The Age of Adaline Ending, Explained: Does Adaline Stay Young Forever — and Who Does She End Up With?

Warning: Age of Adaline spoilers ahead!

Age of Adaline is a timeless story that combines love, science and fate.

The 2015 romantic fantasy film, now available to watch on Netflix, follows the life of Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively), who experiences a dramatic car accident that leaves her decades younger than a 29-year-old.

After Adaline’s car plunges into freezing water, her heart and breathing stop. Moments later, lightning strikes the vehicle, which — thanks to a fictional scientific phenomenon — not only revives Adaline, but also renders her immune to future aging.

As Adaline adjusts to a life stuck in time, she continues to change her name, residence, and appearance every decade—and manages to avoid photographs, personal connections, and romantic relationships—in an attempt to protect her secret and prevent herself from becoming a case study. However, her carefully constructed life begins to unravel when she falls in love with Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), whose father William (Harrison Ford) was Adaline’s former love.

Noticing how strange Adaline looks to her younger self, William begins to piece things together, putting her secret at risk.

So, how Age of Adaline end? Here’s everything you need to know about the final moments of the film, including the fate of Adaline’s state of eternal youth.

How is it Age of Adaline end?

Blake Lively as Adaline Bowman in ‘The Age of Adaline’ (2015).

Netflix

When Ellis invites Adaline to celebrate his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary with him, she is shocked to discover that his father, William, is someone she had a romantic relationship with. William recognizes Adaline, who insists her name is “Jenny” and allows him to believe she is Adaline’s daughter, while surrounding family members attribute the situation to an “unbelievable” coincidence.

As William explains, he became close to Adaline during his time in London, where “Jenny” points out that her “mother” lived in the 1960s. After he asks how Adaline is, “Jenny” informs him that she died six years ago.

Reminders of William and Adaline’s romance emerge during her week there, including the realization that William named the comet Della, Adaline’s nickname, and the news that he planned to propose until she rebuffed him. In the end, tensions and clues—especially the scar he stitched himself years ago—lead William to put the pieces together and confront Adaline. As a result, she tries to disappear again, despite William begging her to stay, and breaks up with Ellis via text.

As she drives away from the Jones residence—and tells her daughter Flemming over the phone that she’s done running away from her life—she gets into another life-changing car accident. Ellis, who has been chasing after her, finds “Jenny” on the side of the road and rushes her to the hospital, where she then tells him the truth and reconciles.

In the final scene, Adaline notices something new about her appearance – gray hair – which signals that she can finally age normally, after spending 78 years at 29.

How did Adaline reverse the state of eternal youth?

Blake Lively as Adaline Bowman in ‘The Age of Adaline’ (2015).

Netflix

Much like the original incident that caused Adaline’s eternal youth at the beginning of the film, it’s another freak accident that ends up leading to the opposite outcome. For the first time in 78 years (since the night of her first accident), snow miraculously falls in Sonoma County, California, causing Adaline to fall into hypothermia.

As the narrator explains, her blood flow, metabolism and respiration decrease, signaling that she is dying. As during the first accident so many years ago, her body temperature reaches 87 degrees and her heart stops beating.

She is dead by definition until the paramedics deliver the shocks via defibrillator that bring her back to life – and reverse her condition. As it turns out, the telomere structures in her genes regain their suppleness when the blades hit her heart, causing her to resume the natural aging process.

Who does Adaline end up with?

Blake Lively as Adaline Bowman and Michiel Huisman as Ellis Jones in ‘The Age of Adaline’ (2015).

Netflix

After William confronts Adaline, she tells him the truth, packs her bags, and writes Ellis a note that she “can’t do it” and “can’t explain”. Adaline tries to disappear from his and Ellis’ lives and drives away in a hurry, but it is Ellis who chases after her and finds her on the road after her near-fatal car accident.

After Adaline wakes up in the hospital, Ellis apologizes for scaring her the night before when he said he was falling in love with her. Instead of continuing to lie, Adaline tells him that she loves him too and begins to tell him the truth, starting with the fact that her name is not “Jenny”.

Eventually, Ellis and Adaline are about to leave the house for the event when she notices the gray hair. Camera in hand, the pair head outside, marking the beginning of a normal life for the couple, a life where she no longer has to live in secret.

What happens between Adaline and her daughter Flemming?

Cate Richardson as Flemming and Blake Lively as Adaline in ‘The Age of Adaline’ (2015).

Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy

In 1932, Adaline welcomed her daughter, Flemming—named after her grandmother—with her late husband, Clarence James Prescott, who died in 1937 from a work-related accident. Throughout the film, Adaline’s relationship with her daughter is also affected by her condition, as Flemming naturally ages behind her, making it difficult for them to present themselves as mother and daughter in public.

Early in the film, Adaline asks young Flemming to tell people that her mother went on vacation to Europe and never came back, allowing her to leave town and create the first of many new identities. When she finally returned, Adaline instructed Flemming to introduce her as a friend, not as a mother.

After Adaline’s second condition-altering accident, the now grown-up Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) meets Ellis in a hospital room and keeps a secret – albeit with an obvious age difference, telling him she’s Adaline’s grandmother. That is until Adaline reveals that she shared her secret with Ellis, causing Flemming to cry tears of happiness and hug him.

In the final scene, which takes place a year later, Ellis and Adaline prepare to go to the event. Flemming is at her side in the house, showing that Adaline has kept her promise: she’s done running and is finally embracing a life of openness and connection with those she loves.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education