The Harder They Fall ending: Jonathan Majors breaks down the Netflix movie’s big twist

Jonathan Majors in The Harder They Fall
(Image credit: Netflix)

So, that ending, huh? The Harder They Fall was never going to ride off into the sunset, especially given how it’s a tale of bloodshed and revenge on a road littered with bullets and gunpowder. But, still, it hit hard – and the third act twist hit harder.

Spoilers for The Harder They Fall follow.

After Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) and his gang descend on Rufus Buck’s clan, chaos ensues. Various members of each side – including Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) and Jim Beckworth (RJ Cyler) – meet their ends, while Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz) gets the better of Treacherous Trudy Smith (Regina King) in a brutal struggle – with Trudy just managing to escape with her life.

From there, Nat Love confronts Buck (Idris Elba) who hits him with an almighty home truth and a shocking twist: they’re related.

Buck reveals that his abusive father fled after murdering his mother and started out a new life as a man of the cloth. The flashback scene we see at The Harder They Fall’s beginning, then, is Buck finding his father (and his new wife, Nat’s mother) and killing him in front of a young Nat Love.

Buck spits out three words at Nat: "You a Buck." But Love isn’t swayed from his course, killing his half-brother where he stands.

Was Nat Love having second thoughts, or did Majors consider a different path might be possible for the gunslinger? It’s a question we put to the man himself during a recent interview, who helps take us into Love's mindset during that climatic scene.

"That’s what the whole scene is: Nat trying to wrestle with what it is that was just said to him. Does he believe it? Can he believe it? If he does believe it – what does that mean?" Majors says.

"If this whole time he’s trying to make it fair and Buck did what he did because something was done to him [then] I don’t know if Nat wants to kill him. I don’t know if Nat wants it to end that way."

But, according to Majors, it was only ever going to end one way for Nat Love – and those actions will have consequences.

"There’s only really one truth – and that was what was happening between me and Buck in the moment," Majors says.

"If Nat is only thinking about making it fair, you can’t change your mind just because you don’t want to do something. You’ve got to stick to your guns. The fair thing to do in that moment is to do what is done. There are consequences to that. It’s a life-altering moment. His life will never be the same again."

As Nat Love rides off with Stagecoach Mary, a certain Trudy Smith can be seen overlooking the horizon. The cycle of revenge may yet continue – though it remains to be seen whether that story will play out on down the line on Netflix.

Fill out your watchlist with some of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies you can watch right now.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Read more
Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter ending explained: who dies, what happens to Sergei, and is Spider-Man in the movie?
Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in The Night Agent season 2
The Night Agent season 2 ending explained: Who dies in the Netflix show? Will there be a season 3?
Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai showrunners talk that emotional finale, explain explosive ending for the Karate Kid franchise’s two biggest villains: "We thought that was the most dramatic way to go out"
Squid Game season 2
Squid Game season 2 ending explained: Who dies in the Netflix show? Will there be a season 3?
Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17
Mickey 17 ending explained: Your biggest questions answered
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin on their bittersweet new movie A Real Pain and resisting advice from "a big Hollywood director" to "make a billion dollars" with a happy ending
Latest in Movies
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Drop
New horror movie starring White Lotus and Yellowstone actors gets a great Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions call it the "perfect date night movie"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson doubles down on never coming back as Black Widow: “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?"
Clown in a Cornfield
First reactions to new clown horror movie say the slasher is giving Terrifier a run for its money
Latest in News
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"