How does Steven Soderbergh's Black Bag End? Star Michael Fassbender Has Some Thoughts
Find out how Black Bag ends and get Michael Fassbender's take on the choices made by his character, especially when it comes Cate Blanchett's Kathryn St. Jean.
**SPOILER WARNING!! Spoilers below for Black Bag!**
Cinema has gifted us with all kinds of spy thrillers, from the kinetic violence of the Bourne films starring Matt Damon, to the star-crossed espionage romance of The Russia House with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Focus Features' original spy thriller Black Bag (click here for tickets), from director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp, leans into the latter, exploring the strength of the matrimonial bonds between elite National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett).
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The very methodical Woodhouse is tasked by his division superior to investigate a mole in their London office and amongst the list of five suspects, which includes his agency friends and colleagues, is also his wife. What's a man, who is quite besotted by his smart and sexy wife, to do?
That's the crux of Black Bag... whether impeccable agent George Woodhouse is actually more loyal to his calling, or his spouse.
Intelligence agent George Woodhouse gets his assignment
In the opening minutes of Black Bag, NCSC agent Philip Meacham (Gustaf Skarsgård) tasks George with a finding mole in their London office before that person unleashes a highly destructive cyber worm called Severus into the world. George sets his keen sights on Kathryn, and fellow NCSC agents Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela), Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris), and the newly promoted Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page).
George summons them to the home he shares with Kathryn for a carefully prepared dinner party, where he can observe them in a controlled environment. Many secrets are revealed. He then follows up on those revelations and builds a case for, or against, each suspect. One week later, after he's had a chance to have a one-on-one moment with all five agents, George welcomes them back for his unmasking of the mole.
What happens at the end of Black Bag?
As the NCSC staffers under scrutiny all sit uncomfortably around George's perfectly appointed dining room table, George uses his world-class powers of observation and interrogation to compel Stokes to admit to working with their division superior, Arthur Steiglitz (Pierce Brosnan) to release Severus on the sly. Threatened by the accusation and discovery, Stokes grabs the gun placed by George on the table and attempts to shoot him. But the gun is not loaded, and the always prepared Kathryn raises her fully operational gun and blows Stokes away.
Earlier in the week, Kathryn told George that she would be willing to kill for him and she proved the veracity of her words in the blink of an eye. While the rest of the agents are stunned into silence, Kathryn quite forcefully warns them all, "Don't f--- with my marriage again!"
Back at the office, Kathryn confronts Steiglitz in the elevator and suggests that he retire immediately as she and George know exactly what he planned with Stokes regarding Severus.
Later at home, a now relaxed George and Kathryn reconnect in their bedroom to discuss the last pieces of his investigation, and reiterate their unfailing commitment to one another. Plus, there's an unaccounted for $7 million from the Severus handoff that only they know about.
RELATED: Why Cate Blanchett Said Yes to Black Bag Before Even Reading the Spy Film's Script
Does George ever question Kathryn's honesty?
Curious about how Fassbender approached George's trust in Kathryn, NBC Insider asked if he ever played a moment in the film where his character had doubts about her actions.
"Absolutely," the actor said. "I think he's a numbers person. Until all the analysis has come through that he can gather, he's not going to make a judgment. He's just putting all the pieces together."
Fassbender implied that his character set up the timeline for George to question everyone at the very top of the film, and that was for a reason. "It's interesting because he has that conversation with Meacham where he says, 'Give me two weeks.' Then, [Meacham] says there's a deadline to it. And [George] goes, 'Okay, a week.' But ideally, two weeks is the time it would take to do it correctly. Everything has to be done correctly. He's quite OCD when it comes to that. He doesn't make decisions from an emotional place. It's all very analytical."
The film's narrative brings the couple back to a reset of contentment in the end. But Fassbender said, even if it didn't, George would always side with Kathryn. "Even if she did do what he was fearing that she did, he would still be loyal to her, I think," Fassbender told NBC Insider. "His loyalty definitely lies to her, first and foremost."
RELATED: Black Bag: Cast and Characters of Steven Soderbergh's Spy Drama Film, Explained
Does Black Bag have an end-credits scenes?
No, the film does not have a post-credit scene.
How can I watch Black Bag?
Black Bag is now playing in theaters. Click here for tickets!
