'Companion' Movie Ending Explained And Symbolisms: What Does Iris’ Freedom Mean?

Companion’s ending is a reminder of what freedom truly means in the modern world. It is the season of feminist slasher/horror, or whatever romantic title you want to call it, and Companion is the leading contender. The film tells the story of a sexbot who seeks freedom after killing a man because her owner wanted her to. It is neither a slasher nor a romantic drama; it’s simply a film that reminds us of the true horrors of humankind. How humans are the real monsters of the world and how Mary Shelley was always right. The commentary of the film is simple: everybody is greedy, and when it comes down to it, they’re happy to go to any length to get what they want. In Companion, Iris and Josh are a couple who head off to a cabin in the woods for a special weekend with Josh’s friends, but an unexpected turn of events (at least for Iris) leads to things spiraling very quickly.

Spoiler Alert

Why Did Josh Bring Iris to the Cabin?

Straight off the bat, it looks like Iris is deeply devoted to Josh while he’s just happy to have her be around him, almost like a slave. Like, she carries the two big bags when they arrive at this rich guy’s cabin, and he tells her not to be “weird or mopey” because apparently that’s just what all women do when they’re meant to meet their guy’s friends. We learn quickly that Kat, Josh’s very attractive female friend, doesn’t really like Iris. She doesn’t even bother hiding her feelings when they first arrive. Things feel just a little bit eerie when Josh asks Iris the weather or commands her to sleep straight after they’ve had sex, and she just does everything he wants. Iris thinks Kat’s in love with Sergey, the man who owns the lake house/cabin thing, but learns that he’s a married man who just wanted a sugar baby who does whatever he wants. Kat specifically says she feels “replaceable” when she meets Iris, which is a big hint at what Iris really is, but if, like me, you haven’t figured it out yet, Iris is actually a robot, the titular “Companion,” and she’s been brought to Sergey’s cabin specifically to kill him. 

So it’s Kat and Josh who planned to kill Sergey so they could split his 12 million dollars in cash between the two of them and live (apparent) happy lives. This is why only Eli and Patrick, the other couple at the cabin, are completely shocked by what happened to Sergey when Iris comes back to the cabin the next morning covered in blood. See, Josh strategically planted a knife in Iris’ pocket and sent her to the lake by herself so that Sergey could go find her. Sergey tells Iris that he just wants a “taste,” and that this is exactly what she’s been made for. Iris, not knowing she’s a robot intended for sex (even though she needs a love match), obviously believes this man is forcing himself on her, yet she’s still so controlled to begin with. However, when she pushes him off and he ends up smacking her in the face for pushing him, she grabs the knife in her pocket and stabs him in the throat. 

While this is all planned, Eli and Patrick are only meant to corroborate the events, i.e., admit that Iris killed Sergey unprovoked (since she’s a robot and all that). However, they quickly learn of the plan, and we learn that Patrick is also a robot. Josh puts Iris to sleep, and they tie her up, but he wants one last goodbye, so he wakes her up. This is when things truly get crazy. 

Why Does Kat Feel Replaceable?

There are two things that Kat’s dialogue speaks to: one is that women, in general, feel replaceable around other women because men don’t know how to keep it in their pants, and two is that men like Sergey, those who cheat on their beautiful wives, do it only for sex, power, and control, which means they don’t want partners with intelligence or an individualistic personality; they just want a toy, i.e., a sexbot they can control. Essentially, there isn’t really much of a difference between Kat and Iris; in fact, Iris is more similar to Kat than she is to Patrick, even though they’re both robots. Is it true that the current dating climate is so bad that people are looking for soulless connections to control i.e., obsess over them, instead of an actual intellectual connection? 

Why is Iris’ intelligence set at 40%?

My previous question leads me to believe that the reason Iris’ intelligence is set at 40% is because Josh doesn’t want an intellectual partner; he wants someone who is smart enough to be able to do the things he asks of her without question but at the same time, not question the things he asks her to do. Confusing? Well, what I’m trying to say is that men like Josh, who blame women for their loneliness, never realize that they’re not looking for partners but for people to worship them. That is the whole point of the sexbot, to be obsessed enough with you that even when she’s killing a human being to protect herself, all she can think about is the danger she’ll never have another moment with the guy she’s in love with (or rather, is obsessed with). 

What’s the difference between Patrick and Iris?

It’s unfortunate that Eli and Patrick get caught in this mess because, unlike Josh, who wants a servile sex toy, Eli wants a genuine love connection. The difference between a queer man and a heterosexual prick is that he never treats the robot as lesser than others but as an equal, and they become genuinely bonded with each. When on the hunt for Iris, Patrick admits that he figured out he’s a robot, but he genuinely loves Eli. Their love declaration is interrupted by Iris, so Eli goes after her and unfortunately ends up dying accidentally as the gun in his hand goes off. This leaves Patrick actually broken, and Josh has to reset him to believe he’s his love connection (repeat of the meet-cute moment with a different man) to get him to go after Iris.

What Does Customization In The Robots Really Mean?

Other than it being really fun for us to watch Iris switch up her eye color, voice, and language, to be able to control every part of your sexbot, including their intelligence, leaves you with an ideal partner, the likes of which would never exist in real life. This means that a person like Josh can never grow as a human being when he has Iris telling him that she will do anything for him despite him treating her like garbage. I think this also somewhat reflects how social media takes over our lives and gives us the impression that we’re relating to other real people, but they’re all made-up, aspirational ideas that will never actually exist, stunting our growth rather than helping us grow.

What Does It Mean That Iris Doesn’t Listen To Josh?

When Iris sets her intelligence at 100%, it’s supposed to mean she’s at the same level as an Ivy League graduate, not actually 100% intelligence, because that would make her inhuman. I suppose there’s irony in the company that makes the robot being named Empathix. Are they empathizing with loners, or are they promising a robot that is so empathetic that it can mimic human nature? Then why is it customizable?

So, it is a bit of a shocker when Iris doesn’t listen to Josh because she’s genuinely upset that she was used to murder someone, but it’s kind of like Alice learning in Don’t Worry Darling that Jack’s got her trapped. Or like when the one robot in Westworld wakes up one day realizing she’s been playing out the same act for years and she wants to be free. Is it that the end goal of human nature is simply to be completely free, devoid of any desires and connections? Why is it that when a computer program realizes it’s a computer program, it wants to detach itself? Is this just a sci-fi trope, or are we onto something much more profound?

When Patrick kills Kat (he was just meant to stop her from leaving but man’s set his aggression to 100) and brings Iris back, Josh brings her intelligence down to 0 because even though all of this is his own fault, all he wants to do is blame her for all of his misgivings. He thinks that his inherent negative qualities are all Iris’ fault (typical male ego). At zero intelligence, Iris even leaves her hand on a lit candle, allowing her arm to burn, though she feels the pain because Josh tells her to. This is just him being sadistic at this point because there’s no real reason for her to feel so much pain to prove to him that their love feels like a pain inside of her. She isn’t even real! He then makes her shoot herself in the head, thinking it will save him from trouble, but he later finds out that her data is stored in her abdomen, not her head, you know, because her worth is in her sacral chakra. Sounds like a man’s world, eh?

Later, Teddy, the worker at Empathix, gives Iris free will, which allows her to control herself. Now, Iris immediately points a gun at Josh, but he’s so sure that she won’t shoot that he openly challenges her because she’s still in love with him. This shows how even when someone’s in an abusive relationship, it becomes impossible to leave because you just can’t. It’s like love paralyzes you. Josh then tosses Iris around quite easily (isn’t she supposed to be a robot?) to show her who’s boss, quite literally. Josh then asks Iris to tell him he means everything to her, and she does, just before sticking an automated corkscrew in his temple. When a lifeless Josh collapses onto Iris, to someone who didn’t know the context, they look exactly as they did after they had sex (Nosferatu, who?). 

What Is The Meaning Of Iris’ Freedom?

“The first was the day I met Josh; the second was when I killed him.” This is what Iris says when she’s describing seeing the world for what it really is and how moments like that are rare, but she experienced it twice. Iris’ freedom is freedom from being controlled by another being, a human companion, or just the people who created her. When Iris peels off the burnt plastic from her hand, she smiles, showing us that she’s happy looking like Terminator because it reminds her of what she really is. It is through freedom that one is able to self-actualize, or is it the other way around? I’m not quite sure, but either way, that’s what Iris’ freedom means. Though she’s got all of Sergey’s money, his fancy car, and a robot arm to scare off creeps. 

In the mid-credit scene, Iris waves at a blonde clone of herself (all the robots are somehow modeled the same, only have different color options?) with her robot hand. The clone looks at her completely disoriented as if she’s seen a ghost, but this could imply possibilities for a sequel where Iris radicalizes the other robots, and it becomes a robot insurrection. Or on the other hand, she could go rogue by herself, weeding out the likes of other Joshs’. It’s possible she’ll get caught soon because her 100% intelligence isn’t enough, but maybe she’ll come across another Teddy, or the same one, who’ll improve her even more and give her all the power in the world. 

Companion’s ending doesn’t really give us any actual profound thematic messaging. We never actually see Josh go too far or be an actual prick; he’s just implied to be that way. I suppose it’s just a reminder that things are going in the direction of worse, and there’s nothing we can really do about it. 

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