The following contains spoilers for Nope, now playing in theaters.
In Jordan Peele's Nope, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister, Emerald (Keke Palmer), were stunned to discover a UFO lurking above their Haywood ranch. It was stalking the Agua Dulce spot, which it occupied for months by hiding in a cloud. But the siblings soon realized if they got footage from the valley, they could make big bucks and offset the ranch's debt after their dad, Otis Sr., died.
It led to them working with a techie, Angel, and a cinematographer, Antlers, to record the flying saucer. However, things got trickier when the siblings realized it was actually an alien feeding on horses and folks in town. That led to a mind-bending ending where the heroes laid a trap for the beast after it stalked them, only for the scheme to backfire.
What Was the Alien Trap in Nope?
The alien roved about with an electric field around it, nullifying power on the ranch, including cell phones and digital cameras. Luckily, OJ realized if someone didn't look it in the eyes, it wouldn't prey on them. As a result, they created a pathway filled with hot-air dolls, which had eyes to distract the being once it swooped down. The plan was for it to chase after OJ on the horse he recovered, Lucky, and for Antlers, using an analog camera, to capture the shot.
However, a TMZ-esque reporter showed up on an electric bike and sped into the trap zone, desperate for footage of his own. This wrench in the spokes came after the being fed on 40 folks at the Jupiter's Claim theme park nearby, generating news buzz. It eventually led to the bike failing and the guy falling off, becoming fresh prey. OJ broke the plan and tried to save him, but after the man got eaten, the alien chased after OJ, too. Thankfully, Antlers got the shot they needed as OJ raced back.
Who Betrayed the Heroes in Nope?
Unfortunately, Antlers ran up to the top of a mountain to get a better shot. It's unclear if Antlers felt the lighting was poor or was just obsessed with grabbing another piece of "impossible" footage. Either way, the moment did tie into the film's theme of humanity being hungry for a spectacle. It's why the reporter died, and Jupiter's Claim got attacked, with its owner, Jupe, trying to create a money-making show by having folks pay to see the alien eat Lucky.
Sadly, Antlers' greed also got the better of him, with the alien reappearing from the sky and sucking him up. Angel got sucked up as well, but it spat him back out as he got wrapped up in barbed wire. That tied into earlier scenes where the alien excreted metal and other things it couldn't digest, which also linked to the death of OJ's dad.
How Did OJ and Emerald Adapt in Nope?
OJ knew the alien was angrier and gearing to feed on them all, so he got on Lucky's saddle for one last ride. He then began drawing the creature out as it shifted from a saucer into a jellyfish-like creature. At this point, it came off like a hungry kaiju, so OJ gave his sister a sign to head back into town. He'd distract it using the wrangling method cowboys and jockeys used, finally staring it in the eye to get it to approach him.
As a vortex formed, Emerald sped off on the bike, angry she had to lose her brother. After the sacrifice, the alien chased her, which was ironic because they named it "Jean Jacket," after a horse she liked as a kid. Emerald's dad sold the horse, though, so it felt like a dark twist to have this being hunting her down after finally devouring OJ and Angel.
How Did Emerald Defeat Jean Jacket in Nope?
Emerald raced into Jupiter's Claim, remembering how the monster couldn't digest inorganic material. She detached the giant cowboy float, letting it hover. It had big eyes, so the creature felt it was staring at it, encouraging it to suck it in. Emerald then filled a control panel for a hollow well up with coins she saw earlier in the park. It took snapshots of the sky as part of a fun shtick for families, but she kept cranking, photographing the float to try and capture Jean Jacket on camera.
But just like Jaws, when the beast ate the float, it popped inside it. And Emerald was stoked because not only had she won, but she also got her picture. The film ended with the authorities and media arriving, though, which meant they could seize the evidence and try to cover up the ordeal, or the snapshot may not be exclusive as Emerald had hoped.
But that wasn't her main concern in the final sequence. Emerald saw her brother, OJ, on Lucky through the dust with an "Out Yonder" sign above his head, but the shot was vague, seemingly leaving his fate up for interpretation. However, OJ did have a ribbon attached to his horse, which the creature didn't like, so this might have saved him. But seeing as Emerald was in shock over the battle, there's a chance OJ did die. The sign may have teased the afterlife and confirmed Emerald was hallucinating, with the grief of her life getting torn apart and the uncertainty of her evidence weighing on her.
See Emerald defeat the beast in Nope, now in theaters.