What Happens at the End of Babygirl?

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Film expert Lexi Amoriello explains what the ending and dog mean in Babygirl

Co-authored by Lexi Amoriello and Dev Murphy, MA

Last Updated: February 16, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Final Scene
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• Dog Symbolism
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• Milk Symbolism
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• Is the ending happy?
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• Plot Summary
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• Video

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You've seen the movie. You've seen the milk memes. You've seen tons of edited clips of Harris Dickinson dancing to "Father Figure." But what actually happened at the end of Nicole Kidman's 2024 BDSM thriller Babygirl? And what's with the dog? Keep on scrolling and take a deep dive with us into the meaning of the controversial film's ending, in director Halina Reijn's own words, including what the dog symbolizes and whether the movie's conclusion is a happy one or not. We’ve also interviewed film expert Lexi Amoriello for insights into the explosive ending!

Caution: Spoilers and mature sexual content ahead!

What is the meaning of the dog in Babygirl?

Film expert Lexi Amoriello says the dog in Babygirl is a metaphor representing Romy’s animalistic desires. When Romy finally achieves orgasm with her husband at the end of the film, she releases a guttural moan, like a beast, indicating she has finally come to terms with her hidden sexual desires.

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Section 1 of 5:

Babygirl Final Scene Explained

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1. 1
   Babygirl ends with Romy finally embracing her sexual desires. “At the end of the film, Sebastian, a board member, walks into Romy’s office and casually mentions that he heard Samuel got a job at Kawasaki in Tokyo. He asks Romy if she had anything to do with that, hinting that he knows about their affair, and then asks her to come over for drinks, mentioning that he has the house to himself. Romy tells him that she isn’t afraid of whatever he’s capable of and doesn’t care what he knows. She also firmly tells him to never talk to her like that again because if she wants to be humiliated, she’s going to pay someone to do it,” says Amoriello.

   • “This makes it clear that [Romy] has a better understanding of what she wants, isn’t ashamed of her desires, and has learned how to establish boundaries,” according to Amoriello.
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   Romy’s orgasm at the end of the movie also signifies self-acceptance. In the final scene, Romy is in bed with her husband Jacob, reenacting the type of sexual encounter she was having with Samuel. As Jacob covers her eyes, she imagines Samuel in the hotel room they shared earlier, playing with the dog from earlier in the film, when they first met. The film ends with her having an orgasm, implying that through her experiences with Samuel, she finally discovered what she wants sexually and is finally able to orgasm with her husband, says Amoriello.

   • The film suggests that Romy’s powerful professional life and submissive sexual desires are aspects of her whole self, and the final orgasm scene symbolizes her acceptance of her sexuality, which she previously found shameful.
   • In an interview with IndieWire, Reijn says the movie ends with Romy finally learning to be her "authentic" self: "The whole movie is basically about, on the one hand, I want to be normal, I want to be the woman you like, I want to be a white-picket fence, I want to be a robot. I don’t want to be strange and awkward and weird and authentic. And then, on the other hand, all I want is to be authentic."
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   On a more literal note, the final scene represents compromise. According to Amoriello, [Romy] learned about herself and her desires through Samuel, but she and her husband have decided to try and make things work. So instead of faking an orgasm and then masturbating to porn, she’s able to have a real orgasm with her husband, even if it means thinking about Samuel in the process. I don't think it's indicative of her fantasizing about another man while sleeping with her husband, but it’s inevitable that she’ll think about her experiences with Samuel when having sex because he awakened that part of her innermost desires.

   • While the affair forced Romy and Jacob to address their lack of sexual satisfaction, it also led to a new dynamic where Jacob is more receptive to her needs. This signals growth and compromise in their marriage, as well as the ability to form a more genuine and intimate connection.
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Section 2 of 5:

What's with the dog?

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   The dog represents Romy's inner beast that desires to be dominated. According to Amoriello, “the dog in Babygirl is a metaphor, representing Romy’s animalistic desires. Being the CEO of a company, [Romy] is tired of being the one barking orders. Seeing the way Samuel calms down the dog at the beginning of the film arouses her because she yearns to be obedient and submissive.” She holds the reins outside the bedroom, but she fantasizes about being dominated inside it—and she's never been able to tell her husband this.

   • “When the dog is acting like it's going to attack, it's because its basic desires aren't being met, and it isn't being treated with care and guidance,” explains Amoriello. Similarly, “at the beginning of the film, Romy's needs weren't being met. But when Samuel enters the picture, it's as though her desires have been tamed because he's meeting her basic needs with care and guidance.”
   • As Reijn puts it, "That kind of conflict in any human being—where you want to do what society expects you to do, but yet you want to be your strange and unique self—that is at the core of this movie."
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   The dog also represents the danger Romy desires in her sex life. Sex with her husband is sweet, intimate, and vanilla, but, as Romy eventually confesses to him, she's never been able to orgasm with him. Instead, she explains, she's more turned on when there is something at stake, something to lose—which is why she's so turned on by an affair with Samuel.

   • She explains to Jacob that these desires may stem from her childhood growing up in a cult or that they may just be inborn, but her past isn't really delved into much in the film.
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   The dog symbolizes Romy's view of herself as an animal. As put-together and controlled as Romy is outside the bedroom, her sexual desires are messy and bestial (as sexual desires usually are). Deep down, she sees herself as a wild animal. This is why, at the end of the film, when she achieves orgasm with her husband for the first time, she releases a guttural, animalistic moan, indicating she's in touch with her beast-self at last and is finally able to be open about her messy, "monstrous" desires.
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   The dog may also represent Romy's shame about her sexual desire. Romy fantasizes about being sexually dominated and "degraded," as she puts it, but she feels too ashamed to express her desires to her husband for most of their marriage. "Sexuality is something we are all obsessed with…that also is surrounded by shame, especially in the straight world," Reijn explains. Romy is unable to let go of the uptight, corporate version of herself, viewing her desires as wrong or low. The dog—a classic symbol of something unclean—may therefore represent her secret shame at what she initially views as "bad" urges.
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Section 3 of 5:

What about the milk scene?

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1. 
   The milk Samuel sends Romy to drink symbolizes her animal side. "The milk is, of course, an archetype," Reijn explains. "It is a great symbol of animalistic sides of ourselves." When Samuel, seeing Romy from across the crowded bar, orders her a glass of milk to drink, he is simultaneously treating her as an animal and infantilizing her. Desiring to be controlled, she drinks it, and he tells her, "Good girl," signifying his dominance over her.

   • The milk scene is actually inspired by Reijn's real life! Yes, a younger guy once sent her a surprise glass of milk—and she chugged the whole thing: "There was this young Belgian actor—I can’t say who it is—but he was famous…. I’d never spoken to him. He was at least 15 years younger than I, and he ordered me a glass of milk. I thought it was an incredible, hot thing to do, and so courageous, and so I wanted to reward him by drinking the whole thing, and I did."
   • But the real-life guy never said "Good girl" to Reijn, as Samuel does to Romy. "I wish he did," Reijn confesses. "He just walked out. I didn’t have sex with him or anything. But when I was writing, I did think that was one of the most arousing moments of my life."

Section 4 of 5:

Does Babygirl have a happy ending?

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1. 
   Whether Babygirl ends happily is up for debate. Viewers came away from Babygirl with wildly differing opinions about the ending. Some saw Romy's ability to achieve orgasm with her husband as a victory, while others interpreted the footage of Samuel interspersed throughout the act as evidence that Romy was fantasizing about him, and that she still wasn't sexually fulfilled by her husband alone.

   • Romy's fantasies of Samuel could be an indication that she is still attached to him and perhaps not sexually attracted to her husband, which would be a huge bummer.
   • But they could also be interpreted as evidence that she's finally found the freedom to accept her desires and to be honest with her husband about what she wants in bed—which would be awesome!
   • According to Amoriello, “the ending is a positive one for Romy…it seems like she’s enjoying having sex with her husband because of the things Samuel taught her, not that she’s wishing she were with Samuel instead.”
   • In the end, the film shows us that desire is messy, so ultimately, the movie's conclusion is a gray area: it's up to viewers to decide whether the ending is happy, unhappy, or some blend of both.
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Section 5 of 5:

Babygirl Plot Summary

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1. 1
   High-powered CEO Romy fakes orgasm with her husband, Jacob. Romy is an impressive CEO at an automation company, but though her day-to-day life is perfectly sterile and corporate, she secretly enjoys being dominated in the bedroom. But her husband, Jacob, with whom she has two kids, is a loving, loyal, and utterly vanilla theater director, and the movie opens with a scene of Romy faking a sweet, feminine orgasm with him before sneaking away to masturbate to BDSM pornography.
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   Romy is rescued from a vicious dog by her new intern. On her way to work one day, Romy encounters an aggressive, untrained dog. A young man—who will turn out to be her new intern, Samuel—intervenes and calms the dog down. He gives her a cookie and calls her "Good girl."
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   Romy is attracted to the blunt, rude Samuel, and they start an affair. Unlike everyone else, who respects Romy's authority, Samuel is blunt and almost aggressive towards her. Samuel sees Romy's submissive side and recognizes that she longs to be dominated, just like the wild dog he calmed down. The two start an affair, mostly involving Samuel telling Romy what to do, and her doing it.

   • For instance, he orders a large glass of milk at a bar and sends it to her table, and she chugs the whole thing, after which he calls her a "good girl"—the same thing he called the wild dog from the beginning of the film.
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   After Samuel shows up at her house, Romy tries to end the affair. Samuel appears unexpectedly at Romy and Jacob's house to bring her a laptop she forgot at work, and he becomes friendly with Jacob and his and Romy's daughters. Romy is disturbed and orders Samuel to never show up at her house again, and she tries to end the affair.
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   Romy confesses to Jacob that he's never made her orgasm, and then restarts her affair. Without Samuel to fulfill her sexual needs, Romy gets frustrated and ends up revealing to her husband that she's never had an orgasm with him. She ends up reigniting her affair with Samuel.
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   Romy orders Esme not to see Samuel. Esme (Sophie Wilde) is Romy's assistant, who admires everything Romy has done as a woman in the corporate world. But when Romy realizes Esme and Jacob may be involved, she orders Esme to stop seeing Jacob if she wants a promotion.
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   Esme visits Romy at home and threatens to expose the affair. Esme confesses that she's disappointed that Romy is behaving just like a male CEO would, having an affair with a much younger intern, and threatens to tell on Romy unless she stops seeing Samuel, creates more roles for women in the company, and promotes Esme.
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   Romy confesses to Jacob that she has cheated on him and he kicks her out. She comes clean about the affair, but doesn't tell him everything. She explains she slept with a stranger one time to explore her fantasies of being degraded. She says she believes that her kinky desires may come from her upbringing in a cult, or she may have just been born with them. Jacob is furious and hurt and kicks Romy out, so she moves into their country home.
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   Samuel shows up at Romy's country house and Jacob fights him. Samuel arrives unexpectedly at the country home, and he and Romy go for a swim. When Jacob shows up without notice and finds them together, he realizes this is who his wife has been cheating with, and attacks him.

   • Eventually they calm down, and Jacob accuses Samuel of participating in a male fantasy of female masochism.
   • Samuel replies that Jacob's views on sexuality are outdated, and Jacob begins having a panic attack.
   • Samuel soothes Jacob and talks him back from his panic attack. Then he leaves.
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    Romy promotes Esme and relocates Samuel to Asia. Romy gives Esme a promotion, allowing her to implement a program to uplift women in the company. Romy transfers Samuel to an office in Asia, after which another male executive implies that he suspects the affair. He subtly threatens to expose her if she doesn't sleep with him, to which Romy replies, "Don't ever talk to me like that again. If I want to be humiliated, I'm gonna pay someone to do it."

    • Her daughters convince her to move back home and try again with Jacob, believing he will forgive her. (Romy's daughter cheated on her own girlfriend, who forgave her.)
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    The film ends with a scene of Romy achieving orgasm with Jacob. As predicted, Jacob is able to forgive Romy, and the two of them take what they've learned from the messy experience with Samuel and use it to reinvigorate their sex life. The movie concludes with a scene of the two of them engaging in a BDSM fantasy, interspliced with shots of Samuel getting a dog to do tricks in the hotel room in which he and Romy first had sex. Romy achieves a genuine orgasm at last, and the movie ends.

    • “When [Romy] imagines Samuel and the dog while she’s sleeping with Jacob in that final scene, it represents how she’s finally accepting and embracing the animalistic side of herself,” concludes Amoriello.
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