The Platform 2 Plot Explained: The True Meaning of the Movie

Like the first film in the franchise, The Platform 2 features a twisting, emotionally charged plot that may leave some scratching their heads. 

The Platform 2, streaming on Netflix, centers yet again on The Hole, a vertical prison where food is fed floor-by-floor as it descends from top to bottom on a platform.

That system would work fine if everyone only took their fair share, but one person on the floors above taking too much can lead to those on the lower levels going hungry. 

This time, though, the movie follows a new prisoner known as Perempuan (played by Milena Smit). Perempuan finds herself in a new era in the dystopian sci-fi prison, one where a system has been set up amongst the prisoners to ensure people only take what they are afforded and nothing more.

The Platform 2's Ending Explained

One of The Platform 2's biggest twists comes during the events of its shocking ending. 

After living within the system set up amongst the prisoners in The Hole for some time, much of The Platform 2 centers on Perempuan's plan to potentially escape from her concrete confines. 

This plan is kicked off with her discovering the monthly shuffle of prisoners. Each inmate is knocked about and randomly moved from floor to floor, caused by a toxic gas that is fed through the various levels and ingested through the nose. 

So Perempuan schemes to cover her nose in the lead-up to one of these moves, catching the guards by transferring her fellow inmates and then making a mad dash to escape. 

After killing one of the leaders on her floor, Babi, Perempuan swallows a mysterious material that suppresses her sense of smell and knocks her out. She then awakes in the middle of one of these inter-prison shuffles to glimpse what happens between each of these prisoner moves. 

As a part of this changeover, Perempuan sees a young boy being taken to the bottom of the tower, where the last film ended. She decides she cannot leave The Hole without saving this young child first and goes downward to hopefully keep the kid safe. 

On her way down, she is greeted by the voices of several fellow inmates who had sadly died in her time in the prison. 

She saves the child by allowing him to ascend the tower and trapping her down below. This relieves the youngster of his shadowy confines while she is doomed at the bottom of The Hole.

Did Perempaun Die in The Platform 2?

Just like The Platform, the fate of The Platform 2's protagonist is left up to interpretation. 

However, it seems highly likely that Perempaun is dead by the time the credits roll. 

As she makes her way down to save the young boy seen in the movie's climactic sequence, Perempaun hits her head. At this moment, the character is implied to have died, with the rest of the film taking place in purgatory. 

This reading of the movie's ending is only lent further credence as Perempaun, like Goreng from the first movie, is left to exist on a level of The Hole that is said not to exist and hears several voices from some of her fellow inmates who have died throughout the film up to that point.

The Platform 2's Post-Credits Scene Explained

In a bizarre turn of events, The Platform 2 features a post-credits scene (unlike the first movie). 

This sequence sees The Platform 2's main character Perempaun crossing paths with the hero from the first film, Goreng (played by Iván Massagué). 

To the audience's shock, the pair embrace, and Perempaun tells Goreng, "You. What are you doing here?" insinuating they have a past. Perempaun could be the partner Goreng mentioned in the first movie. 

Earlier in the film, it is realized that The Platform 2 is not a sequel to the first movie but a prequel, with Perempaun's efforts taking place in the months before Gorerng arrives in the prison in The Platform. 

The last look fans get in this mid-credits stinger is of a large group of prisoners, all accompanied by a child rising toward the top of the tower. 

This alludes to the fact that hundreds of prisons are waiting for redemption in The Hole, potentially setting up another film (or films) from the franchise. 

Check out our breakdown of Goreng's fate from the first The Platform movie.

The Platform 2 is streaming on Netflix.