Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Drive-Away Dolls

Summary

• Senator Channel's reputation is permanently scarred, haunted by the existence of his penis casting.
• Marian and Jamie decide to get married after their relationship intensifies post ordeal.
• Flint killed Arliss & The Chief due to repeated mistreatment, not considering the consequences.

Drive-Away Dolls ends with an attempt on Jamie’s and Marian’s lives. The film, which follows Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) on a road trip gone wrong, sees the pair discovering the contents of the mysterious suitcase. Following their initial shock of finding four penis plaster castings, including one that belongs to Florida’s Senator Channel (Matt Damon), Jamie and Marian are kidnapped by Arliss, Flint, and The Chief, who have been tailing them since they left Philadelphia. Tied up, Marian and Jamie watch an exchange between Arliss, Flint and The Chief, who are arguing about the job gone wrong.

Flint shoots Arliss and The Chief. The distraction gives Marian and Jamie time to break free. They escape, calling the senator to make a deal. Senator Channel shows up to the bar with a bag full of money; Jamie and Marian hand over the suitcase of plaster castings in an exchange. The senator leaves but, angry, tries to shoot the pair, who are saved by Jamie’s ex-girlfriend Sukie. The senator is sent to jail and the suitcase scandal is revealed publicly. Later, Jamie reveals she made more plaster castings of the senator’s penis, which they accidentally leave at the hotel.

What Drive-Away Dolls’ Ending Reveals About The Senator’s Fate

The senator had great ambitions to run for president, but he’ll likely never be able to achieve any of his political goals after these events.

Jamie and Marian left the suitcase with the new plaster castings behind at the hotel by accident, and the bellhop now has them. While Senator Channel’s attempt to shoot Jamie and Marian landed him in jail with his scandal exposed, the castings continuing to exist in some form means he will be haunted by the incident forever. The senator had great ambitions to run for president, but he’ll likely never be able to achieve any of his political goals after these events.

Senator Channel is forever shamed and the fact that the plaster casting of his penis is now in the hands of a stranger means that it will continue circulating — perhaps landing in the hands of an art collector like before — and he will have absolutely no control over it. It’s unclear how long he will be in jail for, but the fact that the senator was also caught trying to kill two women in public has permanently scarred his reputation.

What’s Next For Jamie & Marian’s Relationship

The pair choose to take their relationship more seriously and get married.

By the end of Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls, Jamie and Marian have decided to take their relationship to the next level. After sleeping together and nearly being killed, Marian and Jamie don’t want to be friends anymore; nor do they want to be friends with benefits. The pair instead choose to take their relationship more seriously and get married, which is a major step up for Jamie, who had only recently broken up with Susie after cheating on her with other women. After visiting Marian’s aunt, the couple would drive to Massachusetts, where gay marriage was legal at the time.

It’s clear by the end of the film that Marian and Jamie really love each other, and their personalities complement each other. It makes sense they would want to get married, especially after what they had just experienced and having been friends for so long. With their lives having nearly ended, it’s likely Jamie and Marian didn’t want to waste any more time with other people, especially now that their relationship had transitioned to being romantic. Getting married and settling down together was the next logical step for their relationship after the ordeal of Drive-Away Dolls.

Why Senator Channel Tried To Kill Jamie & Marian Despite Getting The Suitcase

Senator Channel may have been able to retrieve the suitcase containing a plaster casting of his penis, but he was probably worried that Jamie and Marian would be liabilities. After all, they knew the truth of the suitcase’s contents and could continue using that against him (though they wouldn’t after getting what they wanted). While Jamie making additional plaster castings was likely what the senator feared all along, trying to shoot her and Marian was fueled more by Channel’s anger over being exploited.

Senator Channel essentially fulfilled his own worst fear by trying to kill Jamie and Marian.

During the exchange, it was Marian and Jamie who wielded the power over him, and Senator Channel was in a situation he couldn’t control. He didn’t like that at all, and when he aimed the gun at them, it’s possible he wasn’t thinking at all about the consequences for his reputation or that word about his plaster casting would get out. Senator Channel essentially fulfilled his own worst fear by trying to kill Jamie and Marian. If he’d walked away from the situation with the suitcase, all might have been well.

Why Flint Killed Arliss & The Chief In Drive-Away Dolls

Flint was one of two of The Chief’s goons working to retrieve the suitcase for Senator Channel. But Flint also spent the entirety of Drive-Away Dolls being pushed around by Arliss, who would badger and make fun of him constantly. By the time Flint and Arliss have kidnapped Jamie and Marian, Flint has had enough of being pushed around and being made to feel small. Flint’s anger led him to kill both Arliss and The Chief, seeking revenge for their poor treatment regardless of how it affected their work on behalf of the senator.

Will There Be A Drive-Away Dolls Sequel?

Drive-Away Dolls may not seem like a movie that would get a direct sequel, but it did end with Jamie’s additional plaster castings being left behind, so it’s possible Drive-Away Dolls 2 could document what happens with them after, as well as who they end up with. Aside from a direct sequel, however, Ethan Coen does have plans for a B-movie lesbian trilogy, which began with Drive-Away Dolls and will continue with Honey Don’t! (via Collider), another road trip movie that is currently in development.

Honey Don't! will also star Chris Evans and Aubrey Plaza.

Honey Don’t! stars Margaret Qualley, though she will seemingly be playing a different character. The film will likely serve as more of a spiritual sequel than one that is directly connected to Drive-Away Dolls. It’s possible Honey Don’t will loosely continue what Drive-Away Dolls started, even if it won’t center on Jamie and Marian’s next life adventure.

The Real Meaning Of Drive-Away Dolls

Drive-Away Dolls has a few focal themes, but none as important as the lesson of going with the flow. Throughout the film, Marian was essentially stuck, unable to really move forward because she was waiting for something worthwhile but also afraid to get out of her comfort zone. It seemed like her past relationship had hurt her more than she was willing to admit, but once she opened up to Jamie, Marian was able to fully embrace her emotions and sexuality.

Marian was holding herself back in many ways in Drive-Away Dolls, but being with Jamie and the life-threatening situation they found themselves in allowed her to loosen up and accept whatever came her way. Marian just needed a push, and her relationship with Jamie especially gave her the opportunity to lean into the parts of herself she had kept inside for a few years.