Every single SPOILER you want to avoid before watching Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is ahead. You’ve been warned, check out the movie now streaming with a Netflix subscription first.
After Rian Johnson’s first whodunnit had our jaws dropping in 2019, we’ve been very much curious if the filmmaker’s sequel could recapture the experience we had in that wintery Massachusetts mansion. Turns out the change in scenery at a billionaire’s private island along with Glass Onion’s stacked cast did it well, as the second Benoit Blanc mystery is arguably better than its debut. And, that’s much to do with all the shocking twists during the 2023 Golden Globe nominee.
Glass Onion sees Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc being among the guests invited to tech billionaire Miles Bron’s private island for a murder mystery weekend, which is supposed to be all fun and games. Craig along with Bron’s longtime friends receive a puzzle box they all must solve to secure their invite before venturing to the fancy island. As the plot unfolds, here are the plotlines that had us gasping in surprise.
Benoit Blanc Solving Miles’ Fake Murder Mystery In Minutes
After Glass Onion spends a sizable amount of time setting up Miles Bron’s murder mystery weekend being something juicy, Rian Johnson’s script totally fakes us out. As they sit at the dinner table for Miles Bron’s highly-anticipated puzzle for the weekend, before it can even begin, Mr. Blanc solves the entire thing. Everyone sits stunned in amazement regarding the fun and fake mystery he had planned for his guests being solved so early. Of course, there’s an actual murder or two to be uncovered by Blanc, and before anything really goes down Blanc is already three steps ahead of every guest on the island.
Andi Was Actually Andi’s Twin In Disguise
One massive twist of Glass Onion that is really the centerpiece of the whole thing is regarding Janelle Monae’s character. While she initially is introduced as the more mysterious of Bron’s friends, Andi Brand, the movie cleverly backs up the plot to reveal that Andi has been her twin sister Helen Brand the whole time. What really happened is Helen is the one who hires Benoit Blanc to investigate the recent death of her sister. He convinces her to pose as her late sister, by fully getting into character as Andi, in hopes that her killer would become rattled by her presence and they’d happen upon the evidence needed to prove her murder. Sure, it’s a classic twist for there to be a secret twin sister, but Janelle Monae’s incredible performance matched with Rian Johnson’s especially twisty script made it feel fresh.
Helen Is Not Actually Shot To Death
Just before we learn Andi’s true identity on the island, she is shot on the island and presumably falls down, dead. When the moment initially occurred it was a massive disappointment because there was clearly a mystery regarding the character to delve into and with her possibly dead, it felt like we may never know what her deal was. And following the death of Andi, we learn of her actual identity, making it feel even more sad that she didn’t get to avenge her sister's death. But then, it is revealed that Helen is shot but the bullet didn't get her and she instead uses Jeremy Renner’s hot sauce to make herself all bloody to appear dead. Once everyone is gone, she sneaks into the rooms of the guests to find the evidence needed. Talk about a lineup of serious twists regarding Monae’s characters!
What Really Killed Dave Bautista’s Duke
In other news, the first death that actually occurs in the order of Glass Onion is the death of Dave Bautista’s Twitch streamer character, Duke Cody. As the group of old friends drink the night away following Blanc solving the mystery they came to spend the weekend solving just for funsies, Duke is killed in plain sight. As we find out later, all the villainy is done by Miles Bron, but how the buffed up internet personality dies is actually pretty simple: he was poisoned via pineapple juice. As Blanc later points out, Duke announced the allergy earlier that day, making it rather obvious to the detective what happened.
The Billionaire Played By Edward Norton Was The Villian? How Did I Not See That Coming?
Speaking of Miles Bron being the villain, I can’t believe it, Rian Johnson did it again! Edward Norton has played antagonists in past movies, so when the actor's character was behind the whole thing and I was surprised, I really wanted to slow clap for the Knives Out filmmaker. Like any good mystery writer, Johnson is two steps ahead of the audience. Because we assumed the billionaire played by Norton would be too obvious as the killer, we looked elsewhere in all the other intriguing characters in the movie. But, nonetheless as the Glass Onion ending reveals, it’s Miles!! Even funnier is that he’s not particularly a mastermind by any means, making for yet another fun choice for the whodunnit.
The Death Of The Mona Lisa
Then, there’s the epic finale of Glass Onion. Helen and Blanc successfully get the evidence to pin Miles Bron, but then he burns it in front of their eyes and since he’s got money behind every guest on the island, it’s basically their word against hers. And just won’t hold up. So Helen does the unthinkable -- after trashing and burning furniture and artwork in Miles' home -- she burns the Mona Lisa, which is established to be the real one earlier in the film. Why would anyone decimate the most popular painting in history? Well, Helen understands that the man who allowed the Mona Lisa to burn is going to be ruined forever. It’s the only way she can think of to get his colleagues on her side and it most certainly works. Plus, it’s a absolutely killer scene to see play out.
And that does it! Rian Johnson delivered on another great whodunnit alongside Daniel Craig’s incredible followup character to James Bond. There will of course be another Knives Out Mystery with a yet-to-be-determined cast. You can read up about everything we know about Knives Out 3 at the moment in the meantime.
