Spoilers for The Power of the Dog will be found below.
The ending of Netflix’s The Power of the Dog was a powerful one, although it was an understated one for sure. It may have taken a rewind to capture the full gravity of what happened when Phil fell ill and surprisingly died. Heck, even Phil’s brother, George, seemed shocked that his brother had almost certainly (as confirmed by the doctor) fallen ill and died from anthrax poisoning, so let’s talk out how and why this happened.
Also, there’s one major question that we need to consider: Did Peter kill Phil?
Yep, it sure seems like he did. This is heavily implied and, in retrospect, makes plenty of sense while reflecting upon some hefty foreshadowing. That includes Peter’s care in wearing gloves while approaching a dead animal in the field. That wasn’t the only moment when he was spotted studying a dead animal over the course of the movie, and we also know — from the way that Peter broke a rabbit’s neck with ease when prompted by Phil — that Peter was capable of killing a living being. Sure, the jump to killing Phil might seem a little large, but Peter knew the depths of Phil’s cruelty and taunting of his mother. And he had determined to protect her at all costs.
That cost included Peter’s budding relationship with Phil, who had seemingly dropped his contempt for the young man and opened up to him about his own past. The film’s a scathing examination of toxic masculinity, and boy, all of those Oscar nominations are well deserved ones, but let’s get back to that ending with Phil and Peter.
Peter observed Phil’s open wound and how his guard was down, so he determined to slip him some contaminated rawhide. And his hunch was correct. Phil didn’t suspect a thing, even though (as noted by George after his brother’s death) Phil was generally very careful while dealing with animals and the possibility of infection. Peter knew that Rose remained in danger and made his decision, and that turned out to be the end of Phil. It’s a stunning development, and arguably a necessary one, and it’s certainly commentary upon the state of Phil’s psyche and how it reflects upon conversations about sexuality and identity. And now, those conversations head to the Oscars.
The Power of the Dog is currently streaming on Netflix.