Sicario: Day Of The Soldado ending explained: What happens to Isabel and Alejandro?

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a 2018 film that serves as a sequel to Denis Villeneuve's Sicario. This gritty crime thriller follows a secret operation to expose drug cartels. However, things do not turn out as planned. Its official logline reads,

"The drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver re-teams with the mercurial Alejandro."

Taylor Sheridan returned as the writer for the sequel while Stefano Sollima directed it. Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin return to the cast as covert operative Alejandro and CIA agent Matt, respectively. Isabela Merced and Catherine Keener make up the central cast. The film was theatrically released in 2018 and is now available online on Netflix.

At the end of Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Alejandro survives and meets Miguel, the young man who shot him in the desert. Alejandro asks Miguel if he wants to be a sicario, and Miguel agrees.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Reader discretion is advised.

What is the story behind Sicario: Day of the Soldado?

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado begins with a few suicide bomb instances in the US. In the wake of these incidents, the government plans a covert operation under the belief that Mexican drug cartels smuggled terrorists into the US. Matt (Brolin), who's supposed to lead this mission, enlists Alejandro (Del Toro).

The team abducts Isabel (Isabela Merced), the daughter of drug lord Carlos Reyes. They hope to use her to incite conflicts between two drug cartels. However, their plan goes awry when they face a team of corrupt Mexican policemen. Matt's team wipes them clean.

Isabel briefly escapes only to be found by Alejandro. Matt returns to the US and learns that the suicide bombers are not smuggled foreign nationals. He is ordered to kill Isabel since she witnessed his team shooting Mexican officers.

Why does Matt protect Isabel?

A still from Sicario: Day Of The Soldado (Image via YouTube/@sonypictures)

After the end of their initial mission, Matt calls Alejandro and reveals the official orders. Alejandro refuses to kill Isabel—even if a man under her father's wings killed his entire family. Alejandro lost his young daughter, which makes him protective of Isabel.

Matt follows the bureaucratic orders and heads to kill the two. As it happens, Alejandro hopes to take Isabel secretly back home. However, a young Mexican-American smuggler, Miguel (Elijah Rodriguez), recognizes Alejandro from a past encounter and rats him out.

Soon, Miguel is forced to shoot Alejandro to death. Isabel witnesses hooded Alejandro's shootout and gets traumatized. Matt soon learns about Alejandro's death and feels guilty that his actions led to it. So, out of that remorse, he decides to respect Alejandro's wishes to save Isabel.

What happens to Isabel and Alejandro in Sicario 2?

At the end of Sicario: Day Of The Soldado, Alejandro survives Miguel's gun wound. He heads home despite severe injuries. Miguel parts ways with his gang and walks alone through the desert. A while later, Alejandro shows up in a shopping mall and meets Miguel.

The young lad gets terrified seeing the man he was once told to kill. Alejandro asks Miguel if he wants to be Sicario (hitman). Miguel agrees, which means he will possibly be Alejandro's apprentice in the future.

If Miguel had refused, he would have faced trouble from both sides. That may have been his motivation behind this shocking decision. It sets up a follow-up narrative tracking their further journey. Alejandro might use Miguel as a way to get to Carlos Reyes.

On the other hand, Isabel's fate is left in the dark. Matt kills the Mexican gang members but saves Isabel against his seniors' orders. However, the once-rebellious girl does not find a safe home after she gets caught in the web of drug war. Instead, she ends up in a witness protection program.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is available to stream on Netflix in the US.