Eternals (2021)
A group of immortal beings known as the Eternals live secretly on Earth and have guided human history for thousands of years. When the ancient Deviants suddenly return, the Eternals are forced to reunite after long separation. As they struggle to stop the threat, they also confront hidden truths about their mission and their place in the universe.
Narrative Score
Full Plot & Ending Explained
Intro
The Eternals—Ajak, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh, and Thena—arrive on Earth in 5000 BC aboard the Domo and spend millennia protecting humanity from the Deviants while obeying Arishem’s rule not to interfere in human wars.
Turning Point 1
In 1521, after the last Deviants are killed, the group splits over their purpose: Druig is horrified by the massacre at Tenochtitlan and leaves to live apart, Gilgamesh stays with Thena because of her worsening mental instability, and Ajak decides the mission is over for now.
Turning Point 2
In the present day, Sersi and Sprite live in London, where Sersi is dating Dane Whitman; when the Deviant Kro attacks, Ikaris appears and drives it off, but the attack pushes Sersi, Sprite, and Ikaris to South Dakota, where they discover Ajak has been killed by Kro.
Turning Point 3
Ajak’s death leads to Sersi being chosen as her successor, allowing her to communicate with Arishem and learn the truth: the Eternals were sent not to save Earth, but to nurture it until enough human life existed for the Celestial Tiamut to emerge, which would destroy the planet.
Turning Point 4
Sersi reunites the team, including Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Thena, and Gilgamesh, and they learn that the Deviants have evolved and that Thena’s “madness” is tied to recovered memories of prior Emergence cycles, while Ikaris remains loyal to Arishem and opposes stopping the plan.
Turning Point 5
At the Amazon settlement, the Deviants attack again and kill Gilgamesh, after which the Eternals realize they must act together to stop the Emergence; they split over the plan, with Druig proposing to put Tiamut to sleep while Ikaris reveals his devotion to Arishem’s original purpose.
Turning Point 6
The group travels to the volcanic site where Tiamut is emerging, and after a brutal fight Ikaris is overwhelmed by the others’ resistance and by Sersi’s determination to save Earth, while Phastos, Druig, Makkari, Thena, and the others help hold the plan together long enough for Sersi to channel energy into Tiamut.
Ending
Sersi, with the others’ support, turns Tiamut to marble and stops the Emergence, saving Earth at the cost of the Celestial’s birth; afterward Arishem takes Sersi, Kingo, and Phastos, promising to judge humanity by reviewing their memories, while Ikaris flies into the sun and Thena, Druig, and Makkari depart on the Domo to search for more Eternals.
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