The 'Those Who Wish Me Dead' Ending Left Audiences in Suspense (SPOILERS)

This article contains spoilers for the ending of Those Who Wish Me Dead.

Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Kortya, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a neo-western thriller with fires, mob bosses, and explosions. The twisty film follows Hannah Faber (Angelina Jolie) as a smokejumper (wildlife firefighter) mourning the fires she couldn't prevent. She and her ex-boyfriend Ethan Sawyer (Jon Bernthal) become embroiled in a deadly plot and risk everything to save others. 

The scorching action film left audiences curious about the ending of the movie, and what the "secret" of the film was. Read on to find out everything we know about the ending of Those Who Wish Me Dead, explained. 

When Owen Casserly (Jake Weber) notices that the District Attorney he worked for died "in a gas leak," the events of the film kick into motion. Audiences see mob assassins Jack Blackwell (Aiden Gillen) and Patrick Blackwell (Nicholas Hoult) heavily imply that the death of the District Attorney was no accident. Meanwhile, Owen explains to his son Connor (Finn Little) why the mob would wish him dead before they take off. 

"I’m a forensic accountant. Which means I look for things that don’t add up. And I found some. The man I worked for, he was killed today because of what I found. But I still know it, which means they’re gonna come after me too," Owen says. He also explains that they cannot go to the police because the knowledge he possesses could implicate congressmen and other powerful people too. 

Eventually, the mobsters catch up to the father-son duo, trailing them through their relatives, the Deputy Sheriff, and his wife. Owen hands his son a slip of paper with information regarding the Blackwells' boss, Arthur Phillip (Tyler Perry) before he dies. Hannah and Connor can escape the assassins through the woods, and some of Hannah's smokejumper pals come to her aid. Connor, Hannah, and Allison, the Deputy's wife, survive a massive fire. 

The film ends with Connor attempting to reveal the information his father wrote on the slip of paper to the press. The slip of paper is implied to have the "secret" location of duplicate evidence that could implicate congressmen and other government professionals in mob activity. Audiences will remember that mob boss Arthur speculated as much, thus the reason for all the effort of hunting Owen and Connor down. However, the slip of paper's contents are never revealed to viewers.

To some, keeping the audience from knowing the secret on the piece of paper is a handy plot device because the piece of paper provides motivation to all the characters and keeps viewers guessing the whole film. To others, it's frustrating we'll never know what happens with the piece of paper or Connor. Perhaps this leaves room open for a sequel? Fans will have to wait and see. 

Watch Those Who Wish Me Dead in theaters or exclusively on HBO Max.