‘Carry-On’ Ending Explained: Don’t Miss This Holiday Travel Thriller

The holidays can be stressful, especially at airports across the country. Ethan (Taron Egerton) knows this all too well. As an employee of Los Angeles International, he’s used to unusual encounters with unruly passengers, but nothing like what happens when he crosses paths with Jason Bateman’s Traveler. The latter is the film’s antagonist, and while he was actually hoping to target another staff member with his threats, he’s not about to let Ethan ruin his holiday travel plans.

Before the action on screen picks up in Carry-On, viewers learn that Ethan recently failed the police academy test and is feeling less confident than usual as a result. His girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson) is expecting a baby, but Ethan’s career woes are holding him back from fully celebrating. After convincing his boss to let him take on more responsibility by monitoring the X-ray belt and trading places with Jason (Sinqua Walls), a blue-haired woman hands Ethan a mysterious earpiece from her security bin. After Ethan tests the earpiece, he hears Traveler on the other end of the line. Traveler demands that Ethan let a passenger move through the TSA checkpoint with a red ribbon-clad black bag. Screenings prove that potentially dangerous liquids are inside the bag, but Traveler insists that Ethan turn a blind eye, not only putting his job at risk but potentially the lives of countless strangers too.

How Does ‘Carry-On’ End?

Elena (Danielle Deadwyler), a detective, heads to the airport, after growing suspicious about a link between a greenhouse murder earlier in Carry-On and the situation unfolding at the airport. Meanwhile, Ethan learns he’s not alone in this forced attempt to help a terrorist board a plane at Los Angeles International. Mateo (Tonatiuh), the passenger transporting the suspicious bag through security, wasn’t willingly bringing this suitcase along. If he doesn’t get it onto the plane, his husband Jesse’s (Adam Stephenson) life is at stake.

As chaos ensues, Traveler knows where Mateo’s partner was: tied up in the back of a van with his partner-in-crime, Watcher (Theo Rossi). At this point, the blue-haired passenger has proven her link to Traveler, who promises to let everyone live if they play their part in his mission. Despite trying to keep his calm, Ethan’s policing skills eat away at him. Things rise to a head when Mateo grows more concerned with shooting any and everybody who might put his husband’s life at risk, leading Ethan to get rid of him.

Hot on their trail, Elena begins piecing clues together. She wants to know why a 911 call was disconnected at 10:04 a.m., shortly before one of the airport officers had a heart attack at LAX. While she works with her team to figure out what TSA might be hiding, Ethan realizes he has no choice but to disarm the weapon while the plane is moving and avoid Traveler from finding out. His well-thought-out plan backfired as Traveler knew the chemical device wouldn’t turn on manually. Traveler finds his bag at the back of the plane before spotting Ethan again as a fight ensues. Ultimately, the security guard traps Traveler in an insulated case with the poisonous chemical that was intended to kill innocent people.

Carry-On might depict one of Ethan’s most stressful days at work, but on the bright side, someone finally takes note of Ethan’s policing skills: Elena. With Traveler dead and lives saved, Ethan is admitted into the police academy. His wife and their future child are safe, although viewers never do find out whether Ethan got that dog he wants Nora to consider.

What Was in the Luggage?

After tracing how the greenhouse worker was killed in Carry-On, Elena finds other weaponry, including a liquid that is eight times more potent than VX gas: the source of the chemical warfare came from a science experiment in Novichok, Russia. However, Traveler is not Russian; he is following a domestic attack linked to a politician. Congresswoman Grace Suarez Turner, the face of the Defense for Threatened Democracies Act (DTD), is on board that plane and she’s already at odds with weapons contractors. If she dies that day, so does DTD. But with Ethan’s and Elena’s help, that plan falls apart.