Academy Award: Flow: What happens to the bird at the end of the Academy Award-nominated animated film?

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Flow, the Latvian animation film. Reader discretion is advised.

Flow, the gorgeous animated film, has left viewers scratching their heads about the fate of the bird that enters a group of animals fleeing a flooding forest. Directed by Gints Zilbalodis, this Latvian film has become an award darling during this year's award circuit and is also up for two Oscars.

Flow initially follows a dark grey cat trying to save its life from other animals in the forest. However, an unexpected flood puts him in another danger and sets him up for a whole new adventure. The cat somehow gets atop a boat and sails through the half-submerged forest as a labrador, capybara, lemur, and secretarybird join him shortly after. They face challenges every step of the way and constantly find themselves in life-threatening risks.

Toward the end of Flow, the cat and the bird have a near-mystical experience when they get caught up in a storm. The cat swims ashore and reaches the top of a pillar - where it reunites with the bird. Suddenly, they start levitating toward an inexplicable source of light. While the cat returns, the bird doesn't. In this scenario, this injured bird might have entered the afterlife if the light represented the cosmic route. Otherwise, it may just be the cat's dream as only the cat sees the bird after the storm.

How does the bird get injured? Answer explored

A still from Flow (Image via YouTube/@janusfilmsnyc)

Before understanding the root of the bird's fate, we must first understand its backstory. The bird was not a part of the cat's crew from the get-go. It joins them after the cat teams up with a labrador right when the forest starts flooding. They get atop a boat to be soon joined by a capybara. Then, their usual dynamic goes for a toss as they need to support each other to survive through this situation.

The morning after this unrest, the cat notices a white secretarybird, and its instinct immediately tells it to save itself. It falls into the water and nearly drowns, but a whale saves its life. Then, the bird that the cat previously feared, comes to its rescue. It carries the cat back to its boat and builds its cross-species trust. Eventually, a lemur joins them.

Soon, the cat finds itself in the middle of a group of secretarybirds and fears for its life. Suddenly, the bird it met before comes to its rescue. This kind-hearted bird fights with the group's leader, who injures its wings - considering its support for the cat as its betrayal.

What happens to the bird in Flow after it ascends into the cosmic space?

Through the journey, the cat grows wiser and braver as it joins an unlikely group of animals, some of which might usually be its predators. It learns to trust them and gains some important survival skills. Eventually, toward the end of the film, the crew finds itself in the middle of a fierce storm. The bird suddenly regains its ability to fly and leaves while the cat rushes to save its own life.

Eventually, the cat swims ashore and climbs upon a pillar where it notices the bird. Then, somehow, they both get pulled into a cosmic light and start flying. The cat returns but the bird doesn't. To understand its fate, let's recap its journey post its injury. The bird miraculously starts flying right after the storm breaks out. So, everything after this incident might be the cat's imagination to process the bird's potential loss, as the bird might have drowned during the storm. The cosmic light can also be interpreted as the bird's pathway to its afterlife.