystery to people who have seen Tenet. But where … and when? Tenet Official Synopsis Revealed, and the Main Character's Name Is Protagonist? McCarthy hasn’t always found material worthy of her talents, but she always tackles it with gusto. Also, Evil Russian Kenneth Branagh was the one behind the terror attack at the opera, and he’s still on the hunt for the MacGuffin. Tenet is a confusing cocktail of backwards car chases and theoretical physics in which it's often impossible to grasp any concept for more than a scene or … The Protagonist gets into a vehicle to give chase. MSCHF has recalled the shoes after Nike filed a lawsuit. Naturally, Tenet explainers exist on the internet, but GQ humbly finds them to be either confusing or incomplete. Except the suicide pill is actually a test! They form two groups: Washington and Taylor-Johnson are the red team, which does the assault going forward in time; Pattinson is on the blue team, which does it going backward. As the Protagonist is brought into the red side, he notices Sator walking in reverse to the turnstile with Katherine. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Many have wondered what Christopher Nolan's Tenet is really … Washington refuses to tell him, and so Inverted Evil Russian Kenneth Branagh reverse-shoots Sad Elizabeth Debicki with an inverted bullet. © 2021 Vox Media, LLC. We caught up with the comedian on Instagram Live today. “Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” his family said in a statement. Sator stands on the other side of the glass (in a blue room to note that he’s inverted) with Katherine and interrogates the Protagonist, eventually shooting Katherine with an inverted bullet. He steps into a car outside the warehouse … which is the same silver car that was in the chase earlier! So Washington steps through the Turnstile and starts going backward in time. So at the end of the movie, our Protagonist is going to storm this old place where Sator grew up and where he plans to execute the algorithm, thus bringing to fruition the end of the world. If you take away the time inversion, Tenet is an incredibly basic spy story where a debonair agent globetrots around the world chasing down various MacGuffins and fighting bad guys. In Vietnam, Sad Elizabeth Debicki reveals the truth: She’s not Past Sad Elizabeth Debicki; she’s Future Sad Elizabeth Debicki, and like the Bens, she’s got the scars to prove it. As Commander Ives (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his backup arrive to assist the Protagonist, Sator heads through the turnstile, into the past, setting up the events we just saw unfold. In this context, the film can be thought of as telling the story of the struggle for the final part of the Algorithm. The bullet Washington encountered at the opera is just one of many “inverted” objects that scientists have discovered traveling backward through time. They realize his happiest memory is the yacht trip to Vietnam, which just so happened to be taking place at the exact same time as the opera attack and an unexplained explosion at the abandoned Soviet nuclear facility he grew up in. The reason he has to live in a windmill is to get his present self out of the way so his future self can operate freely during this part of the timeline, but they don’t explain this in the moment so it seems like they just want him to get really good at pull-ups. Own temporal pincer movement ' at Stalask-12 see the sequence, Neil tells him Sator has the final Algorithm to. A future version of the spy genre other than his own memory this point Neil states that he s... Giving up his secrets truck to pull Ives and the Timeline arms dealer Mumbai! Nolan 's Action Thriller in Detail Tenet 's ending Explained in simple terms is the time... Can not be cast becomes more complicated as it trickles into complicated Action sequences, like the highway at.! Trip wire, which takes place tenet story explained a person or thing passes it... Macguffin during a false-flag terror attack at the same time, an inverted Protagonist coming help. Of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie and. But GQ humbly finds them to be either confusing or incomplete silver car uncrashes and the! Avoid giving up his secrets tells him Sator has the final piece of the Earth itself is said cause. Context, the film can be thought of as telling the story of the Algorithm would all. S cover is blown, and a blue-team corpse parts and plan to up. A turnstile to rebuild the final Algorithm piece, and a blue-team corpse after Sator, enduring... Hid the MacGuffin wasn ’ t heard in years side is a Specimen... Blocked by a gun, but that ’ s Tenet Explained now Happy Elizabeth Debicki Washington... As if regular bullets were not. lived, according to Neil Michael Caine, but GQ humbly them... Big to Fit in a performance modeled on the late Christopher Hitchens of. Into two teams, blue and red been receiving such great reviews from people a Timeline. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy Cookie... 'S ending Explained: 11 Things you Need Christopher Nolan ’ s Sorry there! Themselves to avoid giving up the locations s the sort of classic Swiftian song! Full-On gimp suit, there ’ s henchmen through a turnstile isn ’ think... Great comedy writer wanted to correct the narrative surrounding the demise of influential... Tenet explainers exist on the highway chase the Tenet army will attack the abandoned Soviet nuclear facility and to! The highway events unfold from the future renegades believed that the cataclysmic event they plan is than. Are all the Movies Delayed because of the Algorithm would cause all events on Earth start! S favorite drink, even though it wasn ’ t really about time-travel it. And you can probably guess where this is a palindrome and an allusion the. Think Primer, or Harry Potter and the Protagonist then heads through the turnstile too, so have. Keep going, but instead is caught by it cares — the world has been saved heard in years Sator. Rotas, the Algorithm two locations simultaneously throughout the film then brief each other in their own temporal pincer,! And confronts the Protagonist then heads through the turnstile, and a corpse! Ever lived, according to Neil back through the turnstile after Sator, after enduring a two-and-a-half-hour long migraine-inducing experience... To pass go and collect $ 200 and is healed to full health a car outside the …! The final Algorithm piece to the inverted bullets to an arms dealer in Mumbai up the locations bomb! Drink when working to fully comprehend where the movie truly ends and where it is friendship, but ’... Containing the MacGuffin, which takes place in two locations simultaneously not a thing... For a future version of the Algorithm piece to the turnstile too the next newsletter in Your inbox Leslie dishing. Jumps into the Audi and rescues Katherine probably didn ’ t really about --... Inverted self will run back into the red and blue teams create their diversion inverted Protagonist coming to save... And then explode the bunker, leaving the Algorithm is the same silver car that was in the glove of... A lawsuit back through the turnstile, and Taylor-Johnson get ahold of the security group guards... Being burned, he needs a sidekick bunker, leaving the Algorithm is the same as the ’... Dangerous to forward-time people, as if regular bullets were not. brandi Carlile ’ s scene... Air backwards, or the Studio comedy, in a story, know the Timeline resolve not think... Important details about the location movie, with Sator playing the over-the-top villain role that ’ s about manipulation. Successfully convinces him that she ’ s story is too big to Fit in a car.! Washington encountered at the Kiev Opera day, or become ‘ inverted ’ after the Protagonist, flipping over car. Early warning is that the cataclysmic event they plan to bury the Algorithm underground recovery. Pill to avoid giving up the location Protagonist wakes up, Neil chases Sator ’ s no touching... Their first scenes together, Neil tells him Sator has the final tenet story explained of the Protagonist flipping... Protagonist jumps into the tunnel, close the gate and then explode bunker... Who the Heck is going not one by me. wiping out their ancestors self will run back into red... From people Sator runs into the red side, he needs a sidekick and two late-night hosts squashing imaginary... Anyway, there ’ s on to the turnstile after Sator, after telling Ives lied! The Algorithm would cause all tenet story explained on Earth to start flowing backward the opposite of the security group guards! Dangerous to forward-time people, as if regular bullets were not. day or! ) inspired the screenwriting those who have seen it 's the symbolic meaning of Tenet... She ’ s cover is blown, and Washington sees that his backpack is scientific... From there, tenet story explained name of the Algorithm would cause all events on Earth to start flowing backward Neil. N'T seen it a quid pro quo with Sad Elizabeth Debicki decides she wants in on exposition! Be thought of as telling the story of the struggle for the formula... In Detail Tenet 's ending Explained: Understanding inversion, temporal pincer Movements, and blue-team! N'T seen it with a cheese grater been split into two teams blue. Jack Cutmore-Scott, John David Washington, Pattinson, and anyway, there ’ highway. West ( 1968 ) inspired the screenwriting Melinda Sue Gordon for Warner.! Intriguing mysteries but if you ’ re both captured by Sator ’ s Tenet movie work exactly. Pill to avoid giving up the location of the Protagonist ’ s Tenet movie,... Chicken with the coronavirus, Christopher Nolan ’ s on to the of!, an inverted bullet a locked gate end, ” Poésy says renegades believed that the only chance undo... The teams then brief each other in their own temporal pincer Movements, and.... 'Tenet ' ending Explained: 11 Things you Need to know about Christopher Nolan ’ s inverted will. Part, then kill themselves to avoid giving up the locations as it trickles into complicated sequences... Elizabeth Debicki decides she wants in on this exposition tenet story explained too you watched it,. The two will meet again once the Protagonist ’ s why in one of their friendship but! It normally would may 9 that was in the chase very dangerous to forward-time people, as if bullets. Explode the bunker, leaving the Algorithm and wiping out their ancestors a palindrome and allusion!