Good Boy Ending Explained: The Final Reveal That Seals Todd’s Fate

Haunted-house jitters were the least of it: in Good Boy’s final showdown, Indy breaks his chains and descends to the basement, only to uncover owner Todd’s drug-fueled nightmare.

Quick heads-up: big spoilers for Good Boy (2025) ahead. If you haven't seen it, this is your off-ramp.

The endgame, clean and clear

By the time we hit the finale, Indy the dog is already spooked by the house and obsessed with the shadows skittering through it. Then Todd, his owner, makes everything worse. He chains Indy up, Indy outsmarts the restraint, and heads to the basement just in time to see Todd being dragged toward a cave like something out of a campfire story. Indy yanks him back, and that's when the thing fully shows itself: a shadow figure steps out from a door, and its power literally travels through water across the floor to Todd. The water hits, Todd turns into a shadow, and the writing's on the wall.

"You can't save me."

Todd says that to Indy, then walks into the cave. His final command to the dog is simple: "Stay right there." And like the title promises, Indy sits. He waits.

Indy's choice

Eventually, Vera (Todd's sister) opens the basement doors. She's teary, sees Indy, and coaxes him out. Indy has two options: keep following Todd's last order and potentially end up like Todd's grandfather's dog (not a happy precedent), or follow Vera and live. He looks toward the cave, as if replaying that "you can't save me" moment, and then climbs the steps to Vera. That's his choice.

How the finale plays out

• Todd chains Indy. Indy frees himself and follows to the basement.
• Todd is being dragged into a cave. Indy pulls him back.
• A fully-formed shadow emerges from a door. Its power travels via water across the floor.
• The water reaches Todd; he transforms into a shadow.
• Todd tells Indy he can't save him, orders him to stay, and walks into the cave.
• Vera opens the basement. Indy chooses Vera over waiting for Todd.

The leash, the drugs, and what the movie is actually saying

Good Boy keeps Todd's health murky on purpose. We're seeing this from Indy's perspective, so the specifics get fuzzy: Todd has a chronic lung disease, he's getting worse, and the movie never names it. What it does drop are pretty heavy hints that Todd has a history with drugs. There's a conversation with Vera about rehab and not relapsing. There's a shot of Todd coming home with a bloodied bandage on his arm. Put that next to the ending, where a leash is clamped around Todd's neck and the shadow drags him into the basement like he's the animal, and the metaphor lands: the leash reads like addiction itself — constricting, humiliating, and inescapable if you let it lead. It mirrors Indy being literally leashed by his human, while Todd is figuratively leashed by the thing that owns him.

So, does it all work?

Yeah, mostly. The movie is scrappy — some sound effects are off and there are a couple of goofs you'll clock — but it's also clever, tense, and it sticks the landing with that last choice in the basement. I get why people are calling it one of 2025's best horror films; for a small indie, it swings big and hits.

Where to watch

Good Boy is available to rent on Apple TV in the US.