Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 adaptation of Frankenstein gives a fresh spin on Victor Frankenstein’s final moments, highlighting a complex and poignant emotional resolution rarely seen in prior adaptations.
Unlike the classic depiction of Victor as a relentless, cold scientist bent on destroying his creation, this version paints him as a flawed father figure seeking redemption before his end. Severely injured during his obsessive pursuit of the Creature, Victor ultimately reconciles with him on a trapped Arctic ship.
Here, in a quiet and heartfelt scene, Victor apologizes for the cruelty and neglect he inflicted, acknowledging the Creature as the son he failed. This apology stands as an admission of Victor’s moral failings and an acceptance of his responsibility for the suffering that unfolded.
This moment signals a significant departure from many traditional renditions. It humanizes Victor, showing that even amidst his hubris and obsession with conquering death, he yearns for forgiveness and peace. His willingness to let go of hatred marks a kind of self-awareness and sorrow for his past wrongs.
Despite this, Victor’s death on the ship underscores the tragic cost of his ambition and mistakes, reflecting on the consequences of trying to control life itself.
The Creature’s Choice: From Vengeance to Liberation
The Creature, portrayed with an emotional depth rarely seen in Frankenstein adaptations, is not just a symbol of horror but a tragic figure confronting pain, rejection, and struggles with identity.
As the film progresses, the Creature’s journey shifts from one of vengeance against Victor to self-realization and acceptance. Following Victor’s death, the Creature’s decision to live rather than seek revenge or destruction forms the crux of the film’s emotional climax.
Frankenstein (Credit: Netflix)
The Creature, far from being a mere monster, expresses forgiveness and empathy. He uses his immense strength to free the trapped ship’s crew from the Arctic ice, an act that symbolizes his release from the cycle of hatred and violence.
This gesture is bittersweet: the Creature accepts the life Victor gave him, deciding to carry this burden alone but choosing survival over despair. His final scene, exposing his face to the sunlight while shedding tears, encapsulates his complex humanity, vulnerable, sorrowful, but ultimately free.
This ending challenges audiences to rethink who the real monster is. Many critics and viewers have noted del Toro’s choice to emphasize the Creature’s innocence and capacity for emotion, shifting the moral focus onto Victor’s destructive pride and failings as a creator and father.
The Creature’s survival, free but solitary, suggests an ongoing quest for identity and meaning beyond the shadow of his maker.
Impact and Controversy: A Modern Take on a Classic
Del Toro’s Frankenstein offers a visually stunning and emotionally rich adaptation, but it has not escaped criticism.
While many praise the film for its lush cinematography, nuanced performances, and renewed focus on themes of forgiveness and choice, some argue that the Creature’s portrayal veers too far from Mary Shelley’s original vision.
Critics point out that the Creature’s largely innocent and sympathetic depiction removes some of the darker complexities that made the novel’s monster terrifying and tragic.
Others also debate the portrayal of Victor Frankenstein, who is framed less as a mad scientist and more as a deeply flawed, sometimes even pitiable, figure responsible for his own downfall.
This interpretation strips away traditional nuance about Victor’s motivations, showing him more as a tragic figure consumed by selfishness and mistakes than as a conflicted genius wrestling with ethical dilemmas.
The film’s dramatic ending, with Victor’s apology and the Creature’s forgiveness, ignites conversation about themes of redemption, humanity, and the nature of monstrosity in a modern context.
It’s a take that aligns with contemporary sensibilities that favor empathy and reconciliation over simplistic good-versus-evil narratives, highlighting family dynamics and emotional trauma rather than just horror and science fiction.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) stands out as a profound retelling that reinterprets a classic tale through the lenses of forgiveness, responsibility, and the enduring search for identity. Victor’s last choice reveals a man burdened by regret, finally seeking to make peace with the consequences of his ambition.
Meanwhile, the Creature’s decision to live hints at a tentative hope for survival beyond tragedy. This ending invites viewers to reconsider what it truly means to be human and what shapes the monsters among us.
By intertwining visual artistry with emotional depth and moral complexity, del Toro delivers a Frankenstein that resonates with modern audiences, challenging them to ask: who really carries the burden of monstrosity in this story?
Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes) is a woman shattered by loss and grief in Netflix’s tightly wound miniseries “The Beast in Me.” Premiering on November 13, 2025, the thriller follows her descent into obsession when she suspects her neighbor, Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys), of murder.
Yet Aggie’s story goes beyond a simple whodunit, unraveling questions about justice, trauma, and how far one will go to expose darkness while wrestling with their own inner demons.
Aggie’s story: More than a typical victim’s tale
Unlike many thrillers where grief-stricken characters simply seek closure, Aggie’s quest becomes a pulse-pounding hunt for truth that pushes her into morally gray territory.
From the start, she is defined by acute vulnerability mixed with determination, juggling her sorrow over a lost son alongside a growing suspicion of Nile, a charismatic but menacing figure with a shadowy past.
Her talent as a writer tasked with penning Nile’s biography offers a tantalizing narrative device that blurs fact and fiction, truth and manipulation.
What sets this series apart is how Aggie’s agency remains central rather than sidelined. As she navigates friends, foes, and potential allies like Agent Erika Breton, Aggie’s resilience clashes with her isolation.
Critics note that Claire Danes’ portrayal elevates her role beyond a typical trauma victim archetype by inviting empathy for her complexity and flawed decisions. Meanwhile, Matthew Rhys’s portrayal of Nile balances charm with menace, a volatile mix that keeps viewers uncertain whether he is a monster or a misunderstood man.
The miniseries retools thriller expectations by staging Aggie’s emotional turmoil as both an inward and outward battle. This double layer enriches the narrative beyond suspense into psychological depth, as Aggie confronts a beast not just in her neighbor but inside herself.
Scholar commentary interwoven in the show even draws on Freud’s theories of the death drive, adding a unique cerebral edge.
The thriller playbook: How the series shifts the formula
“The Beast in Me” leverages classic suspense tools, a missing wife, a sinister neighbor, and a cozy community harboring secrets, yet subverts clichés with strategic twists and pacing. Instead of relying on overt shocks, the writing emphasizes slow-burning revelations and character-driven tension.
The Beast in Me (Credit: Netflix)
The story’s restraint ensures the suspense doesn’t feel gimmicky but earned, with twists that feel surprising yet natural.
One major thematic reinvention is the portrayal of morality as ambiguous and fluid. Neither Aggie nor Nile is painted simply as good or evil.
Nile’s criminal actions are laid bare by the finale; he is confirmed as a murderer responsible for his first wife, Madison’s death, and other crimes, but the series spends ample time complicating how characters perceive and respond to this truth. Aggie herself wrestles with guilt and blurred lines between justice and vengeance.
The cat-and-mouse game culminates in a finale that reframes typical thriller closures. Nile frames Aggie for a murder she did not commit, forcing her to go on the run even as she works to bring him down.
This shift leaves viewers with tension about whether justice is achievable or if the cycle of violence and deception will persist. Instead of neatly wrapping up loose ends, the ending challenges audiences to question the costs of obsession and truth-seeking in a world rife with corruption.
Another notable innovation comes from the depiction of supporting characters, such as Nina, Nile’s wife, who evolves from a seemingly naïve spouse to a pivotal figure in exposing Nile’s crimes.
Nina’s choice to record Nile’s confession and send it to the authorities adds a layer of betrayal and alliance that enriches the narrative and disrupts expected power dynamics.
What Aggie’s story says about grief and resilience today
At its heart, “The Beast in Me” is a study of one woman’s persistence amid unbearable loss and danger. Aggie’s journey does more than propel a thriller plot; it offers a raw look at how grief can both devastate and empower.
Her determination to find meaning and justice reflects broader conversations about trauma and survival in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Throughout the series, Aggie’s emotions feel palpably real, not just sorrow, but anger, frustration, and moments of fragile hope. This emotional honesty resonates with viewers and critics alike, with many praising the show’s refusal to sanitize pain for entertainment’s sake.
Aggie’s willingness to confront not just external threats but also her own inner darkness marks a departure from thrillers that favor clear heroes and villains.
The show also taps into cultural anxieties about neighborhood safety, trust, and the hidden lives of seemingly ordinary people. The juxtaposition of a quiet residential community with violent secrets underscores contemporary concerns around suburban facades hiding disturbing realities.
As Nile’s facade slowly cracks, the series invites reflection on how appearances can deceive and on the complexities behind human behavior.
Finally, Aggie’s ending, writing, and publishing her book “The Beast in Me” about her harrowing experience serves as an act of reclaiming narrative power.
Despite being framed and hunted, she transforms her trauma into storytelling that exposes dark truths, underscoring the enduring role of writing and art in reckoning with pain and injustice.
This layered, psychologically nuanced miniseries challenges viewers to reconsider thriller conventions by centering flawed humanity in a suspenseful, unpredictable story. “The Beast in Me” leaves the door open on justice, making Aggie’s story as unsettling as it is unforgettable.
