This article contains spoilers for The Bluff.

Prime Video’s The Bluff, directed by Frank E. Flowers and co-written with Joe Ballarini, stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Ercell “Bloody Mary” Bodden, a former pirate trying to live a quiet life on the remote island of Cayman Brac. What begins as a swashbuckling adventure quickly reveals itself to be something darker — a grounded, hard-R thriller about survival, trauma, and the impossibility of fully escaping your past.

Karl Urban co-stars as Captain Connor, Ercell’s former mentor, who resurfaces years after she betrayed him and vanished with his gold. Now, with piracy in decline and the British Empire tightening its grip on the seas, Connor arrives on Cayman Brac claiming he wants his treasure back. But as the film unfolds, it becomes clear that his mission is far more personal.

The invasion of the island sets off a violent chain of events that forces Ercell to confront the identity she tried to bury. By the time the story reaches its explosive climax atop the bluff, the question is no longer whether she can survive, it’s whether she can finally free herself from the man who defined her darkest years.

Here’s how The Bluff ends — and what it all means.

Connor Kills T.H.

After invading Cayman Brac and holding the villagers hostage, Captain Connor makes it clear that he wants two things: the gold Ercell stole from him years ago and Ercell herself, who carries a bounty on her head.

Ercell appears willing to negotiate. She offers him a chest of gold in exchange for her husband T.H.’s (Ismael Cruz Cordova) freedom and the safety of the island. But Connor was never interested in peace.

In a brutal turn, he kills T.H. anyway, choosing revenge over reason. In response, Ercell detonates explosives hidden inside the gold chest. The blast kills many of Connor’s men and throws his operation into chaos.

Connor’s Obsession and History with Ercell

With most of the gold destroyed and his crew decimated, Connor’s lieutenant, Lee, confronts him. He accuses Connor of letting personal vengeance override their survival. It becomes clear that Connor’s pursuit of Ercell was never purely about treasure.

Years earlier, Connor had taken in a young Ercell after pirates killed her family. He trained her, used her, and turned her into one of the most feared pirates in the region. Eventually, she betrayed him, stabbing him and escaping with his gold to build a new life.

Connor never forgave her.

When Lee challenges him, Connor shoots him, proving that his pride matters more than his men.

The Duel on the Bluff

Ercell retreats into the cave system hidden within the bluff, a location she prepared long ago in case her past caught up with her. The tunnels are rigged with traps, weapons, and escape routes. As Connor and his remaining crew pursue her, they fall victim to those traps one by one. Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green) avenges her boyfriend by killing the pirate responsible for his death, while Ercell methodically eliminates the rest.

Meanwhile, Ercell sends her son Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo) away in a small hidden boat, instructing him to seek help from a nearby British regiment. On board, he discovers that not all the gold was lost, some of it was secretly stored there, ensuring his future regardless of the battle’s outcome. With his crew dead, Connor challenges Ercell to a final one-on-one fight atop the bluff. The confrontation is brutal and personal.

Connor initially overpowers her and offers her chances to surrender — an attempt to reassert dominance. But Ercell refuses. A distraction from Elizabeth gives her the opening she needs, and she ultimately kills Connor.

His campaign of revenge ends where it began: on the island he tried to conquer.

What the Ending Means for Ercell

By defeating Connor, Ercell doesn’t just eliminate a physical threat — she confronts the man who shaped her darkest years. Throughout the film, she struggles between the peaceful life she built and the violent identity she tried to bury.

With Connor dead, that past no longer controls her.

Although the cost is devastating — including the death of her husband — Ercell survives. Her son escapes with gold and the possibility of help on the horizon. The British forces may arrive, piracy is fading, and the island has endured.

The ending suggests that while Ercell cannot erase who she once was, she can choose who she becomes next. And this time, no one is hunting her anymore.