Editor’s Note: Spoilers are ahead for ‘Argylle.’

The Big Picture

The ending of Argylle reveals that the brainwashed spy novelist, Elly Conway, and her former lover, Aidan, take down their superiors and escape. The mid-credits scene suggests a connection between “Argylle” and Vaughn’s other franchise, “Kingsman,” but the meaning is unclear. The ending and mid-credits scene reflect Vaughn’s fascination with exploring the past and future of his films and leaving cliffhangers for possible sequels.

Argylle, the newest Matthew Vaughn directorial effort, is a spy movie full of twists and turns. Unsurprisingly, the saga of spy novelist Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) getting swept up in a real-life adventure of espionage doesn’t go where audiences may expect — at least in some respects. While some good guys turn out to be foes and vice versa by the time the credits begin to roll, Argylle does end up with plenty of the requisite shoot-outs and fist-fights one would expect from an entry in this genre.

Of course, a whole lot is going on at that end of Argylle. One can be forgiven for losing track of things in the middle of all the bright colors and CGI cat chaos that closes out the screenplay by Jason Fuchs. So, if you need some clarification on the ending of Argylle, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dig right into what the ending of Argylle entails, as well as what on Earth is going on with a mid-credits scene that initially comes off as…well, a tad confusing. “The bigger the spy, the bigger the lie,” so says an oft-repeated quote in Argylle, but one won’t find anything but the truth in this breakdown of the feature’s ending.

Argylle An introverted spy novelist is drawn into the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. Release Date February 2, 2024 Director Matthew Vaughn Runtime 135 minutes Writers Jason Fuchs

What Happens at the End of ‘Argylle’?
As the finale for Argylle begins, brainwashed super-agent Rachel Kylle (A.K.A. Elly Conway) has regained her lethal killing abilities and seemingly been reunited with her wicked superiors, Ritter (Bryan Cranston) and Ruth (Catherine O’Hara). To demonstrate loyalty to her evil masters, Kylle shoots and seemingly kills former lover Aidan and her partner, (Sam Rockwell). Of course, this is all a ruse. An e-mail from an anonymous super-fan of her Argylle books gave Kylle the idea to shoot Aidan near his heart, but not in a fatal spot. Aidan’s alive and subdues his captors just as Kylle betrays Ritter and Ruth.

In the wake of these events, Kylle and Aidan reunite to take down Ritter’s army of goons in a dance-fight sequence set against bursts of colorful smoke. After dispatching all these baddies, Kylle and Aidan scramble across various parts of the oil tanker that Ritter uses as his headquarters. Their mission? To bypass a program preventing them from electronically sending incriminating evidence about Ritter to ally “Alfie” (Samuel L. Jackson) on his vineyard. Unsurprisingly, the 60-something-year-old stars of sitcoms like Malcolm in the Middle and Schitt’s Creek do not prove to be formidable physical foes for these romantically entangled super-spies.

3:58 Related Matthew Vaughn Reveals Taylor Swift’s ‘Argylle’ Connection Vaughn and Samuel L. Jackson also talk about the enduring legacy of ‘Pulp Fiction.’

Ritter gets taken down by Kylle’s trusty cat Alfie, who scratches this nefarious figure to death, a form of payback after Ritter twice exhibited physical abuse on this feline. As for Ruth, she doesn’t go down as easily. Using a music box whose tune helped brainwash Kylle into meek author Elly Conway, Ruth psychologically controls Kylle into turning on Aidan. As long as the music on that knick-knack is playing, Kylle is under the fingers of Ruth and unable to finish sending that evidence to “Alfie.” Luckily, an unknown fully clothed figure knocks Ruth unconscious just in time.

Just Who Is Henry Cavill Playing at the End of ‘Argylle’?

That information is sent to “Alfie” and the figure reveals themselves to be…Keira (Ariana DeBose)! Previously, the script for Argylle had Aiden revealing that the real-world Keira (a version of this figure also exists in Conway’s books) died in combat. However, Keira is alive and well, having survived by a bullet narrowly missing her heart. Yes, she was the “anonymous fan” that e-mailed Conway. The trio escapes the oil tanker just as it explodes into the night and Argylle proceeds to close out with an epilogue that skips forward in time to a promotional event celebrating the publication of Conway’s latest book.

Things seem to have ended well for our heroes — that is until one participant at the event stands up to ask Conway a question. This heavily bearded gentleman with a deep Southern accent and curly mullet looks just like the version of Agent Argylle (played by Henry Cavill) Conway has always imagined inhabiting her books. While he leaves Elly with a stunned expression, trying to understand just who he is, he asks if she has any questions for him. This revelation causes the credits to start rolling, presumably leaving this reveal to be fully processed in a sequel that potentially sets up a franchise.

How the ‘Argylle’ Post-Credits Cross Over Into the Kingsman Franchise

Image via Universal

The mid-credits scene begins with an establishing shot of a tavern called The King’s Man, the name written in bright gold font. Yes, it looks like Argylle is closing out with a tie-in to another Matthew Vaughn franchise. The subsequent scene reveals a young Agent Argylle (Louis Partridge) talking to a bartender (Ben Daniels) and saying just the right things to this man to secure his respect. The implication here is that Argylle isn’t just any secret agent — he’s also a member of the Kingsman. The on-screen text then appears, plastered over an in-universe poster for the Argylle book series, declaring “Argylle Book One The Movie: Coming Soon.”

Frankly, one would have an easier time parsing out a coherent narrative from a surrealist film like Andrei Tarkosvky’s Mirror than decoding what on Earth this scene means, devoid of any larger context. In an interview with Vaughn care of Collider’s own Steve Weintraub, the southern-accented figure from the very end of Argylle is the “true Argylle.” The mid-credits figure known as Aubrey Argylle, per Vaughn, is meant to be a younger version of that “true Argylle.” As for this scene firmly connecting the Kingsman and Argylle franchises, Vaughn’s comments on the matter indicate they could inhabit some sort of “space in the middle where I haven’t played with yet.” What form that “space” could occupy (or even what medium of storytelling it would inhabit) isn’t clear right now. However, there are plans for a future with Louis Partridge, per Vaughn.

The Post-Credits Scene Establishes Agent Aubrey Argylle

What’s clear, though, is how the Argylle mid-credits scene offers a lot of lore and mythos to play with, especially since Matthew Vaughn’s comments to Collider indicate that the mid-credits scene ties into an actual Argylle book that was recently published. Furthermore, the mid-credits scene continues Vaughn’s sharp and keen interest in exploring the history of his films. The 2021 feature The King’s Man leaped into yesteryear to break down the origin of the Kingsman organization and now Vaughn is once again looking backward to flesh out his espionage-centric characters for a strong franchise crossover. While chatting with Steve Weintraub, Vaughn admits that while all of it is “rather obvious when you see it,” the characters that you liked in Argylle will return for Argylle 2 — even Henry Cavill with a mullet.

While Agent Argylle is not officially a member of Kingsman just yet, the post-credits scene confirms a solid history between the spy and covert organization, proving the two spy movies exist in the same cinematic universe and could eventually cross paths. The cliffhanger nature of Argylle’s ending even before that mid-credits scene is also consistent with similar conclusions from past Vaughn features like Kick-Ass. The past and future are always on the mind of Vaughn as a filmmaker. Argylle’s ending and mid-credits scene are just the latest examples of this phenomenon.

Argylle is now playing in theaters.

Get tickets now