Is Fifty Shades of Grey a happy ending?

After spending two hours establishing the relationship between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, Fifty Shades of Grey caught many viewers by surprise with its rather abrupt ending. In the film’s final few scenes, Ana asks Christian to show her just how bad things can get in his playroom. After he obliges her by spanking her six times with a belt, she spends the night in tears, only to wake up and leave Christian. Walking out of his apartment, Ana gets on the elevator, and in a scene that mirrors their first meeting, we watch as the doors close… and then the screen fades to black.

More specifically, in the book, the scene begins when Ana finds Christian playing sad music at the piano, which then leads to the two of them talking about his desire to punish her and his refusal to tell her why he is the way he is. Unable to imagine leaving him behind, Ana asks Christian to show her. In her words: “Punish me. I want to know how bad it can get.” Sound familiar?

From there, the scene plays out just as it does in the movie, minus a few minor details. There’s a belt, he spanks her six times, and it changes everything for her. However, the biggest change is that, in the book, when he visits her later that night, he gets into bed with her and holds her as she admits her love for him. When he tells her that she can’t love him, Ana gets up and leaves right then, refusing to stay the night. As she’s heading to the elevator, she stops Christian from hugging her, telling him “I can’t do this.”