Fourth Wing Ending Explained

Fourth Wing's ending throws a lot at you, and it's normal to finish with questions. If you're confused, you're not alone. This page breaks down what literally happens, why it ends that way, and where each character lands, without guessing or fluff.

What Happens at the End of Fourth Wing

After the battle at Resson, Violet is poisoned and unconscious in Xaden's bedchamber in Aretia. Xaden has not left her side for three days; Tairn growls that Xaden should have told Violet about the venin, and Xaden blames himself for Liam's death. Violet wakes, and Xaden finds only a thin silver scar on her side where the poison had spread. She initially kisses him, but then pulls away and remembers. She checks in with her dragons; Xaden notes that Andarna is not quite the same, is huge now, and that her gift is gone according to Tairn. Violet deduces they are in Aretia from the Temple of Amari, and Xaden admits Aretia is being rebuilt and hidden because Melgren cannot see outcomes when more than three rebellion relics are together. Violet asks if Liam is really dead. Xaden gives her Liam's unfinished carving of Andarna and says Liam was laid to rest yesterday.

Xaden leaves while Violet dresses. Outside, Bodhi and Garrick say Violet will have to choose whether to keep their secret, and Garrick notes she may need to hide it from Aetos if she does. Syrena and her sister are alive, but many others are not. Garrick says they are examining the iron box Chradh found at Resson. Later, Xaden asks Violet if she is in and willing to fight with them. She says she is in. He reaches for her and apologizes for secrets; she steps back and says she believes him and will fight, but she will not trust him with her heart again. Xaden admits he fell for her, vows to earn her trust back, and says he would rather lose the war than live without her.

A knock interrupts them. Violet asks whether the missive at Athebyne could really have been only War Games and whether they just happened into a wyvern attack. Brennan answers from the doorway that it definitely was not an accident and calls her little sister. Xaden tells Violet he knew better poison masters and that she was not healed but mended. Violet stares in shock at her supposedly dead brother. Brennan grins, opens his arms, and says, 'Welcome to the revolution, Violet.'

The Ending, Explained

The ending works as a threshold rather than a full resolution. Xaden's secrecy about the venin, Poromiel, weapons shipments, and Aretia was set up throughout the book: the hidden meetings of marked riders, the fables about venin and wyvern, Violet's father's hidden letter, the forbidden history, and the Athebyne assignment beyond the wards. Resson proves the threat is real and makes the cost of secrecy lethal: Liam and Deigh die, Soleil and Fuil desiccate, and Violet is poisoned. Xaden's bedside confession shows he loves Violet and regrets not telling her sooner, but Violet's refusal to trust him with her heart is the payoff for repeated concealment and for Dain's suspected memory reading. She chooses the revolution, not the romance, which leaves their relationship unresolved.

Brennan's reveal is the final payoff of earlier clues: Naolin died trying to revive Brennan, Mira sent Violet Brennan's journal, and Tairn says one generation can change history. Brennan alive means the war and the revolution are not what Navarre taught; Athebyne was not an accident, and Colonel Aetos's missive likely deliberately sent Xaden's squad to die. Dain may have enabled it by reading Violet's memories and telling his father. The book ends on Violet alive, bonded to two dragons, willing to fight, but stripped of naive trust in command and in Xaden. The final line welcomes her into the revolution, shifting the series from survival school to open rebellion and a hidden war.

Where Every Character Ends Up

Questions the Book Leaves Open

• What is the iron box recovered from Resson, and what does it reveal?
• What lasting effects will the poison have on Violet's memories or body?
• What exactly has Andarna become now that she is huge and her time-stopping gift is gone?
• Will Violet and Xaden rebuild trust and resume their romantic relationship?
• How will Dain's memory reading and Colonel Aetos's role in the Athebyne missive be exposed or punished?
• How will Aretia's hidden survival and the revolution change the war with Navarre and the venin?
• Is Mira aware Brennan is alive, and how will that reunion unfold?
• What will Violet choose to tell Basgiath and Dain about the revolution?