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Soul Movie: What Happened to 22 in the End Explained


In a race to dominate the streaming wars, Disney+ released Soul, an exclusive streaming movie made by Pixar. The film introduces us to Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a soulful jazz player who is undergoing a mid-life crisis as he battles with his dream of becoming a semi-pro piano player or remaining a middle-school band teacher.

One of the biggest questions viewers have from watching the movie is what happened to 22?

SPOILER ALERT: This article has spoilers that reveal critical plot elements to Disney's Soul

Soul Movie: What Happened to 22? Did she go to Earth?

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At the end of the movie, Joe gives 22 back her Earth badge, which is completed with her spark. This let's 22 travel to Earth and be born in a human body. 22 then jumps with Joe down to Earth. Because Joe doesn't have an Earth badge, he is forcefully returned back to the Great Before.

This is the last we see of 22. So what happened to her? Based on the context of the film, 22's soul continues to fall down to Earth until she arrives in the body of a human baby. That will be the beginning of her human life on Earth.

While this is implicitly understood to be the outcome, the movie doesn't explicitly show it happening.

Soul Movie: What was 22's Spark?

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22's spark was enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Be it walking down the street or watching a nut falling from a tree. Initially, we see Joe criticize 22, telling her that enjoying these simple pleasures can't be a spark, because a spark must be something big, like playing the piano or being a chef.

We see later in the movie that 22 was deeply affected by these words. When Joe tries to rescue her later in the movie from being a wandering soul, she recites those lines that Joe chastised her with.

Once Joe realizes his mistake, he hands her lost soul the fallen seed from the tree. Thus acknowledging that even the enjoyment of watching such a simple thing in life is enough to make a spark.

Once 22 saw the seed, she stopped being a lost soul and regained her spark and Earth badge, thus allowing her to complete her personality and dive down to Earth.

Disney's Soul is only one of many exclusives being released on the Disney+ platform. If you enjoyed the film, you may also enjoy some of the many other features such as the new Obi-Wan series, The Book of Boba Fett, WandaVision, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and more.

Did you enjoy Disney's Soul? Do you have a different interpretation of the movie's events? Leave us a comment below!

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