Shape of Water Ending Explained?

Having just seen Shape of Water, it’s been on my mind disturbing me for some time now. Especially the ending. Anyway, before skipping to the end, let’s start at the beginning.

This post will contain spoilers.

Shape of Water Plot

Shape of Water takes place during the Cold War in what seems to be the 1960s. Our main protagonist is a mute girl who works as a cleaner in a secret government laboratory. One day, they bring in a large tank filled with water. Upon approaching it, Elisa (the mute girl) discovers that there is a humanoid creature being held inside it.

The creature is said to have been picked up in the Amazon in South America, where the natives worshiped it as a god.

Curious, Elisa tries to interact with the creature. First by bringing it eggs to eat, then music to listen to. She also starts demonstrating some of her sign language which he begins to pick up – showing that he is actually capable of intelligent communication. She continues to visit him every day at work, forming a close friendship which evolves into a strangely romantic relationship.

During this time, Colonel Strickland routinely tortures the creature at the facility – attempting to communicate with it and learn its secrets. It turns out the creature has two separate sets of lungs, enabling it to live both on land or underwater. This secret is something that Strickland hopes will assist him in the Space Race.

When no progress is made, they decide they will simply kill the creature and dissect it.

The story of Elisa

As these things take place, we get to learn a little more about Elisa. She was an orphan who was found by the side of the river when she was just a baby. Although she cannot speak, she is not deaf – only mute. She also has deep scars on the side of her neck, which were there when she was found as a baby. It’s assumed that the reason she cannot speak is because of whatever took place before she was eventually found by the river.

The Escape

After learning that her amphibious friend is to be killed, Elisa plots an escape together with another scientist in the facility. They smuggle the creature out and Elisa brings it home to keep in her bathtub until she is able to release him back into the sea.

As is suspected, Strickland gives chase and ends up finding them just as the creature is about to escape to the ocean.

He fires his gun repeatedly, first into the creatures chest and then into Elisa.

Shape of Water Ending

As they lie on the ground dying, blue lights begin to emanate from beneath the creatures skin. He then stands up unharmed.

This is followed by probably the best line in the movie (together with triumphant music.)
“Fuck,” says Strickland. “You are a God.”

And then the creature slits his throat.
The creature returns to Elisa, takes her up in his arms and jump into the ocean.

For a while, Elisa floats suspended in the ocean. As the viewer likely suspects by now, the creature kisses Elisa, emanating the blue lights again.

At this point, the scars on her neck magically come to life as gills –

We will assume they live happily ever after.

My Shape of Water Explanation

While it is not necessarily explained in the movie, there are two possible explanations for this. One, is that the godlike creature who already had ressurective powers brought her back to life and also gave her the ability to live underwater.

The other, is that perhaps Elisa was already a fish girl. Here are the reasons why I think so.

She was found by a river as a baby.

As the creature has two sets of lungs which function independently, its possible that being raised as a human, she would have been able to spend her life on land

Elisa does show signs of loving the water, such as taking routine long baths

The scars on her neck are not on just one side, but are matching 3-row scars on either side of her neck. Likely, someone had tried to remove her gills as a baby?

Her inability to speak: perhaps it is not that she cannot speak, but rather she simply cannot speak in human language.

Scars on BOTH sides of her neck?

Personally, I believe that Elisa was a fish-girl all along. This helps I two ways: 1. It strengthens the movies overall message of “what makes us human.” 2. It also makes her creepy inter-species relationship a little less creepy.

What do you think about Shape of Water ending?