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The Ending Of The Craft Explained

Looper | February 6, 2026



Audiences everywhere were spellbound when “The Craft” landed in theaters in 1996. The story follows four girls —Sarah, Nancy, Rochelle, and Bonnie — who navigate life as witches. But as they join forces, they find that the conflicts between them are too much to handle. Gradually, their bond falls apart as Nancy’s powers grow out of hand.

In the end, things don’t work out so well for Nancy, Rochelle, or Bonnie, as Sarah steps into her power. If you’ve seen the film, you understand what leads to this conclusion. But perhaps there’s more to it than you thought. This is the ending of “The Craft” explained.

#TheCraft #Movies #Fantasy

A scary start | 00:00
Sarah’s introduction to magic | 01:43
Sarah joins the circle | 03:37
Establishing the coven | 04:34
The Invocation of the Spirit | 06:06
The coven’s downward spiral | 07:32
Damage control | 08:29
Showdown at Sarah’s house | 09:40
Is Sarah the real villain? | 11:00
The tragedy of Nancy Downs | 12:00
Girl power or toxic friendships? | 13:35

Read Full Article: https://www.looper.com/261590/the-ending-of-the-craft-explained

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Written by Looper

Comments

This post currently has 45 comments.

  3. @Spooky_Chloe_97

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Wow these comments.
    Nancy was a victim!
    Sarah was the true villian! She called Bonnie narcissistic! THE GIRL DIDNT HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE! GOD FORBID A WOMAN IS CONFIDENT!
    like she really wanted to be all "i disagree with them and they turned their backs on me. that's not true friendship."
    Girl, you are the true friend! you criticized them all because you felt "uncomfortable," and thought "oh we went to far!"
    Shut up Sarah! Justice for Nancy!
    and for Rochelle as well.

  4. @ladyalexander2003

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Are you for real you haven’t really
    Understood this at all have you lol
    She was bullied by them for months and finally had enough! Her gift was stronger than theirs ne Jase it’s knante theirs was leaned and they used it all for bad Mamcy wanted to use her gift for good. The plot being as it was that black magic and using it for
    Power and cornr will always come back to haunt the evil doers! Don’t play with majic of your going to use it for bad purposes!

  7. @LightLife4

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Sarah isn't the villain at all, Nancy was. Nancy used her new found powers to kill Ray and Chris, used magic to terrorise Sarah then intended on doing away with her. Rochelle and Bonnie were the two lackies who just did everything Nancy wanted no matter how dangerous because there was power in it for them

  8. @topcatthegamer9541

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Nah, I disagree. Sara just gave them a taste of their own medicine. She was actually the only true witch out if all of them. And she's also a teenage girl. She's not the first girl to run to the guy she thought was hit that treated her like trash. She put those girls in their place and then simply chilled out on her own.

  11. @Vixen743

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Agreed mind she was proving that she could take it to a good place or a bad place either way she was strong stronger than the other three which previously was showing not the case she seemed weak but at the end of the movie realize she was a strong one and she found her strength after she invoked but of course this is just a flick so you know movies a movie

  12. @Vixen743

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Sarah was trying to prove that she isn’t fake and she alone in the end was the true witch that gave the others power… I don’t believe that Sarah was evil at all she just was a very sad girl who wanted a friend and seeing these three girls possibly having her same problem sh connected with them only to find out they were using her and they were never her friend not really especially Nancy Nancy was the worst she was the antagonist if you ask me she hated hooker and she wanted him to pay for his damage that he had done to other girls at school her being one of them as well as Sarah all this being said being in a coven is not all fun and games trust me I’ve done it I quit because us girls we didn’t know what the hell we were doing and it was a real hot mess don’t practice if you don’t know what you’re doing these girls obviously didn’t know what they’re doing but they thought they did and Sarah realize they were talking smack about her so she’s like you know what I’m gonna show them I’m not the week link like they thought I was… it turns out that Nancy was wanting as much power as she did and then she lost everything that binding made the power she had staying inside her and make her crazy making her very weak

  13. @reelmermaid8844

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    But Manon DID strip Nancy of her powers……After Sarah invoked him, Sarah told Nancy she had a message from Manon, that she'd abused the powers he'd given her and now has to pay the price. Manon abandoned Nancy, and rightfully so. Yes, she'd had a hard life, but she was full of rage and cruelty towards others. Sarah is not the antagonist here, not by a long shot.

  16. @EyeWatchU2B

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    The alternative take is poor. Nancy was clearly drunk with power and hate. Some of Nancy's emotions are justified but she went too far. Sorry amigo Nancy is the villain.

  19. @splashenful

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    No, Sarah was not the villain. Nancy was DEFINITELY the villain. Sarah was right to try to lock down Nancy's powers. She used her powers to kill people. Nobody has the right to take human life. When Nancy started to go down that road, she needed to be STOPPED. She should not have even tried to kill her disgusting step father. Rather, she could have instead used her power for her mother to win a lottery or something like that, in order to get out of their terrible position of having to rely on him. Instead, she chose to kill.

  20. @Februarys

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Nancy went crazy because the movie explained all spells you cast turn into karma times 3. All the spells she cast on Sarah to try and make her kill herself follow that rule. It wasnt Sarah who made her go crazy…

  27. @louisanaibi

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Pls do not force a new ending / explanation. Just enjoy the simple plot. As it was meant. If you do not want this plot, write your own movie. Stop this over thinking.

  28. @Keepnitreal2007

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Never realized how telling the colors/styles (minus Bonnie, as her style change was obvious) of their outfits were until now, as they gradually progressed in dabbling with magic and channeling Manon. I also love how Nancy usually has a black top layer on and the under layer is usually white/light colored. It seems to represent her personality (innately good, while wearing a tough exterior persona, in order to look out for and protect others) or more accurately, the balance in personality ☯️

  29. @anthonyvogel9328

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Look Sarah was a true caster, she return balance and she removed all their powers. The god remove nanny of her power. Sarah even said that. Sarah with the branch drop is warning not to up set the balance

  32. @BrokeredHeart

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    I think the aspect that's overlooked is the storeowner, Lirio, pointing out that, "True magic is neither black, nor white – it's both because nature is both. Loving and cruel, all at the same time." That's the underlying message beneath all of the characters in the film – kind and loving people who do horrible and hurtful things to one another. There really isn't a true antagonist in the movie, although arguably it's Chris (despite being spellbound) and his asinine friends who slut shame girls and spread malicious rumors about people around their school. The movie centers around the 4 girls of the witches coven trying to assert some control over their own lives, and establishing a new balance of power that gives them agency and public respect that they were all denied. That balance gets thrown off entirely when Nancy reaches for more and more power by invoking the spirit and using that magical power to simply remove obstacles from her path and torment those who would get in her way, ie Chris and Sarah. To try and look at this through a 2022/23 lens doesn't help, because the idea that Sarah is somehow the villain of the movie ignores and excuses the ways in which Nancy overstepped so many boundaries in order to get what she wanted. It's fine to have some sympathy for her in the end, but she is reaping what she sowed, the balance of power returned to Manon and she is left a shell of his vessel, punished for abusing his power and inflicting pain and suffering on those around her.

    I had hoped that The Craft: Legacy would revisit this idea of natural magic and the allure of mystic power in ways that a new generation would appreciate, and unfortunately, it had such promise to start out, and it botched the ending badly. This is one of my favorite witchy movies from my youth, so to see its sequel so poorly written and rushed was such a disappointment. Not even a bad cast, just a meh plot concept. If there was another movie that Greta Gerwig could get her hands on to make into a modern-day feminist critique on teenaged girl power struggles and magical powers, this would be the one. Understanding how girls interact and handle rejection, how they find solace in their friendships and urge each other to say and do things they wouldn't normally do of their own volition, that's something that could be explored more, and not in ways that are offensive to the original film.

  33. @mindifislytherintom

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Sarah is the heroine. Lirio says it best. Nancy takes her power to a dark place, and it drove her crazy. She used her powers to hurt people. Sarah was cornered, and scared. She felt like she had nobody, and at this point she didn't think she had her parents either, because she didn't find out until way later that they were alive. She fought back when she heard her mother's voice. Not to mention Nancy and the others were actively trying to kill her. And the part at the end when Sarah throws the branch at the girls she knew exactly what she was doing. She wasn't trying to hurt them. It was a warning. Because they were still being bitchy and laughing at her as they were leaving, and she just making sure they knew who they were dealing with.
    Nancy is the villain. Her having a bad life might make you feel sorry for her. I do, but it doesn't make her any less of a villain. Nancy was jealous because everything came naturally to Sarah. She was the ring leader, and when Sarah came she took some of Nancy's attention. She redid Nancy's healing spell on Bonnie and it worked, she made Laura's hair fall out. She made Chris love her, and Nancy still wanted Chris to like her. To top it off her spells weren't working. So Nancy turned on Sarah, killed Chris, tried to frame Sarah, and make it look like she killed herself. You can't look at all that and then say she's not the villain.

  34. @BernardTheArtiste

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    I always found it interesting that they created this “Manon” deity for the movie but there is an ancient Irish god named “Mananan Mac Lir” that presides over the sea. Wonder if that’s why things started happening when they filmed the circle casting an invocation scene on the shore since they were invoking “Manon” which is similar to a shortened version of “Mananan Mac Lir”.

  36. @solomonkane8136

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Totally, have always felt this way. I loved Nancy and couldn’t stand pampered, privileged Sarah. Loved the movie as a whole, but wished there was a part 2 where Nancy got better.

    On another note, the movie did a fantastic job with the dynamics of failed female friendship.

  37. @mystic48209

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Sarah becomes a solitary witch. Another Edalynne Clawthorne of wild magic.
    An SW does not need a coven but plenty of space to do their own thing.
    The live peacefully for as long as they follow this credo:
    And it hurt no one, do what thou will.
    In other words use magic for the good and constructively. Karma works against the wicked.

  39. @antonioleyba6522

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    sarah isnt the villian she invoked the spirit and the spirit chose what to do with those who abused the power Nancy got it worse and thats why she went crazy and the other two were remorseful so they just lost thier powers. Sarah showed them she still had powers she didnt actually hurt them Sarah wasnt the villian at all Nancy was the Villian she was jelaous of Sarah and thus she wanted ultimated power. She could have let Sarah leave the Coven and bind her but she chose to try and kill Sarah

  42. @bryonmiles1

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    Sarah was the hero of the movie she never use her power it hurt anyone that doesn't have powers but the other did making girl loss her hair and Nancy killed 3 people. So when Sarah bin Nancy power to stop her from killing people. So the other loss their powers and wanted it back and did a fake apology because they knew Sarah had powers before they ever did and try to get on her good side so Sarah let them know she was not falling for it

  44. @Sammy.H.Redwood

    February 6, 2026 at 4:19 am

    It because Nancy was power hungry and she and control and dangerous, Sarah only tried to binding her powers so she couldn’t hurt herself or anyone any more.

    At the end, where Nancy it’s in the mental institute. It was more for her own good then what she deserves, because she’s dangerous too herself and others.

    As for Bonnie and Rochelle, they abuse their power and sort it went too far. That’s why they lost their power, they got of lucky then what Nancy end up.

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