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Stowaway ending explained: What happened to Michael and Zoe?

Stowaway came to Netflix in the U.S. and Amazon Prime Video in Canada last week. Here’s a breakdown of the ending. What did happen to Anna Kendrick’s character?

Caution: We’re getting into spoilers for Stowaway in case the title of the article didn’t give that away!

The movie’s title tells you what happens at the beginning. A crew of three are on a two-year mission to Mars when they find a stowaway unconscious on their ship. With where he is, it damaged the air filter meaning that there wasn’t enough oxygen for the passengers.

This wasn’t a typical sci-fi movie. While there were elements of being trapped in space, this was a drama and a survival movie. If you loved The Martian ($), it would be something for you.

The ship was originally designed only for two people but was adapted for a third, which would become important during Stowaway. It was definitely never designed to sustain four people, especially when they didn’t even know a fourth was there. With a five-month trip to Mars (and back), they realized that they didn’t have enough air for all of them.

At first, the captain, Marina (Toni Coletti), realized that she was going to have to kill the stowaway. Daniel Dae Kim’s David agreed with that decision. The two of them and Zoe had trained too long for this mission to go completely to waste, although David’s had because he’d used all his algae to create extra oxygen. Zoe was the one to fight back. They had 20 days to come up with another solution. Marina agreed to using 10 of those days.

Things turned from bad to worse when all the algae failed. There was only enough air for two people now, so they had to go with a plan that David had thought of. They could get the oxygen out of water, but they’d have to climb up the tower outside the ship to do so.

It was a risk, but at this point, a risk worth taking.

Did everyone survive on Stowaway?

Zoe and David climbed the tower, but they only had time to grab one of two air cannisters from the water. A solar flare came in and they had to rush back in. However, Zoe accidentally dropped that air cannister she got. It meant the air cannister still collecting the air was the only one, and they were back to sacrificing one person on the ship.

Would it be Michael? Well, they had to get to the air cannister first and now the solar flare was in effect. It would mean deadly radiation, and only Zoe or David could get that last air cannister.

In the end, Zoe was the one to volunteer to do it to save Michael knowing it would mean her own death. David had a wife back home, and she wasn’t going to let him sacrifice himself.

She managed to get the cannister and get it back in the ship, meaning Michael would be able to live through the journey to Mars and back to Earth. Zoe remained outside, succumbing to the radiation from the solar flare. Yes, Stowaway killed off Anna Kendrick’s character in the end!

MORE: What is Stowaway on Amazon Prime Video Canada?

What did you think of Stowaway? Were you surprised by the ending? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Stowaway is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime Video in Canada ($).