What Everything Everywhere All At Once is REALLY saying | Symbolism and Ending Explained

What’s the deeper symbolism of A24’s hit Everything Everywhere All At Once? It moves across a broad multiverse, spanning everywhere from an ordinary IRS office to a vast wasteland devoid of life as it tracks the journey of Evelyn Wang. But it also features rich symbolism that might get lost amid the cosmic chaos.

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00:00 Intro
01:14 Bagels and Googly Eyes
4:56 The IRS
6:40 MUBI
7:24 Hot Dog Fingers and Verse Jumping
9:12 The Rocks
10:41 Accept Your Worst Version
12:18 Conclusion

[terbar]

As an Asian man having grown up in the US as a child of an immigrant, this movie hits on so many extra layers beside the nihilism, martial arts, and maternal/familial love narratives. In Michelle Yeoh I see my own mother’s struggle to connect with me and bridge the ever-widening gap between her own background and the one I’m building for myself in a culture so alien from our traditions. I went in to the theaters thinking it’d be a fun sci-fi flick with better Asian representation but I instead walked out with a literal anthem for my life.

[ladyredl]

This movie was so beautiful, but the most beautiful part to me is the idea that she goes back to what many people think of as a mediocre life.
No life is small, in any universe.

[megamoviez]

I know it may be overhyping but I don’t care. This is the best movie I’ve seen of the last 5 years. It’s a masterpiece that has still stuck with me.

[Nightmank]

This movie is the anti-nihilism movie that I think everyone should watch.

[themichaelpepito]

left the movie theater in absolute awe and so speechless. it was a fantastic theater experience and EVERYONE should watch this movie!

[bill]

What a film! An instant classic. It's great to see older women in lead in films this big.

[sonchik]

I watched it THREE times in theaters - no regrets. While its absurdist message is the most cathartic aspect of the movie, I also want to appreciate the love story between Evelyn and Waymond. When I spoke to my therapist about the impact this movie had on me, I broke down at "doing laundry and taxes" line. Like, I literally cried so hard I choked and I needed a moment to recollect myself. My parents had a toxic marriage which ended disastrously. As a kid, I've seen some shit that makes "Marriage Story" look like a romcom and I often think of how it fundamentally shaped me as a person. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that true love is a boring endeavor. To me, it's all about making the burden of existence worthwhile. You do taxes and laundry together because it would be insufferable to do it alone. Day by day, you choose to stick around this person for no rational reason, simply because they make your life a little better, they give you something to look forward to. Seeing this idea expressed on the big screen meant a lot to me. It meant that, maybe, there is a place for a love like this in my life, doesn't matter if it's familial, platonic or romantic.

Not to mention that all men in my family were either emotionally distant or outright cruel and I'm glad I was shown a husband/father figure that chooses kindness and love.

[theloverlyladylo]

As someone who recently made a major life change (moved cross country, away from my family, to a city where I didn’t know anyone) this movie was extremely cathartic. The idea that there’s a universe where I made a different choice is something I find comforting, because who’s to say I’m happier there? Maybe I am, but maybe I’m dreaming of what would have happened if I left. You can’t live in the paths not taken, and find meaning in the choices you have made.

[akirebara]

This movie made everyone laugh and cry at the theatre when I watched it opening week. Such a wonderful, deeply personal yet universal film. I can't wait to buy it in digital so I can rewatch through the years.

[richkee]

I love the googly eyes motif in contrast to nihilism... to me they represent individuality, that even in an infinite multiverse there is something in your eyes that is unique to you. Even an inanimate, soulless object gains personality and personification when you stick little eyes on it. In a universe completely devoid of life, where there are only static rocks unable to communicate verbally, the tiny addition of two little googly eyes makes it feel alive. While the Everything Bagel suggests nothing matters any more than anything else, their reversed form in the googly eyes can give unique personality to literally anything. And when Evelyn gives herself a googly "third eye", it coincides with her resolving everyone's issues by giving them a distinct and individual moment of joy and acceptance, as opposed to fighting them all off like obstacles.

[donnab]

This movie was so special to me as a gay woman of colour in Canada. I saw myself in joy and my mom in Evelyn. It was a story that highlighted the level of loneliness that many second generation immigrants face. You're too foreign to be a true Canadian and live freely like a western kid but you're too westernized to please your parent's traditional expectations. You're too different to hang with the cool white kids without being the token or made fun of, you can't hang with your ethnic friends if there is heavy gay stigma in your community, and you're too ashamed to ask for help because who do you even ask? So you fester in your depression (everything bagel) thinking that you're not doing enough to make yourself and those around you happy - you just want it to end. On the flip side, it was so humbling to see the anxiety, chaos, and loneliness I know my mom felt through Evelyn despite both her and Evelyn's neglect for their daughters. They have so little space left in their brain and struggle to cope with the mounting expectations.

It was also so awesome to see older immigrant woman acknowledged and portrayed as the superhero's they are. It's a struggle just for them to exist and the situation is so unfair, but what else can you do but choose to die or be kind?

[makkeadams]

My interpretation was... you cannot be everything to everybody everywhere all at once. So be thankful for what you have at this present moment in time because whilst you are still breathing there is always hope for the future 🙏🏽

[seokkchan]

Do yourself a favor and watch this in theaters or legally in any streaming platform. It truly encapsulates so much of the struggles that majority of POC community has with their parents all while feeling universal with its core themes, and messages of family, mental health, sexuality, even existentialism. And as an actual full-pledged Southeast Asian young adult that has a similar life and relationship with my own emotionally stoic and slow uptake mother, I cannot stress enough how much I feel seen in this movie it really does feel like I'm watching my life as well as understanding the pains and heartache my own mother went through with her life. Definitely gonna rewatch this again and support the Blueray release.

[MrsAlexisAgnew]

My husband took me to see EEAAO because he knows how much I love Michelle Yeoh in every. single. film of hers.
He had seen the trailer so he was pumped up for the absurdist humor and bad-ass fighting scenes. What he didn’t foresee (and frankly, neither did I) was how much this film would make him cry…He BAWLED during the Evelyn/Joy reunion. He whooped like a teenager when Evelyn finally kissed Waymond.
My husband and I are neither Asian, nor LGBTQ+, nor business partners. We’re a cis-het white couple. But OH MY GOSH did we relate to Evelyn and Waymond and Joy on a thousand levels (and that’s just a testament to the depth of each of these actors): whether it’s my strained relationship with my own mother or the mundanity of married life as being perfectly fine and even preferred, I saw myself in Evelyn Quan. AND I LOVED IT!
Michelle Yeoh is awesome! 🤩🤩

[robertdaniel]

Best movie of the decade so far. Michelle deserves Best Actress - and I really hope this wins Best Picture!

[jamieohjamie]

Bagel: Black circle around white = you're trapped in a life of meaninglessness.
Googly eyes: Black circle freely able to bounce around white = you may be trapped in your own circle of influence (why Waymond is almost always involved in the multiverses), but at least you GET to explore it and bounce around and be silly.

This move really is about nihilism (trapped in a multiverse of no meaning) vs absurdism (no meaning, but have fun with it). This movie does this SO WELL AH IT'S SO GOOD!

[thatonechick]

This felt so REAL despite the chaos and insanity.. Overwhelming: yes. Thought provoking: certainly. The best film I've ever seen: quite possibly. What a Masterpiece. I feel blessed to have watched it & will be doing so again, with my daughter. My mom. My husband. And even recommending to my critical father..

[carlab]

I loved this movie so much and it was *exactly* what I needed to watch now. I'm 37 years old with lots of interests but no particular passion. This last decade was made of different choices and bad decisions. By the end, I was terribly overwhelmed - then the pandemic happened. I decided to give up of everything I wanted to do and just live a simple life, working a backoffice job, and not think about all the things I could become. Reality is crazy and I just want to be happy.

[hannahestes]

This movie's end message also reminds me a lot of one of my favorite video games Night in the Woods, which deals with depression, anxiety and a feeling of lost potential. It has a beautiful quote attached to it; "At the end of everything, hold onto anything."

[Spicie]

This was the best cinema experience I have ever had. I knew nothing about this movie, hadn't watched the trailer or seen a single photo nor read about the premise or cast. My friend wanted to watch it so bad, so we just went. Everything was surprise (aside from the multiverse part). I seriously recommend watching a movie this way :-D