Is This the Real World Ending Explained: What Happened and Why?

What Happens at the End of Is This the Real World?

In the real world you can't just do what you want. In the real world you have to compromise. Mark Blazey does not want to live in the real world. Living in a semi-industrial coastal town, seventeen-year old Mark is a smart kid from a chaotic family who has just thrown away a scholarship to a private school and found himself at the local high. At school Mark is zeroed in on by an overbearing principal who dominates everything around him. At home Mark is dealing with a jail-bound brother, his grandmother is fighting for her life, and a mum who's short fuse is kept doused with cask wine. His little sister is someone he wants to protect. When Mark finds his first real love he tries to escape all the forces in his life with her. But his love is with the daughter of his nemesis, the school principal. Simmering tensions boil over between the student and the teacher, between the son and his mother.

Martin McKenna's narrative builds toward a resolution centered on Sean Keenan (Mark)'s journey. In the real world you have to compromise.

How Does Sean Keenan (Mark)'s Story End?

• Sean Keenan: Sean Keenan's storyline wraps up in the final act, though some viewers have found the resolution more ambiguous than expected.
• Greg Stone (Mr. Rickard): Greg Stone's role in the climax proves pivotal to how the central conflict resolves.
• Matt Colwell (Jimmy): Matt Colwell's character undergoes a significant shift in the final act.

What Does the Ending of Is This the Real World Mean?

Is This the Real World's ending attempts to resolve the major plot threads, though some narrative elements involving Sean Keenan may feel rushed. Martin McKenna's final act has been both praised for its ambition and criticized for its execution.