A Guide to Understanding the Ending Better

[verticalgunn]

The ending makes sense to me, and for those who didn't understand it, here's what happened.

- Donnie carries Gretchen's dead body to his home. He steals the keys to Elizabeth's car and drives to the hills above town. At the hills, he can see a time tunnel forming over the town. The red eye Donnie's mom and sister are on accidentally flies into the time tunnel, when the engine of the jet breaks away from the plane and falls through the time tunnel. The time is changed to October 2nd, Donnie is in bed. Instead of leaving, he stays in the bed to sacrifice himself so Gretchen will never die, but he will never meet her however. The jet engine crashes through his room, and kills him. All the people Donnie affected before he changed time wake up from a nightmare, in which the dream involved the actions Donnie resented on them. Gretchen waves at Donnie's mom, sharing some small recognition between them. The little boy waves, too, trying to be nice.

[Phil]

the red eye doesnt accidentally hit the worm hole.

donnie has telekinetic powers, and rips the engine from the plane the put through the worm hole as one of the elements of time travel so that the tu can be reset to prevent a black hole forming and destroying both universes

[Vertical Gunn]

Jan 5, 2009 6:50:36 GMT -5 Phil said:

the red eye doesnt accidentally hit the worm hole.

donnie has telekinetic powers, and rips the engine from the plane the put through the worm hole as one of the elements of time travel so that the tu can be reset to prevent a black hole forming and destroying both universes

The red eye doesn't. The engine does.

[Phil]

Jan 5, 2009 6:50:36 GMT -5 Phil said:

and rips the engine from the plane

[verticalgunn]

Wow, I guess some people really don't get the ending. I understood it. Read more about the ending here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Darko#Plot

[Garo]

Wait wait here is something i just don't get or maybe i seemed to have missed something.. Donnie has powers? I hear it everywhere that Donnie sent the engine back in time. REALLY?? I am confused..
I was under the impression that Donnie was just observing the inevitable. and that when the engine accidentally passed over where the engine would fall from in the second of October it just jumps through time and ends up in Donnie's room, killing him.
so just to clarify... not as an interpretation or a n idea someone had, but what is actually meant to be shown in the movie.. dose Donnie arbitrarily rip the engine off and send it back in time to kill himself? Or dose he see it get sent back and when we are at October 2nd, he just chooses to accept his death and let go?

[twinkletwos]

Apr 11, 2011 3:49:58 GMT -5 @Garo said:

Wait wait here is something i just don't get or maybe i seemed to have missed something.. Donnie has powers? I hear it everywhere that Donnie sent the engine back in time. REALLY?? I am confused..
I was under the impression that Donnie was just observing the inevitable. and that when the engine accidentally passed over where the engine would fall from in the second of October it just jumps through time and ends up in Donnie's room, killing him.
so just to clarify... not as an interpretation or a n idea someone had, but what is actually meant to be shown in the movie.. dose Donnie arbitrarily rip the engine off and send it back in time to kill himself? Or dose he see it get sent back and when we are at October 2nd, he just chooses to accept his death and let go?

check out director's cut version-has more exposition/info.
presumably, Donnie sends engine through channel to restore/save primary universe & to eradicate tangent universe, not to kill self.
the latter is topic of debate here: why did Donnie die? was it "necessary" in some way? etc...