Zendaya Weighs In on 'Challengers' Ending (& Her Mom Has a Different Interpretation!)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Zendaya is weighing in on the end of Challengers.

The 27-year-old actress opened up about the end of Luca Guadagnino‘s film, and what she thinks happened.

In the final scene, the camera lands on Tashi (Zendaya) as she screams “come on!” and smiles following a match point volley between Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Art jumps over the net and into Patrick’s arms.

In an interview with The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan, Zendaya shared her thoughts on the ending, and admitted that it might be “confusing” to some.

Keep reading to find out more…

Zendaya said she felt that Tashi’s expression is a “yes!” of approval, “but my mom’s like, ‘I saw it differently.’”

“My mom read the ending so different,” Zendaya said.

“My mom is like, ‘She’s pissed because they realize that they don’t need her anymore.’ I was like, ‘But I smile a little bit at the end!’ My mom was watching it behind me and every time my character does something bad or cheats on her husband or whatever, she’s like, ‘Why do you do that?’ She’s so angry with Tashi, she’s so upset. But it’s interesting, I was like, ‘What? I don’t know where you got that from.’ I’m in the movie and I feel like I have a good sense of what I thought this ending was supposed to be, and she was like, ‘No. This is what it is. So sorry.’”

The director said “I like that reading” of the ending, adding, “Tashi’s a director. She’s like Lermontov in The Red Shoes, she makes things happen. And maybe your mom is right, maybe Tashi wants them to find each other … I like what your mom says, because it adds another level that goes beyond our intentions. For me, she smiles at the end, if you’re going to freeze frame.”

“That’s so cool. I really like that read,” added Josh. “I think that’s the point, everyone’s got a different perspective on it.”

“Isn’t it so beautiful that we have an open ending that people like?” the director asked his stars. “Because everybody says, ‘No. Never open ending. You have to know what happens at the end.’”

Mike also called the ending “interpretative.”

Zendaya also revealed her feelings about the three-way kiss.