The Long Walk ending explained – how is it different from Stephen King's book?

Hoffman and Jonsson play Ray and Pete, two teen participants in a high-stakes contest in a dystopian USA. The contest forces them to continuously walk or else be shot by a member of a military escort, with only one of them remaining at the end of the trek.

As you might expect from such a grisly premise, there are all sorts of devastating deaths and heartbreaking moments along the way – leading up to a highly emotional conclusion that is sure to get people talking.

Seen the film and need those final moments unpacked? Read on to have The Long Walk ending explained, but be warned: there are major spoilers ahead.

The Long Walk ending explained – why does Ray let Pete win?

At the end of the film – five days and over 300 miles into their trek – only two contestants remain: Pete and Ray. The pair have already seen most of their allies, including Hank Olson (Ben Wang) and Art Baker (Tut Nyuot) brutally shot after succumbing in various ways, but have continued to struggle onwards.

They soon arrive in a town where a crowd of spectators has gathered hoping to find out which of them will be the winner, and Pete – who is feeling the pain more than ever – decides to sit down, essentially conceding the contest.

However, rather than leaving his friend to his death, Ray picks him up and encourages him to keep going – which appears to be just the motivation Pete needed. He gets up and continues walking, only to turn around and realise that Ray has now himself stopped – with the Major subsequently executing him and declaring Pete as the winner.

Pete is then asked to confirm what wish he would like to have granted as his reward for winning the contest, and asks to be provided with a gun from one of the Major's soldiers – as Ray had told him he would wish for in the event of his victory.

Taking the gun he declares, "This is for Ray Garraty" and shoots the Major dead, leaving the stunned crowd in a state of shocked silence, before continuing to walk down the empty road ahead of him.

After Ray had sacrificed himself to let Pete win, this is him fulfilling his friend's revenge plan in his honour – shooting the Major dead in retribution for the Major having done the same to Ray's dad many years before.

As for why Ray sacrificed himself and allowed Pete to win, his final lines to his friend before he is shot are: "I can't see it. You can." This refers back to an earlier conversation they had had: about Pete generally being able to see the brighter side of things.

In that conversation, Pete had told him to choose love over revenge, something which Ray is now honouring by letting his friend win rather than pursuing his own quest for vengeance.

Pete's decision to then enact Ray's plan himself is his own way of paying back that love. The film ends before we find out what the repercussions of Pete's decision will be, but here's hoping his ability to look on the bright side will come in handy in the uncertain future.

How is the ending of The Long Walk different to Stephen King's novel?

Interestingly, the ending of the film is very different from how the novel concludes.

There are actually changes throughout the film, including moving the setting from woodland to a more desolate landscape and bringing down the number of walkers from 100 to 50. But it's in the final chapter where these changes are undoubtedly the most pronounced.

The book actually sees Ray winning the contest – with Pete having been executed upon sitting down. What's more, Pete isn't even in the final two, with his decision to quit coming before Stebbins has exited the contest.

As in the film, Stebbins explains that the Major is his father – and he then collapses, leaving Ray as the winner. But unlike the film, his revenge plan is not enacted – he continues walking into the distance leaving the Major untouched and his own fate unclear.

Speaking about the changes, the film's screenwriter JT Mollner told Total Film that the goal was to "make these changes without p**sing off constant readers" and to "put something in that would surprise people who read the book."

He added: "It was a scary moment because I love the ending of the book, and the book is not about twists or surprises. It's just about these characters. There's an ambiguity to that ending. There's a hopelessness to it.

"The reason we wanted to make those changes, is because not only did I find them interesting, I found that it was a way to really kind of personify and articulate the nature of love and relationships and and the best and worst human instincts and what you can be driven to in the same ten minute period with different characters, the same five minute period."

The Long Walk is now showing in UK cinemas.

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