NOTE: this post contains spoilers for the Past Lives ending.
After premiering to rave reviews at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival (What to Watch gave it five stars in our review), the decade-spanning love story of Past Lives is now available to watch for the general moviegoer.
For those who have seen it, it was likely hard not to get swept up in the beautiful story of Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), childhood sweethearts who reconnect after more than 20 years apart. But you also may be wondering about the Past Lives ending — who Nora chooses between Hae Sung and her American husband Arthur (John Magaro) and why?
We're going to go into detail about the movie's ending below, but first a quick recap of what leads up to those final moments.
The story begins with 12-year-old Nora and Hae Sung in Seoul, South Korea. The two have feelings for each other and even go on a cute date set up by Nora's mom before their family immigrates to Canada. After Nora and her family leave, 12 years pass and Nora and Hae Sung have fallen out of touch. However, when she is reminded of him one day she finds out that he also has been looking for her on Facebook.
The two reconnect, talking frequently on Skype and have a kind of long-distance relationship with Hae Sung still in South Korea and Nora now in New York City. But when they realize how difficult it is for them to uproot their lives to see each other, they decide to stop talking.
Another 12 years pass. Nora has been married to Arthur for several years when Hae Sung decides to take a vacation to New York and visit with Nora. Getting the chance to spend time together for the first time in 24 years brings up complicated feelings for each as well as the idea of "in yun," which means providence or fate in Korean. Are they destined to be together? And what does that mean for Arthur?
To answer that, let's now take a close examination of the Past Lives ending.
Who does Nora end up with in Past Lives?
When Nora and Hae Sung spend the day together in New York, it is very clear there is something between the two of them. But when Nora goes home and sees Arthur, she says seeing him is weird and she's not entirely sure how it makes her feel. Arthur is clearly nervous that their connection from childhood could present some problems for their relationship, admitting the idea of childhood sweethearts reconnecting is a romantic one. But Nora tells Arthur she loves him and that their life is the one she is going to keep. Despite his hesitations, Arthur is OK with Nora continuing to see Hae Sung.
The next day Nora and Hae Sung spend more time together, with the feeling of unsaid emotions hanging in the air. They eventually go back to Nora's apartment to meet Arthur. There is definitely an awkwardness between Arthur and Hae Sung, but they are polite to each other and they all go out to dinner.
At a bar, Nora sits between Arthur and Hae Sung, translating certain things Hae Sung is saying to try and keep Arthur involved. However, Nora and Hae Sung do go off into their own conversation in Korean, where they wonder what may have happened if Nora had stayed in South Korea. Would they have wound up together?
They ultimately decide that what they were looking for in each other was the 12-year-old versions of themselves, but the people they are now are different and ultimately not meant to be together. They wonder though, what they were to each other in a past life that let them have this special connection.
Nora waits with Hae Sung as his Uber arrives to take him to the airport. He asks her what their connection in this life may mean they can be in a future one. Nora says she doesn't know. Hae Sung gets into the Uber and drives away.
Nora walks back to her apartment, hugs Arthur and starts to cry. It is not Hae Sung that she is crying over though, but the 12-year-old girl Na Young (her Korean name) that she realizes is truly gone.
What happens to Hae Sung in Past Lives?
Nora staying with Arthur and crying in his arms is not the final shot of the movie. The last moment is Hae Sung riding in the Uber across a bridge as the sun rises, with him and the car eventually driving out of frame.
Like Nora, Hae Sung now realizes this relationship that has been in his mind for 24 years is not the love story he thought it may be, despite their obvious connection. He leaves New York free from his past and ready to move on with his life like Nora has.
Past Lives is now playing in select theaters in the US, expanding nationwide on June 23. It arrives in the UK on September 8.
