'Being the Ricardos' Ending Explained: Desi saves Lucy Ricardo but loses Lucille Ball
Spoilers for 'Being the Ricardos'
Amazon Prime's 'Being the Ricardos' is brought by the brilliant Aaron Sorkin who has written and directed the flick that stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in the leads as the actors who appeared in the hit show 'I Love Lucy'.
The characters of Lucy Ricardo and Ricky Ricardo formed the story of the show and are played by Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) who are married as well. 'Being the Ricardos' will follow the make or break week in the couple's lives in a documentary-like format as they wait and watch if Lucille's career is over or not. So read on to know how the movie played out and how it ended.
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The movie opens as we see older versions of Lucille and Desi's colleagues who worked with them on 'I Love Lucy' recollect the week that saw everything go wrong. Lucille and Desi are the power couple who had the country hooked with their show but that all changes when Walter Winchell announces on his broadcast that Lucille is a communist. This changes the trajectory of her in the movie as everyone seems to hold their breath and see what comes next. No newspaper picks up the story but they're not out of the woods yet with the taping of the next show on Friday being the deciding factor to whether they'll be canceled or not.
As the week progresses from Monday's table read to Friday's show night, the movie takes us behind the scenes of Lucille's life where we find out her marriage with Desi is struggling as her husband doesn't come home often and stays on the boat and the headline that questions his love for Lucy adds to the problem. Although proven to be false, work keeps the couple apart for long periods which adds to the masked yet growing distance between the couple. We also learn that Lucille as a 20-year-old had checked the Communist box during voter registration as a tribute to her grandfather but was later cleared by the House of Un-American Activities committee when she had it redacted. Her professional life also takes a hit when she's dropped by her agency. Friday arrives and with it a bomb in the form of the Herald Express headline saying she's a communist.
What happens at the end of 'Being the Ricardos'?
Newspapers finally picking up the story spells bad news, but the Herald Express causes the most damage. All the other papers include the part about the cancellation from the Communist party but the Herald Express does not do so. But Desi has a plan that will prove she has nothing to do with the party and it depends on the audience's support which will be reported by the press. Before the taping, he talks to the live audience about the allegations and proves them wrong by having J Edgar Hoover of the FBI come on the phone and confirm the clearing of the allegation. As the audience cheers on Lucille when she comes on stage, the press who were invited by Desi write about it effectively saving the future of Lucille as Lucy Ricardo, with the show going on.
Just before the show starts, Lucille confronts Desi about cheating on her and proves it with the lipstick marks on a handkerchief with him admitting that they were just hookers and that it didn't mean anything. As she puts on a pained fake smile, she tells him to forget about it and that they have a show to film, we know the meaning of 'the show must go on'. The Friday night taping sees Lucille forget her line for the first time ever and be clearly distracted. The end tells us that she divorced Desi on March 3, 1960 the morning after which was their final performance together.
Desi may have managed to save the Ricardos but lost Lucille leading to the end of an era and the end of the show.
'Being the Ricardos' is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
