Charlize Theron stars in Atomic Blonde, directed by David Leitch (John Wick) and based on the graphic novel The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, and the Atomic Blonde ending explained how she double-crossed everyone. Theron stars as Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 agent assigned to Berlin in November 1989, just as the Berlin Wall was about to fall. Her mission is to rendezvous with MI6's Berlin Station operative David Percival (James McAvoy) and recover the List, which contains all of MI6's deep cover operatives in both East and West Berlin.

Atomic Blonde showcases Theron's incredibly visceral prowess as an action hero and Leitch's inventive, bloody set pieces. However, the actual plot of Atomic Blonde may leave viewers confused between all the fight and chase sequences that increase in ferocity as the movie wears on. To help understand exactly what happened when Atomic Blonde ended, the movie left a trail of clues to uncover the method to the madness of this film's twisty spy game.

What Happens In The Atomic Blonde Ending

Percival Betrays MI6 & Broughton Kills Him

When Atomic Blonde begins, a Soviet assassin named Bakhtin (Jóhannes Jóhannesson) murders an MI6 agent named James Gasciogine (Sam Hargrave). Bakhtin then steals a special watch that contains a List of MI6's operatives on both sides of the Berlin Wall. The List also has something extra special wanted by MI6: the identity of Satchel, a double agent selling secrets to the Russians and who betrayed Gasciogine. The British sent agent Lorraine Broughton to Berlin to recover the List and assassinate Satchel.

Percival - who works both sides of the Berlin Wall and deals in counterfeit goods - has completely gone into business for himself

As soon as she lands in West Berlin, Broughton's cover is blown. The Russians attempt to kidnap her, though both David Percival and a French agent named Delphine Lasalle (Sofia Boutella) are also on her tail. Percival picks Broughton up after she overcomes the Russians. In the end, Percival - who works both sides of the Berlin Wall and deals in counterfeit goods - has completely gone into business for himself and forsaken his allegiance to MI6.

Broughton's mission becomes a quest to help smuggle a Stasi officer named Spyglass, whom the Russians want dead as a traitor, over the Wall. As Broughton escorts Spyglass, Percival makes his move, and he shoots Spyglass in the middle of a crowded public demonstration once he sees Spyglass' family to safety because Percival couldn't have another copy of the List in the open, which Spyglass could provide. Spyglass, gravely injured from being shot, drowns in the river.

Percival reveals he isn't Satchel and taunts her that he knows all about her.

Meanwhile, Broughton has begun a sexual relationship with Lasalle, who has been following Percival's activities and took photographs of Percival killing Bakhtin and taking the List for himself. Broughton discovers a bug planted by Percival in her coat, allowing him to overhear most of her conversations in Berlin. Percival promptly murders Lasalle in her flat, and in his final confrontation with Broughton, Percival reveals he isn't Satchel and taunts her that he knows all about her before she executes him. With Percival dead, Broughton acquires the List, her mission is complete but not quite.

Who Is Satchel?

Lorraine Broughton Is Satchel & She Is A Triple Agent

There's more to Lorraine Broughton than meets the eye. When her superiors debrief Lorraine in London, she presents them with spliced audio recordings that "prove" Percival is Satchel. She also tells them she doesn't know where the List is, and they accept it. However, in the film's final sequence, Broughton travels to Paris in a new disguise and meets with Bremovych (Roland Moller), a Russian agent who earlier tried to pick up Broughton at a restaurant before Lasalle "saves" her.

Broughton is Satchel, meaning she was already in Berlin when the film began.

Broughton is Satchel, meaning she was already in Berlin when the film began and betrayed Gasciogine to the Russians before returning to London. As Satchel, Broughton feeds the Soviets intel on the West, but she has come to Paris to clean up loose ends. Pretending to give them a copy of the List, Broughton kills Bremovych and his bodyguards before revealing one last shocker: she's actually a triple agent. Broughton was working for CIA Agent Kurzfeld (John Goodman) all along.

What's more, Broughton's not even British. "Lorraine Broughton" is a fake identity the CIA used to plant her into MI6. At one point in Atomic Blonde, Broughton declared that all she wanted was her life back, and now that this mission is complete, and the CIA has the List, the agency gives Broughton her wish and allows her to come home to the United States.

What The Director Said About The Atomic Blond Ending

David Leitch Wants Fans To Watch It Twice

The big twist at the ending was set up through different moments in the movie. However, this is unusual because director David Leitch released the movie during the blockbuster season, and movies that make people think are not often released at that time. This, though, excited the director, who said, "standing up to these big summer tentpoles is also another thing where this movie has a ton of action but we’ve made it at the independent price" (via THR). He hoped it would work out for him.

"You want to reach a wide audience and there are people that love spy fare and they will be tracking every little detail and minutiae. And if you go back and watch the film, you’ll see the hints for the twist at the end. And there will be other people that may never track those even if they watched it twice and they loved the ride.

I do challenge people to see it twice because you’ll start to go, “Oh, I shoulda saw that!”"

The Real Meaning Of The Atomic Blonde Ending

There Are No Heroes In This Story

The entire Atomic Blonde ending was set up as a spy movie with a huge twist. While there were clues to the twist throughout the movie, the ending twist was one that seemed to come out of left field in the end. While it wasn't a surprise necessarily to learn that Lorraine was the villain she was sent to find the identity of, the triple cross at the very end was where things started to get interesting. If there is one thing that rings true in Cold War stories, it is that no one can trust anyone else.

The U.S. proves in this movie that they don't trust Britain. There is no way that Britain ever should trust the U.S.

While the United States and Britain are allies and have been for a very long time, the U.S. proves in this movie that they don't trust Britain. Russia is set up as a villain in the movie, but what the United States does here is just as bad, if not worse, than what the other countries are doing. They force Lorraine into this role, and while she wants to go home, she is sent out to kill as many people as possible to cover up the U.S.'s secret.

That is not to say that Lorraine is innocent. She is a stone-cold killer. Britain is not innocent. They also send Lorraine out to kill their enemies in clandestine missions. There are no heroes in the spy game, and no country is the "hero." No assassin is a "hero." The victims here aren't even heroes. Even McAvoy's David Percival, who is working for himself and is in no way against Britain, is a villain, and his actions show he also deserves to die. Atomic Blonde invites viewers into the spy world and shows that everyone is a villain in the end.