Hamnet ending explained: What happened to Agnes?

Hamnet,‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ a 2025 historical drama, is a story about the marriage, parenthood, and grief of Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), interwoven with a touch of mysticism. Directed by Chloé Zhao and adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, the film is a fictive retelling of the Shakespeare family and the loss that deeply impacted the writing of Hamlet.

The loss of the Shakespeare family's son, Hamnet, becomes the emotional core of the story, and their journey through life's stages is presented alongside this devastating event.

The movie got its world debut at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival and is later released in the US and Canada theatrically, with the next rollout planned for 2026. Like the novel, the movie conveys the story with a blend of realism and mysticism, presenting the Shakespeares not just as people who lived a long time ago, but as people who love, suffer, fear, and think about what comes after them.

At the beginning of the film, Agnes is shown as a spiritual person, an empathetic one, and someone who has a very close relationship with nature, and all these things greatly affect her perception of the world and of being a mother. The movie depicts her life with William, their love, the birth of their daughter Susanna, and later the twins Hamnet and Judith.

At the end Agnes accepts Hamnet’s death during the final Hamlet performance, finding emotional closure as she imagines her son smiling and walking into darkness, symbolizing her release from grief.

What happens in the movie Hamnet?

Hamnet looks into the period of Shakespeare's life before he became a famous writer and depicts the story with detailed and realistic scenes of his home life. William conflicts with his father, John, who is not only dismissive but also tries to dominate and control his son brutally, thus forcing him to go to London and to the theatre.

As he matures, William becomes a successful playwright, while Agnes takes care of their three children in Stratford, and her connection to the forest and her visionary powers remain intact.

The two children, Hamnet and Judith, are brought up to be very close, and this bond becomes the main theme of the film that leads to the turning point.

The story of Hamnet is transposed to Shakespeare’s secluded years before he rose to fame, and the plot is therefore focused on the family’s mundane life. William, under heavy-handed command and frequent abuse from his father John, who both dismisses him and tries to control him violently, is forced to go to London and the theatre.

As he matures, he becomes a successful playwright, while Agnes, still devoted to her forest rituals and uncanny foresight, raises their three children in Stratford. The twins Hamnet and Judith are brought up to be very close, and this bond becomes the turning point of the film.

When Judith is infected with the plague, Hamnet offers his life instead of hers; thus, he gets ill in her place. The family is shattered by his death, and it is also the main reason for the splitting of Agnes' prophetic faculty, leaving her spiritually unanchored.

William, in a desperate attempt to hide his sorrow, does not talk to anyone but goes back to London and writes what later will be known as Hamlet.

Agnes refuses at first to have anything to do with it, but eventually she goes to the theatre to see the performance and finds him there. She doesn’t want to experience the pain once more but, in fact, she does all over again through art.

What happened to Agnes at the end of Hamnet?

The final act of the movie pivots around Agnes coming to terms with both her husband and her loss. Initially, she is very angry when she finds out the name of the play is Hamlet, as she thinks it is just another case of turning her son's life into art. Nonetheless, when she sees the show, the impact of it changes.

The actor playing Hamlet is very much like her son, and when the former dies, Agnes extends her hand to him in an acceptance gesture. This occasion enables her to deal with what she had been avoiding all along: his death, her fear, and her grief.

She sees him smiling and disappearing in a dark chamber behind the stage in her vision, referring to the mystical forest cave that is the symbol of transformation through the film. The vision reflects harmony, coming to terms with the past, and letting go. Agnes does not physically accompany him, but she lets him go spiritually.

At the end, Agnes is still with us, but her character has undergone a significant transformation throughout. The play is the means by which she can reconnect with William, who expresses his sorrow not by talking but through his art.

For the very first time after the sad event, Agnes and William have a meeting of minds and not of differences. She understands that Hamlet is not a case of taking advantage of her son; it is William's way of communicating what he could never have said. The mystical link and her being at one with the performance signify her letting go of both her son's absence and her husband's manner of ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌grieving.

The movie was released on November 26, 2025.

Edited by Sakshi Singh