Fair Play ending explained: What happens to Luke?

Starring Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) and Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer), Chloë Domont's, Fair Play revolves around two young lovers, Luke and Emily, who initially seem destined for one another.

However, their romantic spark soon gives way to a dangerous workplace battle once Emily is promoted over Luke.

Director Domont previously told RadioTimes.com that Fair Play was her attempt at "twisting" the erotic thriller genre.

But how does the story conclude? If you've got to the end of the film and need a little help unpacking those final scenes, you can read on to have the Fair Play ending explained.

Does Emily lose her job in Fair Play?

As Emily's position in the company continues to rise – and she attends more and more meetings with their boss Campbell (Eddie Marsan) – Luke begins to emotionally deteriorate.

At first, Emily seems determined to press ahead with their relationship and engagement, but she understandably loses patience with Luke as he repeatedly belittles her and insults her.

Things come to a head when Luke drunkenly interrupts a meeting between Emily, Campbell, and their co-worker Paul (Rich Sommer) and reveals their relationship, which had previously been kept secret as it broke company policy.

He is clearly attempting to damage Emily's reputation such that her career progression is halted, but Campbell takes little notice of the revelations – subsequently supporting Emily and firing Luke for his outburst.

Fair Play ending explained: What happens to Emily and Luke?

With Luke increasingly desperate, things then escalate further at an engagement party that had been thrown by Emily's parents against her express wishes, with a shouting match between the pair erupting in public before they continue it privately in a bathroom.

During the argument, they suddenly start kissing. At first, this appears to be consensual, but upsetting scenes follow as Luke becomes aggressive and ignores Emily when she pleads for him to stop.

They next see each other back at their shared apartment, where Emily finds Luke has packed away all his things into boxes and he explains that he will be leaving.

Naturally, Emily is furious with him that he doesn't seem prepared to apologise or even acknowledge the fact that he had raped her and so she takes matters into her own hands by threatening him with a knife until he apologises – wounding him in the process.

Eventually, he does apologise and admits that he is "nothing" before Emily tells him to clear his blood off the floor and never come back.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the film, Domont spoke about some of the reactions to the film and its ending that she'd noted so far.

“What has been surprising – but also gratifying – is seeing that it opens up conversations with men, especially older men rather than younger men," she said.

"But I think older men… it feels like we unlock something inside them that they've been holding, and that they feel like if they can be open and honest about talking their own experiences, you know, in these situations and in their marriages or divorces or the way they were raised and I think that that's been incredibly rewarding and gratifying."

She added: "I will say some of the surprises have been more from the production element or in the development of this film. I would say quite honestly, when I first started writing this script I was writing from a place of anger and pain and frustration from my own experiences in these situations – feeling like men would weaponise their insecurity against me in ways that were unjust.

"But I think the more I got into the story, the deeper I got into filming it and all that stuff, the more I realised that in many ways as much as women were victims of a system that worked against them I realised that many ways men were victims, too.

"And I think that that was a surprising realisation for me. And really, ultimately, you know, it raised an even bigger question about capitalism – which is like, you know, is capitalism compatible with love? Which... I don't know how to answer that.”

Fair Play is now streaming on Netflix. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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