The Mother ending explained: Will the J-Lo Netflix movie have a sequel?

Lucy-Jo Finnighan
jennifer lopez in the mother

The Mother, a new Netflix movie starring Jennifer Lopez, is out now. But what happens at the end of the film, and will it have a sequel?

Netflix is always putting out fun new movies, and The Mother, which just dropped today, is no different.

This new action film starring Jennifer Lopez follows her nameless character as “a deadly female assassin” who “comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men.”

The movie is a somewhat conventional action film, but you may still be wondering how it all ends. Plus, will it lead to a sequel? We’ll explain all, so read on.

How does The Mother end?

The Mother follows Lopez’s character – as she goes unnamed, we’ll just refer to her as Lopez – as she tries desperately to protect her daughter Zoe, who she had to give up as a baby to keep her safe. Two very powerful men that she worked with – and potentially conceived Zoe with – kidnap Zoe multiple times throughout the movie, and when the FBI agent assigned to protect Zoe gets killed, Lopez decides that another tactic is required.

She takes Zoe to a hidden cabin in the woods with her – the same cabin she’d been hiding out for 12 years in – and trains Zoe to protect herself, including hunting, driving, and fighting. All the while, Lopez refuses to admit that she is Zoe’s real mother, despite Zoe suspecting it almost immediately. Their rocky relationship isn’t helped by the fact that Zoe desperately wants to go back home, and Lopez isn’t exactly the most chatty or loving guardian.

However, one thing that Lopez forgot to teach Zoe is to never give your real name out. So when Zoe gets bitten by a wolf and goes to the hospital, her name gets logged into the computer, and Lopez knows that one of her ex-partners, Adrien, will be on their doorsteps any time soon.

She tries to get Zoe to leave with a friend of hers as she takes all of Adrien’s men out. However, after reading a heartfelt letter from Lopez, Zoe drives back to find her mother, but soon finds herself captured again.

There’s a back-and-forth cat-and-mouse battle, which ultimately ends up with Lopez and Adrien having a showdown of fists, though before that happens, Lopez admits to Zoe that these past few months of training have been the best of her life.

Zoe is able to shoot at Adrien, causing him and Lopez to tumble down a hill. But while the fall knocks Lopez out, Adrien is seemingly fine, and he ambushes Zoe. Dragging her to his car, it seems like Lopez may finally lose the only person she loves. She snaps her broken leg back into place, and desperately shoots at the car. Tearfully, it seems like she hasn’t managed to hit him.

However, this turns out to be a fake-out, as Zoe is able to run from the car and back to her mother. The two embrace, admit that they love each other, and finally, Zoe is able to go home to her adopted family.

But while the pair can never live normally together, they still remain close. The final scene of the film has Lopez watch Zoe from an apartment near a park that Zoe frequents. Zoe spots her, mimes shooting at Lopez, to which Lopez fondly says, “You got me.”

And with one quick glance at a charm bracelet on her arm, which states “Mom,” the movie ends.

Will there be a The Mother 2?

Netflix has yet to confirm if there will be a sequel, but Jennifer Lopez and the team behind The Mother are thinking about it.

Not much is known in regards to a sequel, except a potential title: “I think it would be The Daughter,” Lopez told Variety at the movie’s premiere. Lucy Paez, who plays Zoe in the film, also agreed: “The sequel will definitely be The Daughter.”

Going off this title, we can imagine that the potential second film would focus on Zoe, and her newfound skills after training with her mother. Perhaps she’ll be the one protecting Lopez’s character, instead of the other way around.

Right now any sequel will be determined by how many streams the first film gets. But considering that The Mother is currently the sixth most watched English-language movie of all time on Netflix, those numbers must be pretty good. Potentially good enough to get a sequel, but only time will tell.

The Mother is currently available to stream on Netflix.

You check out the rest of our Netflix coverage here. And make sure to check out our other Netflix hubs below:

The Night Agent Season 2 | The Gentlemen | Will there be Firefly Lane Season 3? | Sex Education Season 4 | Beef Season 2 | Monster Season 2 | Will there be Ginny and Georgia Season 3? | Black Mirror Season 6 | All the Light We Cannot See | Stranger Things Season 5 | The Witcher Season 3 | Chicken Run 2 | Heartstopper Season 2 | FUBAR | Florida Man Season 2 | Obsession Season 2 | The Sandman Season 2

About The Author

Lucy-Jo is a Movies and TV Writer at Dexerto, and has previously written for Screen Rant and Girls on Tops. After earning a Master's Degree in Film and Literature, Lucy-Jo now loves covering films, TV shows, and anime, especially if it's something by Mike Flanagan, or anything drenched in camp. You can contact her at lucyjo.finnighan@dexerto.com