If you’ve already read the best-selling 2022 mystery novel by Shelby Van Pelt, then you know you’re going to want to have a box of tissues ready when you watch the Remarkably Bright Creatures movie on Netflix, which began streaming on Friday.

Directed by Olivia Newman (Where the Crawdads Sing), who also adapted the script with co-writer John Whittington, Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of a lonely, 70-year-old widow named Tova (Sally Field) who is still grappling with the death of her son, decades later. She doesn’t go to therapy, but she does share her thoughts with the giant octopus, Marcellus, at the aquarium where she works as a cleaning lady.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is mostly a movie about grief and human connection, but there is also a mystery plot woven throughout the story. There’s the question of how Tova’s son Erik died, the question of Cameron’s father’s identity, and the questing of what will happen to the octopus, who is nearing the end of his life. If you got lost along the way, don’t worry, because Decider is here to help. Read on for the Remarkably Bright Creatures movie plot summary and Remarkably Bright Creatures movie ending explained, including what happened to Tova’s son.

Remarkably Bright Creatures plot summary:

Tova Sullivan (Sally Field) is a 70-year-old widow who works as a cleaning lady at an aquarium in Washington State. She is particularly fond of the aquarium’s Giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus, who is reaching the end of his short life and longs to return to the ocean. (Giant octopuses, sadly, only to live to about 4 years old.) Tova uses Marcellus as something of a therapist while she cleans, and while he can’t speak back to her, the audience hears his thoughts via voice-over narration from Alfred Molina. Marcellus tends to look down on humans, but has a soft spot for Tova.

Tova has a spot on a sought-after retirement community, thanks to her late husband, but she isn’t sure if she’s ready to leave her home. She’s still grieving the death of her son, Erik, who died when he was just 18, and the house is filled with his memory. One day, Tova discovers Marcellus has escaped his tank, and got caught tangled in some computer cords. She returns him to his tank, saving his life. But while returning Marcellus to his tank, Tova slips and injures her foot. Marcellus feels bad, and vows to help Tova in return before the end of his life.

Meanwhile, a young man named Cameron (Lewis Pullman) comes to town in search of a man he claims owes him money, named Simon Brinks. His van breaks down, and the town’s friendly general shop owner, Ethan (Colm Meany) offers him a place to stay while it’s getting fixed. When it costs more to fix than he hoped, Cameron is desperate for a job. Lucky for him, a gig as a cleaner at the local aquarium has opened up. He starts working as Tova’s temporary replacement while her foot heals.

However, Tova isn’t willing to cede control so easily. She finds Cameron to be a less-than-ideal cleaner, and decides she needs to train him how to do the job properly, to Cameron’s chagrin. Marcellus observes their interactions, and deduces that Tova and Cameron have a problem in common, and that being together will help them both. Though they have their differences, Tova and Cameron become friends.

As it turns out, the man that Cameron is looking for is his absent father. His mother recently died, and Cameron uncovered the name of the father he never met—Simone Brinks—and his father’s ring, engraved with “EELS.” Cameron assumes his father, Simon, must have loved eels. Tova helps Cameron on his search for Simon, and eventually, she opens up to Cameron about what happened to her son, Erik.

What happened to Tova’s son Erik in Remarkably Bright Creatures?

Tova reveals that near the end of his short life, Erik began acting differently, sneaking out and stealing his parents beer. Tova’s husband theorized that Erik had a secret girlfriend. When Tova asked her son whether he had a secret girlfriend, they got into a big fight, that ended with Erik smashing a figurine from Tova’s mother, and Tova yelling at him. The next day, Erik went out in his sail boat, and never came back. Tova recalls sitting on the pier, waiting for him to return.

Three days later, authorities found his boat with the anchor line cut clean, which is what his father taught him to do if he got stuck on rocks. Tova believes, firmly, it was an accident. However, a rumor got started in the town that Erik took his life on purpose. Tova is haunted by the thought that Erick may have died angry at her.

After a chance encounter with one of Erik’s old classmates, Tova learns that Erik did have a secret girlfriend when he died. The classmate can’t remember if the girlfriend’s name is Daphne or Cassie. Tova tears apart Erik’s room looking for evidence of this girl.

Meanwhile, Cameron gets a call from the Simon Brinks he was looking for, but is devastated to learn Simon is not his father. He was his mother’s gay best friend, who would sometimes pose as her boyfriend, to protect the secret of his sexuality. Simon also doesn’t know who Cameron’s father is, because Cameron’s mother never told anyone the identity of her baby daddy after she got pregnant as a teenager. Distraught, Cameron throws the “EELS” ring in the eel tank at the aquarium, has words with Tova, and leaves town.

Marcellus observes the whole fight. That night, he escapes his tank and sneaks into the eel tank to retrieve Cameron’s ring. Tova discovers Marcellus out of his cage, very weak, and near death.

Does the octopus die in Remarkably Bright Creatures?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, yes, Marcellus the octopus does die in Remarkably Bright Creatures. When Tova realizes how close Marcellus is to the end, she decides to release him into the ocean—at the end of the same pier where she sat and waited for her son to return. Poetic, right? She’s finally letting go.

Tova says a tearful goodbye to Marcellus, and gently empties the mop bucket she used to transfer him into the ocean. After, she finds the “EELS” ring in the bottom of the bucket, and realizes who the ring belongs to.

Marcellus, in a burst of energy, swims to the ocean floor. “I do not say this to give you false hope,” Marcellus says in his voice over narration. “My death is imminent. But time enough remains.”

So, yes, even though the octopus does die, he gets to enjoy the end of the life back home in the ocean, where he longed to be.

Remarkably Bright Creatures ending explained:

Cameron feels bad about the fight with Tova, and finds her on the pier to apologize. Tova reveals that Marcellus left them Cameron’s ring, which once belonged to Tova’s son. The initials stand for “Erik Ernst Lindgren Sullivan,” aka Tova’s son Erik. In other words, Erik was Cameron’s father.

Wait, what? Here’s what happened: As a teenager, Erik got his secret girlfriend Daphne—Cameron’s mother—pregnant. But then he died in a tragic boating accident before Cameron was born. Daphne, grieving, never told anyone the identity of her son’s father.

In other words, Cameron is Tova’s grandson. Marcellus, somehow, seemed to know that. Or, at the very least, he knew Cameron and Tova could help each other.

Tova decides to stay in her home, and Cameron moves in to help her fix it up. In one of the last scenes of the movie, Cameron discovers his late father’s “box of treasures” hidden in the floor boards, which includes a photo of Erik and Cameron’s mother. It also include the figurine that Erik broke in his fight with Tova the day before he died, carefully glued back together. Tova realizes this means Erik did not die mad at her, and was, in fact, trying to make amends.

Are you crying yet? Because I sure am! Even though it’s bittersweet, Tova and Cameron found each other, and have their community of people around them in the end.