WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Saltburn.

Summary

• Ollie's plot to take over the Saltburn estate is revealed in a twisted ending, but leaves many questions unanswered.
• The film leaves open the outcomes of Farleigh and Duncan, two of the most involved characters at Saltburn.
• Unanswered questions remain about Ollie's fate, James Catton's death, Elspeth's coma, Felix's friend Eddie, and Saltburn's ownership.

Following the unhinged ending of Emerald Fennell's hit movie Saltburn, there are still several questions that aren't answered by the time the credits roll. Saltburn's twisted protagonist Ollie is eventually revealed to have been plotting his eventual takeover of the Saltburn estate proven by the final scene of the film where Ollie is seen quite literally dancing on their graves. Barry Keoghan delivers an expertly unsettling performance as the outcast-turned-murderer Oliver Quick whose seemingly innocent obsession with Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) turns out to be a premeditated plot of deception.

While some of the most bizarre moments in Saltburn symbolize the dark internal themes of the film, other aspects seem to leave some stones unturned in order to arrive at its unbelievably twisted ending. Ollie's character arc in Saltburn is actually quite similar to the greed found in many a Martin Scorsese protagonist (The Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas, Killers of the Flower Moon) mixed with the disturbing sociopathic tendencies of a classic David Fincher antagonist (Se7en, Zodiac, The Killer). The end result is a "Murder on the Dancefloor" in which Ollie appears to be the last one standing to lay claim to the Saltburn estate.

10 Will Ollie Get Away With Killing The Cattons?

The biggest lingering question at the end of Saltburn is whether Ollie will get away with killing Felix, Venetia, and Elspeth Catton. Ollie was likely the most at risk of exposure immediately following the back-to-back deaths of Felix and Venetia but was effectively saved by Sir James Catton who paid him off to leave the Saltburn estate. The fact that there appeared to be no murder investigation looking into Ollie's involvement appears to be a logical stretch but aligns with the Catton's desire to pretend like their children's murders never happened.

9 How Did Sir James Catton Die?

From what Saltburn shows to its audience, Ollie took the money from Sir James Catton and left Saltburn unscathed. Presumably, Ollie would not have been allowed back to Saltburn under any circumstance, which is why he likely waited until James died naturally to reapproach Elspeth and Saltburn altogether. While it's not explicitly clear what James' cause of death was, whether James died of natural causes or even by suicide, it is certain that Ollie was not involved in his death.

8 How Did Elspeth Catton End Up In A Coma?

By the film's end, Elspeth Catton invites Ollie back to Saltburn only to be killed by him while she is in a coma. While it's evident that Ollie somehow convinced Elspeth to legally change her will so that he would become to sole heir to Saltburn, it's not clear how Ollie managed to poison her to the point where she had gone comatose. It's certainly not the most important detail, since it is a means to Ollie's ultimate end of inheriting Saltburn, but it would have been nice to know exactly how Ollie did it.

7 What Happened To Farleigh?

Ollie successfully framed Farleigh to get him removed from Saltburn not once, but twice, even though Farleigh is much more of a legitimate family member than Ollie ever was. It's likely that he went back to Oxford or the United States and tried to reach back out to James and Elspeth, maybe even waiting until James' death to Elspeth directly, but none of this is made clear by the end of Saltburn. Knowing Farleigh's jealous and cagey nature, he will be furious to find out that Ollie laid claim to Saltburn and would probably take matters into his own hands for revenge.

6 What Happened To Felix's Old Friend Eddie?

Venetia mentions to Ollie in Saltburn that he was just one of Felix's "toys" that her brother would eventually get bored of. She also says that she likes Ollie more than the previous guest Felix had brought home the summer before, whom Felix later tells Ollie is named Eddie. Felix and Eddie stopped being friends after Eddie had gotten with Venetia, and Eddie wasn't invited back to Saltburn. However, that is the only information that is provided in Saltburn about Eddie, as he's not mentioned again in the film.

5 Will Duncan Continue To Serve Saltburn?

Duncan is an odd but loyal character in Saltburn who serves both the Catton family and the Saltburn estate. If anything, Duncan would likely be the one who would become suspicious of Ollie's motives and the sudden death of Felix and Venetia, and the most likely to accuse Olloe of their murders. It's uncertain whether Duncan actually cares for the Catton family or, like Ollie, simply loves living at Saltburn. With Ollie as Saltburn's owner at the end of the film, the audience is left to wonder what will become of Duncan.

4 Did Ollie Know About Saltburn Before Befriending Felix?

The big reveal of Ollie's masterplan at the end of Saltburn shows just how far back Ollie had been plotting to befriend Felix, although it's unclear just how far-reaching Ollie's initial plan was back at Oxford. Ollie had stalked Felix at school and had likely acquired knowledge of his extreme wealth, so it's entirely possible that Ollie knew about Saltburn all along and had set his sights on it from the start. It's also equally realistic that Ollie's obsession with Felix grew into a total consumption and imitation of everything that Felix had, making Saltburn the ultimate possession required to become just like Felix.

3 How Much Money Did James Give Ollie To Leave Saltburn?

Ollie did leave Saltburn after James effectively kicked him out with a massive check in his pocket, which is strange considering he could have had him removed and banned from the premises without offering him a dime. However, Ollie likely posed too much of a threat to James for him to trust that he wouldn't come back without a hefty fee, and his apparent fear of Ollie is what led him to offer him a substantial amount. Ollie appears to have purchased a luxurious albeit smaller house of his own when he learns of James' death, but it's not clear how much of James' money he had used to buy it.

2 Did Felix & Venetia Have A Romantic History?

Despite all the explicit and obvious disturbing things about Saltburn, there is a more subtle unanswered question about the relationship between Felix and Venetia. When Felix found out that Ollie had gotten with Venetia, he essentially threatened him with the story about Eddie, making it clear that she was off limits. This could be out of brotherly protection, a selfish will to not share Ollie with Venetia, or something else. Later in Saltburn, Venetia recognizes her brother's aftershave on Ollie, and the two start making out soon after. It's certainly a stretch without much concrete evidence but there could be some subtle hints pointing to an incestual romantic history between Felix and Venetia.

1 Will Other Catton Family Try To Claim Saltburn?

Another major question concerning Ollie's fate is how long he will be able to retain ownership of Saltburn now that he's waited so long to acquire it. There certainly has to be more than just James, Elspeth, Felix, and Venetia in the immediate Catton family, meaning there should be some type of carefully constructed hierarchy as to who controls the family fortune after their deaths. Farleigh could have been written out of the will after Ollie framed him for Felix's death, but it seems hard to believe that no other relative or close friend of the Catton family would arise to dispute Ollie's claim to Saltburn.