Spoilers ahead for Final Destination Bloodlines
After 14 years, a Final Destination movie is in theaters again and, put simply, it rules. With a Certified Fresh seal of approval and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%, Final Destination Bloodlines has proven that there is still plenty of steam left in this franchise.
Bloodlines is the perfect Final Destination movie and a well-crafted entry in the series that started with beloved 2000 film. But apart from being super entertaining, this film also sets up some interesting connections to previous movies in the franchise as well as opening the door for more in the future.
So, let's get into the ending.
What happens to Stefani and Charlie?
When the only ones left alive are Darlene, Stefani, and Charli, the trio heads back to Iris's heavily-fortified home in the hopes they can find clues or hunker down until there's a way for them to prevent Death from claiming their lives. Instead, their return ends almost as quickly as it starts, when a chain reaction causes a massive explosion. Darlene survives the initial explosion, but then dies while saving Charlie, leaving Stefani to potentially drown.
Charlie eventually rescues her and revives her via CPR. Since they think Stefani "died" and return to life, they believe they've defeated Death. But later, it's revealed that Stefani was never dead, just unconscious. Death returns with a vengeance, causing a massive train crash, followed by a logging truck getting tangled up in the wreckage that ultimately leads to Stefani and Charlie dying in the final moments of the movie. And thus we have yet another Final Destination where there are no survivors!
Her book connects them all
Iris's massive tome that she's been working on for literal decades is basically the in-universe example of a Final Destination Wikipedia. This movie sets up the idea that it was Iris's premonition and her actions in saving everyone from the Skyview that kicked off Death's long hunt for survivors. She theorizes that because all of those people were supposed to die that day, Death had to kill every single one of them.
Not only that, but since many went on to have families, Death also hunts down every single descendant of these people. Why? Because they were never supposed to be born. The only reason Stefani and her immediate family have been safe all this time is because Iris has been keen enough to outwit Death all this time. That all comes to an end when Stefani starts having her nightmares and visits her grandmother, learning the truth about Death's design.
I didn't examine too deeply for plot holes, but the implication is that the previous victims from other Final Destination movies were likely descended from people who were originally meant to die at the Skyview Restaurant that fateful day. It suggests that all of them were predestined to die horribly, and perhaps those connections are why other characters had premonitions.
Another important connection revealed in this movie is made through Tony Todd's returning character William Bludworth. As Todd's final film role, he got to give the characters, and us, a moving final monologue that feels like a touching tribute to the actor and his memory. But his character also mentions Kimberly from Final Destination 2, one of the only characters to actually "die" and then come back, therefore cheating Death permanently. I think there is a good chance Kimberly could return if they make more of these movies.