If you’re looking for a shot of pure adrenaline when you’re feeling sluggish, look no further than Netflix’s newest Korean action film Carter. The latest film from hotshot South Korean action writer/director Jung Byung-gil follows a man who wakes up with no memories (Carter, played by Joo Won) — but he sure can remember how to kick all kinds of ass. He puts those skills to work when he’s immediately thrust into a world-saving mission to transport the cure for an apocalyptic virus from South Korea and into North Korea. The journey will take him from fights on the street to cars to motorcycles to planes, trains, helicopters — you name a setting and Carter’s gonna kill a whole bunch of bad guys there.
Oh — and the entire movie is done in one take. Okay, it’s presented as one take. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of cuts in the movie, but they’re all hidden. Whatever — you’re gonna be blown away by all this ridiculous, next-level action. Isn’t that all that matters?
You’re also going to be pulled in by the film’s plot, too. When a movie has a protagonist with amnesia, you just know there are going to be twists and turns and reveals as the film slowly unravels the lead’s real identity. That happens in Carter, and we keep learning about Carter up until the very end. So, let’s talk about that ending!
Carter ending explained: What is the plot of Carter on Netflix?
The film’s plot spends about two hours doing complete 180s about Carter’s origin, but this is where it all lands. SPOILERS ahead, because we’re gonna try to go through this linearly. Carter Lee was born in 1986 in South Korea and immigrated to America when he was 11. The next few decades are a mystery (or are they?) aside from records of Carter attending Sornell University (which sounds like an analogue of Cornell, TBH) and then traveling to North Korea as a journalist in 2014. He then became a naturalized citizen of North Korea.

Fast-forward seven-ish years and suddenly Carter is a member of the North Korean military and a national hero. Despite that, he’s fleeing North Korea with a fellow spy named Jung-hee (Jeong So-ri), whom he married while undercover. The two even had a daughter together at the request of the North Korean government, a girl named Yoon-hee. They’re running because, uh, North Korea is being overrun by a virus that turns victims into mindless, hairless, rage monsters (so, basically zombies). Unfortunately for Carter and Jung-hee, their getaway is interrupted by Lieutenant General Jong Hyeok (Lee Sung-jae). He reveals that it was him who created the virus and spread it around the world, in the hopes of having Carter save the day — thus boosting Carter’s profile even higher and, hey, if the current regime falls and leaves room for Jong Hyeok to step in, that’s great.
Jong Hyeok says that he will actually let Carter and his family escape if he plays the part in his plan and brings the cure for the virus to North Korea; the cure lies within the blood of Ha-na (Kim Bo-min), the daughter of a renowned biologist. The problem: she’s in South Korea, and the North and South aren’t always on the friendliest of terms. So in order to ensure that Carter won’t be forced to give up North Korean secrets should his mission fail, he has his mind wiped before he’s dropped in South Korea. He then carries out his mission at the direction of a voice in his ear, the voice of his wife Jung-hee. See? It all makes sense!
Wait — but who is Michael Bane?
Oh, yeah. Early in the mission, Carter keeps running afoul of clandestine C.I.A. operatives who keep calling him Michael Bane. His movements match what they have on file for Bane, and they even quickly run a DNA check and confirm that he is an agent named Michael Bane. The problem is that Michael Bane was killed in Syria… but they never saw the body. Taking into account that Smith (Mike Colter) says he recognizes Carter’s eyes and Jong Hyeok saying that Carter was willing to undergo plastic surgery in order to be a spy, it seems incredibly likely that Michael Bane is Carter Lee.
So how does this all shake out?
By the end of the film, Carter has all of his memories back and the doctor was able to use Ha-na’s blood to cure Yoon-hee. When last we see Carter, Jung-hee, Yoon-hee, Dr. Jung Byung-ho (Jung jae-young), and Ha-na, they’re aboard a train operated by the Chinese government that’s carrying a whole bunch of infected people to the city of Dandong in China.
And then the bridge explodes in front of the train, leading all of our heroes with a one-way ticket to a watery grave. Roll credits!
Yep, seriously, that’s where it ends. That’s the end of the movie. Important to note, though, that Jung-hee said earlier that there was no way the North Korean government could stop the train, so that it was up to them to stop it. In that context, it’s a good thing that the bridge was blown up. Now all those infected passengers won’t make their way to China. But what about Carter?? And you gotta wonder, did North Korea blow up the bridge? Or is there another power at play here?
Will there be a Carter sequel?
It sure looks like there should be, doesn’t it? Considering all that we saw Carter do during the film, it seems unlikely that a little thing like a train crash could kill him or anyone he’s protecting. And with so many mysteries surrounding Carter’s identity and his relationship to, uh, everyone and every agency still swirling, a sequel seems not only likely but necessary. However, one has yet to be announced. For now, you’ll just have to trust that Carter got everyone we care about off that train someway, somehow (and probably in one take).