'The Snow Sister' Movie Ending Explained & Summary: What Was Hedvig’s Secret?

Based on a novel by Maja Lunde, Netflix’s Norwegian release, The Snow Sister, is a heartfelt drama centered around a little boy and an important lesson he learned during Christmas. Julian’s elder sister, Juni, had recently passed away, and his family was grieving over their loss. Even though Christmas was right around the corner, neither Julian nor his family was in the spirit to celebrate. They barely spoke about the loss, and naturally, the family did not have much to talk about at the dinner table. Julian could sense that his best friend was slipping away because he did not know how to strike up a conversation with Julian anymore. Julian’s world had turned grey, when all of a sudden a girl in red came into his life and changed everything. How? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Why did Hedvig disappear?

Julian saw Hedvig for the first time during his swimming class. He thought she looked adorable with her nose pressed against the glass. He was surprised to find out that she had been waiting outside his class to talk to him. Hedvig was a cheerful little girl who looked forward to becoming friends with Julian. While Julian lacked the enthusiasm that she had, Hedvig was persistent about becoming his friend. Initially Julian found her love for Christmas a little overbearing, but soon he started to appreciate having someone by his side who helped him momentarily forget his grief. Julian was spellbound when he entered her house, which she had named Winter’s Nest. The house was decorated from top to bottom, and it was all glitter and sparkles. Hedvig made him a hot cup of cocoa with whipped cream, and the two friends enjoyed their drinks together. He loved the warmth and coziness at Winter’s Nest, something that he terribly missed at his own home. The place that once meant comfort had all of a sudden turned cold and unbearable.

All of a sudden, Hedvig’s fear had come true—Julian had started to ask questions about her life. He had noticed the fear in her eyes when he offered to teach her to swim. Her decision to not ice skate with him also did not sit well with Julian. He wondered what could possibly be the reason behind her decision to abandon ice skating—something that she was once passionate about. He also could not stop thinking about how every time he stopped by her house, there was no one at home. And he wondered why Hedvig avoided the big man with long hair who had keys to her house. He needed answers, but Hedvig proposed he share his secret before she confessed her truth. 

Julian told her all about Juni, how she fell sick all of a sudden and passed away before her family could come to terms with it. Hedvig advised him to always keep Juni alive in their hearts because as long as her family thought of her, she would continue to live within them. Julian returned home and pinned one of Juni’s photographs on the dining hall wall, but to his surprise, his parents were not happy with his decision. They thought he was being insensitive, but all Julian wanted was for his family to talk about Juni instead of hiding their feelings. Julian was upset when his plan backfired, and he blamed Hedvig for it. He decided he would continue to be her friend only if she told him her whole truth, but Hedvig could not make herself do so. Julian ended their friendship and walked away, only to realize that Hedvig had disappeared into thin air. He tried to find her at Winter’s Nest, but he soon figured out that the house was not the sparkly, cozy place he had previously been to—the house was in a dilapidated condition, and the tall, broad man he had seen before owned the place.

What was Hedvig’s secret?

Hendrick did not expect to find the little boy he had previously seen at his shop loitering around his childhood home. He was furious, and Julian ran home. The next morning he went back to Hendrick’s shop to understand his connection to Winter’s Nest. Hendrick explained that he had lost his sister, Hedvig, fifty years ago, and he had abandoned the house since then. He always felt that his sister’s spirit lived in the house, and he feared that she was still upset with him. Hedvig was only nine when she died in an accident. She loved to skate, and a day before Christmas, when she was ice skating, all of a sudden there was a crack in the ice and Hedvig fell through it. Her body was not discovered for the next two days, and when she was found, she still had her skates on. Hendrick blamed himself for his sister’s death; he always thought he could have prevented it if he had been more careful. His sister was always so full of life, and he could never get over her death. He had stopped celebrating Christmas since then, and instead he painted the beautiful memories he had of his sister. Hendrick kept his sister alive by making cards that brought smiles to the faces that received them. His buyers did not know that the faces on the cards belonged to real people, but it was the familiar joy and love that the characters on the card shared that his customers loved and related with.

What happened to Hedvig?

Even though it was all too strange, Julian realized that the girl he had been speaking to was a ghost. He checked the cemetery to confirm Hedvig’s story, and he realized it was all true. He begged Hedvig to come back to him, and once again she magically appeared. Since Julian was the only one who could see Hedvig, it was his belief in her and his desire to be with her that helped him meet Hedvig again. 

In The Snow Sister’s ending, we discover that Hedvig could not cross over to heaven because she could never let go of her life. Even though she had spent fifty years as an invisible entity, she believed it was better than not existing anymore. Julian helped her realize that she did not have to worry about being forgotten. Her brother remembered her, and she would continue to live through his art. Even though it was scary, Hedvig realized that she had to cross over to the other side, especially when her best friend Julian too thought it was for the best. Julian promised to think of her every time it snowed because he thought of her as his snow sister. To Julian’s surprise, Juni came to receive Hedvig to travel to the other side, and he knew that both his sisters would be safe with each other.

Why did Julian decide to celebrate Christmas?

After learning about Hedvig and how Hendrick continued to make art to keep his sister alive, Julian realized that he could do the same as well. While he was not a gifted artist like Hedvig, Julian requested him to draw some pictures of Juni, and Hendrick was more than happy to do so. Julian decorated his house with paintings of her, and when his parents returned home, he encouraged them to celebrate their daughter instead of hiding their feelings. He believed Juni would have never wanted to see her family suffer and spend their days mourning for her; she would have instead wanted them to celebrate Christmas. Julian’s parents realized that their son was right. As heartbroken as they were, they knew it was impossible to hide away everything that reminded them of their daughter. They could instead celebrate her every day. 

In The Snow Sister’s ending, Julian’s family surprised him by decorating the house for Christmas. It was also Julian’s birthday, and that called for double the celebration. Julian performed with the Christmas choir, and he and his best friend once again had a snowball fight like they used to. While Julian and his family would never overcome the loss, meeting Hedvig and Hendrick helped Julian figure out how to navigate grief. While most tend to hide their feelings, Julian had learned the importance of coming to terms with loss and finding a constructive way to remember his sister so that she would continue to live in their hearts and always be loved.

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