Summary
- The Nun 2’s ending reveals Valak’s history and hints at a return in future Conjuring movies.
- Valak seeks Saint Lucy’s eyes for divine power but is ultimately defeated by the power of belief and the blood of Christ.
- The film hints at a possible connection between Sister Irene and Lorraine Warren, setting up future movies in the Conjuring universe.
Warning: Major spoilers for The Nun 2 below!The Nun 2’s ending dives deeper into the titular demon’s history and teases a possible return for Valak to The Conjuring movies. The sequel picks up the story four years later, with Valak having escaped from Romania after possessing kindly handyman Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) at the end of the original. This time the demon is on the hunt for the eyes of Saint Lucy, which will grant it unimaginable power. Once the church realizes Valak is up to no good, they send returning hero Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and newcomer Sister Debra (Storm Reid) to France to stop the evil Nun once more.
It turns out that Frenchie is working at a boarding school where the eyes are buried, and the finale sees Irene and Debra race against time to stop Valak and save her old friend. After everything goes to literal hell at the boarding school, Irene and Debra face off against the Nun after she recovers the relic. With a little creative thinking, they destroy the monster, while Frenchie is (seemingly) freed of Valak’s possession and The Nun 2 ends with him and Irene bidding each other goodbye once more.
How Valak Is Defeated (Is The Demon Nun Destroyed?)
Earlier in the story, Irene and Debra talk about how it’s the power of their belief turns sacramental wine into the blood of Christ. Debra is skeptical of being a nun and has trouble believing in such concepts, and states she needs to witness a miracle first. Throughout The Nun 2, Debra gets to witness a lot of things that prove the existence of God and the Devil, and when she and Irene face off with Valak in the cellar of the boarding school, she claims to have finally seen a “miracle” when Irene miraculously survives being burned alive.
Her faith restored, Debra and Irene then pray together and turn the wine barrels in the cellar into the blood of Christ. The barrels then explode, showering the Nun with “blood” and causing the demon to melt. While the demon is defeated for now, there’s little doubt Valak will return somehow in a future Conjurverse movie.
Why Valak Wants Saint Lucy’s Eyes In The Nun 2
Saint Lucy is a Christian martyr from the 5th century who is known as the patron saint of the blind, as some versions of Lucy’s story involve her eyes being removed, either by herself or her persecutors. Some versions also claim that when they tried to set her on fire, she wouldn’t burn. Lucy was finally killed when her neck was pierced by a sword but despite her eyes being gouged out, when the body was getting prepped for burial, it was discovered her eyes had been mysteriously restored.
This is what made her the patron saint of the blind, and The Nun 2 involves Valak seeking the divine power the eyes hold. The sequel puts forward the notion that Valak was once an angel that was banished by God, and recovering Saint Lucy’s eyes will restore its former powers. Exactly what the Nun will do with these abilities is never spelled out, and while the demon succeeds in absorbing them, it’s defeated soon after.
One of the biggest questions marks surrounding the first film was if Irene is related to The Conjuring’s Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) – or if Irene is Lorraine. The casting of Vera Farmiga’s younger sister Taissa as Irene didn’t feel like an accident, but sadly, The Nun 2 doesn’t confirm if or how these characters are related, though it strongly hints at it. Throughout the sequel, Irene keeps having visions of Saint Lucy and her martyring, and Irene comes to realize she’s descended from Lucy.
She then has a series of flashes to others in the bloodline, including her mother and – very briefly – Lorraine. The movie doesn’t follow up on this, but there’s the obvious implication that Irene and Lorraine are indeed related. It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that Irene is a younger Lorraine as their backstories don’t align, but a future entry will undoubtedly spell out their connection once and for all.
What Happened To Father Burke After The Nun
The original Nun involved Sister Irene teaming up with Demián Bichir’s Father Burke, but the latter is absent from the sequel. He won’t be returning to The Conjurverse anytime soon either, sadly. The Nun 2 reveals that Burke became a bishop following the events of the original, only to die of cholera shortly after. That’s why the church comes to Irene, as she’s the only one who fought the demon and survived.
How The Nun 2’s Ending Sets Up The Nun 3
The Nun 2’s ending does little to directly set up a possible Nun 3. By the time the credits roll, Valak has been defeated by the blood of Christ (again) and Frenchie has been released from the demon’s influence after four long years. Considering Valak is the primary villain of 2016’s The Conjuring 2 – which takes place 20 years after the events of The Nun 2 – it’s clear the demon’s defeat isn’t permanent, though it seems to have been robbed of the powers Saint Lucy’s eyes bestowed.
The Warrens eventually perform an exorcism on Frenchie too, so it seems he wasn’t completely freed of Valak’s influence. Now the series itself is ten years old, there appears to be an effort to tie The Nun back into the main The Conjuring movies. That could either mean the Warrens themselves appear in The Nun 3, or that Valak gets back in the habit for The Conjuring 4.
The Nun 2’s Mid-Credits Bring Back The Warrens
The Nun 2 has a mid-credits scene taking audiences back to the Warrens’ house, where Patrick Wilson’s Ed has an intense phone conversation with a priest. It’s a short scene that provides little context, including where in the timeline it takes place. Does this call set up their first encounter with Valak in Conjuring 2, or is the call concerning the exorcism on Frenchie seen in the first entry? It could even be setting up a fourth Conjuring, though Ed looks noticeably younger than he did in the third movie. Perhaps the vagueness gives the filmmakers some wiggle room as they develop the next chapter.
The Real Meaning Of The Nun 2’s Ending
A big theme of The Nun 2 involves having faith that goodness will ultimately prevail, no matter how hopeless things appear. Sister Debra learns to embrace her faith despite doubting the life she’s embarking on, but after witnessing Irene survive her burning, Debra learns to believe in a higher power and that evil can be defeated. Similarly, Irene has to have faith her friend Frenchie can be saved from Valak’s influence, even though that seems impossible. By the end of the story, Irene has managed to save him – at least for the time being – and everyone at the boarding school.