‘Pearl’ Ending Explained: Why Does Howard Stay with Pearl?

Why not start spooky season early by streaming Pearl on Netflix this weekend? The second movie in Ti West’s horror trilogy is now streaming on Netflix, and it’s certain to liven up your Friday night.

The 2022 prequel to West’s porno horror slasher X, Pearl brings back star Mia Goth to tell her her villain origin story. Taking place in 1918, during the Spanish Flu pandemic and World War I, Pearl (Goth, this time sans old-age make-up) is stuck on an isolated farm with her family, caring for her sickly father and dealing with her overbearing mother. Pearl dreams of a life of Hollywood glamour and is eventually driven over the edge.

Earlier this year, the third movie in the series, MaXXXine, opened in theaters. Though it was well-liked, many critics agreed it lacked the “X factor” of X and Pearl. Because Pearl is a prequel, you can also watch the movie as a standalone film. But if you did watch X, you may find yourself confused by the Pearl ending. Don’t worry, Decider is here to help. Read on for an analysis of the Pearl plot summary and Pearl ending explained.

Pearl movie plot summary:

The year is 1918, and Pearl (played by Mia Goth) is the daughter of German immigrants. She lives in Texas with her nagging mother, Ruth (Tandi Wright), helping to care for their failing farm, and taking care of her near-comatose father (Matthew Sunderland), who fell ill due to the Spanish influenza. Pearl’s husband Howard is off fighting in World War I. Pearl dreams that she’ll someday be a famous dancer, and will leave this tedious life of farming and care-taking behind. Pearl also has a dark side—she cheerfully murders a goose in cold blood, for interrupting one of her barnyard performances for the animals.

One day, Pearl’s sister-in-law, Mitsy (Emma Jenkins-Purro) stops by to let Pearl know about an upcoming audition for a travelling dance troupe, being held at the church. Pearl decides this audition will be her ticket out of her dreary life. But when she tells her mother about the audition, her mother tells her she will fail. She tells her to be realistic and accept the life she has, not dream of the life she wants. She tells Pearl she knows there is darkness in her—she knows Pearl wants her father and mother to die—and that everyone will see it and be afraid of her. This argument escalates into a physical fight, and mother’s dress accidentally catches fire from the fire place. Mother burns alive and is on the verge of death, but not quite dead. Pearl locks her mother in the basement, and runs off to sleep with the charming movie projectionist (David Corenswet) she knows in town.

The projectionist drives Pearl home the next morning. She invites him inside for more sex, and he can tell the vibe is very off. Pearl grows upset when he tries to leave, and murders him with a pitchfork. She dumps his body in the gator-infested lake, and goes to her audition. Pearl dances her butt off, but the judges tell her they are looking for someone “younger and more blonde.” Mitsy drives a distraught Pearl home, and gently coaxes her sister-in-law into talking about what’s on her mind. She tells Pearl to pretend that she’s speaking to Howard. Pearl confesses everything to “Howard”: her infidelity, her murderous tendencies, and her dark jealousy of Howard’s family life. She says she was incensed that Howard left her on the farm alone. But now she regrets what she has done, and says she will do whatever it takes to make the farm into a home, and make Howard love her.

Mitsy is terrified, obviously. She tries to leave, but Pearl forces Mitsy to confess that she won the audition. It’s not clear whether she really did win, or is just trying to keep Pearl calm. Either way, it’s not good enough. As Mitsy exits the house, Pearl chases her down with an axe, and brutally murders Mitsy. Mitsy begs for her life, claiming she’ll do anything Pearl wants. Pearl replies by quoting her mother: It’s not about what she wants, it’s about making the most of what she has.

Pearl (2022) ending explained:

After murdering Mitsy, Pearl dismembers the body and feeds it to the gator in the lake. Then she goes down to the basement to visit her burned-up, dead mother. She lies next to her mother’s corpse and imagines her singing to her in German. Then she drags the body upstairs, and recreates a macabre version of a happy home life. She props up the bodies of her mother and father at the dinner table and lays out a rotting, maggot-covered meal. Why does Pearl do this?

Well, first of all, she’s clearly lost her mind a bit. (If you’ll recall, Mitsy made an earlier comment about the pandemic and isolation driving folks mad. This hit even hard when the movie came out in 2022, still in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.) Second, Pearl mentioned to Mitsy in her big confession that she would try to make a home for Howard, to make him love her. Presumably, this is her sick way of trying to do that.

In the last scene of the movie, Howard returns home from war. He walks into the farm house, and sees the rotting corpses and rotting food on the table. Mold on the food suggests it’s been weeks since Pearl set up that horrific scene. Pearl greets Howard while holding a jug of lemonade. “I’m so happy you’re home,” she tells him, before offering a pained smile. Goth holds that painful smile for several minutes, as the credits on the movie roll, and the film ends.

Why does Howard stay with Pearl in the Pearl ending?

Even though Howard looks horrified in this final scene, we know from X that Howard stays with Pearl in that farmhouse for many, many more years. West leaves it up to you to fill in the blanks. Does Howard stay out of fear for his own life? Does he just love Pearl that much? Or is he a crazy, murder-hungry nut-job, too? After all, he did tell Pearl in his letter that he witnessed horrible atrocities during the war. Maybe he’s desensitized to murder—or even likes it as much as Pearl does.

Whatever the reason, when we meet Pearl and Howard again in X, they have been married and living in the farmhouse a longtime. I guess you could call that happily-ever-after.