Flight Risk ending explained: What happens to Daryl? Details explored

The action thriller Flight Risk was released on January 24, 2025. Mel Gibson returned to the director's chair after 2016's Hacksaw Ridge. The film is mostly set inside a plane, with three main characters portrayed by Michelle Dockery, Mark Wahlberg, and Topher Grace. Wahlberg plays the deranged assassin "Daryl", who is finally vanquished.

From its trailer, Flight Risk looks like a throwback to the nostalgic 90s action movies. The movie revolves around Deputy U.S. Marshal "Maddie" Madelyn Harris trying to safely escort informant and mob accountant Winston to testify against the Moretti family. There's one problem though. The pilot "Daryl" is a hitman working for the Morettis. What will happen next? The synopsis for the movie reads:

"In this high-stakes suspense thriller, Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg (Actor in a Supporting Role, 2006 – The Departed) plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem."

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Who is "Daryl" the hitman from Flight Risk?

Even though Wahlberg's character is identified as "Daryl Booth" throughout the entire runtime, the movie makes it evident that the name is a pseudonym. The assassin murdered the real Daryl Booth, to kill Winston and Maddie mid-flight. However, his identity is exposed when Winston spots the ID with the real Daryl Booth's photo.

Mark Wahlberg's "Daryl" asks a restrained Maddie if she wants to learn his real name when he tries to kill her. However, Maddie breaks free and knocks him unconscious in reaction to his question, she responds by saying that she isn't interested in learning his name. Thus, the hitman remains unnamed throughout the entirety of the movie.

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What happens to "Daryl" at the end of Flight Risk?

Mel Gibson's Flight Risk promises viewers an unforgettable twist and character death. "Daryl" breaks his thumb and frees himself from his handcuffs and then proceeds to stab Topher Grace's Winston twice. After that, the hitman is close to killing U.S. Air Marshal Maddie by choking her, but she restrains him after firing at him with a flare.

When he survives that, Maddie shoots him three times on his legs with her government-issued pistol. After that, she exposes the Director of the U.S. Marshals Colebridge mob boss Moretti's payroll mole after landing the plane on an Anchorage runway. But Maddie and Winston still are in danger as "Daryl" is still on their tail.

But this unstable Flight Risk villain finally meets his maker in the movie's climax after surviving a wide range of impossible scenarios. Daryl finally dies when he is impaled by a fire truck while pursuing the plane. Apart from getting impaled, a second truck crushes Daryl, killing him. Winston and Maddie believe that all is well after the assassin's death. But that's when the rug is pulled under them.

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Flight Risk shocking twist explained

Winston is being admitted to the hospital in an ambulance and it seems that all might be right. However, a shocking twist is revealed. Turns out, "Daryl" is not the only assassin that Moretti hired to kill Winston. A hitman disguised as an EMT makes a move against Winston who is on a stretcher, unattended.

He closes the door and begins to choke the mob accountant with a plastic bag. However, Maddie, fortunately, saves Winston's life by shooting the assassin, ending the movie on a rather happy note.

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As stated before, this Mel Gibson directorial is different than the previous movies the actor directed. Flight Risk is not a complicated tale of good winning over evil, a probable reason behind the movie's maligned critical reaction. However, despite the negative reaction, everyone agreed that Mark Wahlberg was the best part of the movie.