Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Ending Explained [SPOILER!]

SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins stars Henry Golding as Snake Eyes, a tenacious loner who is welcomed into an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage after saving the life of their heir apparent. Upon arrival in Japan, the Arashikage teach Snake Eyes the ways of the ninja warrior while also providing something he’s been longing for: a home. But, when secrets from his past are revealed, Snake Eyes’ honor and allegiance will be tested — even if that means losing the trust of those closest to him.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Plot Summary and Synopsis

A young boy is orphaned when his father is murdered. Years later, the boy has grown into a talented and deadly martial arts fighter, driven by a desire to avenge his father. To conceal his identity, he calls himself “Snake Eyes”, a name inspired by watching his father’s murderer force him to roll a pair of dice to determine his fate; his father was killed when he rolled double ones.

While working at a fish factory, Snake Eyes is approached by a wealthy yakuza boss, Kenta, who offers to find his father’s killer if Snake Eyes works for him. When Snake Eyes is asked to prove his loyalty by shooting a man who betrayed Kenta’s trust, Snake Eyes deliberately misses the shot and helps the traitor escape. The traitor is revealed to be Kenta’s cousin, Tommy.

Tommy and Kenta were both in line to lead Clan Arashikage, an ancient society devoted to preserving order and fighting evil. Kenta sought to kill his brother, but failed, and was banished.

Grateful to Snake Eyes for helping him escape Tommy takes Snake Eyes to his clan and asks that he be initiated as a member. The current clan leader, Tommy’s grandmother Sen, agrees to let Snake Eyes undergo three trials to determine whether he is worthy of membership.

The clan’s head of security, Akiko, doesn’t trust Snake Eyes, but he wins her trust by revealing his father’s murder and explains that is why there is no recorded history of him. Unbeknownst to anyone, Snake Eyes plans to betray his new allies. Tommy’s attempted murder and escape are shown to have been staged by Kenta to get Snake Eyes close enough to steal the clan’s most sacred treasure, the “Jewel of the Sun”.

Snake Eyes finds himself increasingly torn between his guilt over betraying Tommy and his clan, and his overwhelming desire for revenge. He passes the first two trials with his exceptional talents and learns that the third and final trial requires his spirit to be tested by sacred anacondas, who know whether he is truly pure of heart. Due to Snake Eyes’ secrets, the snakes attack him, but Akiko saves him from being killed.

Confronted by the clan, Snake Eyes admits that he has not been honest, but manages to hide the true reason he betrayed the clan. Therefore, he is expelled.

Snake Eyes returns in secret and steals the jewel using his knowledge of the clan’s temple, delivering it to Kenta. Kenta explains that he is stealing the jewel on behalf of a terrorist organization known as Cobra. Cobra, through their liaison, the Baroness, has been arming Kenta with weapons so that he can seize control of Clan Arashikage.

Snake Eyes receives his reward for stealing the jewel: his father’s killer, who turns out to be a Cobra agent. Having realized what his bloodlust has cost him, Snake Eyes spares the man and instead goes back to Clan Arashikage to warn them of Kenta’s attack.

Tommy puts aside his anger and lets Snake Eyes assist him and the clan’s warriors, including Scarlett, a member of G.I. Joe, an international peacekeeping organization, in fighting off Kenta’s men.

After Kenta admits that he has no intention of handing over the jewel, the Baroness abandons him and defects to the clan’s side. With his men defeated, Kenta loses the jewel to Tommy, who in his fury tries to use its power to murder his cousin. Kenta manages to escape, but Snake Eyes traps him in the anaconda pit, where the snakes devour Kenta upon sensing his evil spirit.

They judge Snake Eyes to be pure of heart for forgoing his revenge and thus he becomes worthy to join the clan.

After the fight, Sen tells Tommy that he is no longer fit to lead the clan as he broke their vow to never use the jewel. Enraged at being denied his birthright, Tommy forsakes the clan and his own family.

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Ending

Snake Eyes meets with Scarlett, who explains that his father was a G.I. Joe agent. She offers Snake Eyes a chance to become a Joe.

The Baroness locates Tommy, who now calls himself Storm Shadow, and recruits him into Cobra.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).