Pedro Paramo (2024) ending explained: Who killed Pedro Paramo?
Netflix recently added a Mexican magical realism movie, Pedro Paramo, to its library. The film arrived on the steamer on November 6, 2024. It is directed by Rodrigo Prieto and is based on the novel of the same name, penned by Juan Rulfo. The film stars Manuel Garcia Rulfo, Tenoch Huerta, and Dolores Heredia, among others.
Pedro Paramo opens with Juan Preciado in a wasteland, attempting to fulfill his late mother's final request that he travel to the utopian hamlet of Comala and see his father, Pedro Páramo, whom he has never met. But just before he enters the town, he runs into Abundio Martinez, who informs him that Pedro is dead since Abundio killed him many years before.
He asks Juan Preciado to look for Dona Eduviges next, who is still alive and living in Comala. Abundio asks him to tell Dona that Abundio Martinez sent him.
What happens to Juan Preciado when he enters the ghost town of Comala in Pedro Paramo?
Juan Preciado encounters several people in the ghost town who he initially believes to be genuine, but he eventually learns that they are all ghosts, whose souls are still wandering Comala's streets.
When he first arrives in the ghost town, he meets a woman who strangely disappears. Later, he meets his birth nanny, who is also a ghost. Later, Juan runs into a woman and her brother, who offer him a place to stay for the night and beg him to head home as soon as it gets light. Juan is completely shaken by the ghosts, the bad vibes, and the eerie atmosphere of Comala, and he somehow passes the night waiting for the sun to rise.
But the following day, he learns that the individuals who provided him with refuge are also ghosts. He loses his mind and flees for his life. He then faints on the ground after seeing the dead bodies of the deceased floating in the town square, which breaks his spirit. Viewers don't see Juan again after this moment, which makes it clear that he passes away from shock upon seeing so many dead bodies.
What happened to Juan’s father Pedro, and how did he die in Pedro Paramo?
From the flashbacks in the film, viewers learn that Pedro Palamo, Juan's father, ruled Comala in its early years. Due to his corrupt actions, which included ra*e, adultery, and other transgressions, he was both the devil and the town's soul (because of his charm and wealth). Every woman wanted to spend the night with him, making him the Don Juan of Palamo. Despite having numerous children with the woman he slept with, Pedro did not claim or give his name to the majority of them. He viewed women and people like commodities.
Pedro only ever loved a woman named Susana. Pedro decided to reclaim Susana when he had all the wealth and power in the world. Against Susana's knowledge, he murdered her father, who opposed their reunion, and shortly after, Susana also passed away inexplicably. Pedro Palamo was devastated by Susana's passing and lost interest in everything he enjoyed, including fame and wealth. Following his lover's passing, he began to disregard Comala's residents, which the locals did not approve of.
Large crowds of people gathered to sing, dance, burst crackers, and feast when the priest rang the church bells. Pedro hated the town and stopped taking care of it since he believed that it was rejoicing while he was grieving.
Towards the end of the film Pedro Paramo, an elderly Pedro is spotted sitting on his chair outside his home, looking dejected. He noticed a drunken stranger coming near him. Pedro asked Damiana, his caretaker, to find out what the stranger desired.
The stranger came and told Damiana and Pedro Paramo that he needed money for his dead wife’s burial and pleaded. However, when Pedro and Damiano both disagreed to help him, he stabbed both of them several times and killed them.
Pedro Paramo was killed by one of his illegitimate sons.
The ending of the movie made it clear that the man Juan met in the beginning (Abundio Martinez), who showed him the way to Comala, was the same man who killed his father, Don Pedro or Pedro Paramo.
Abundio Martinez, who is still alive and one of the survivors of the ghost town, is Pedro's son, as he disclosed in the opening minutes of the movie. He killed Pedro to exact revenge (for mistreating the town residents) and escaped in time.
Pedro Paramo is now streaming on Netflix.
