Boss Level Ending Explained- The Osiris Spindle, Time Loops, And What Happens To Roy?

Hulu’s latest Boss Level is a loud, bombastic action movie with a science fiction twist best watched with few beers in you.

Hulu loves a good time-bending movie. Adorably charming Palm Springs and bleak Bliss just in the last year showed how time and reality are malleable for a myriad of reasons. Boss Level, which premiered today, is the kind of sci-fi lite action flick that is perfect for a weekend watch. The kitchen sink of sci-fi tropes is thrown in for authenticity and comic relief. There’s Egyptian God mythology, time loopy loopiness, and a heartfelt war hero/bad Dad who wants to make good story. There is also a butt load of killings, mostly Roy getting and receiving said killings. It’s basically if you respawned your avatar every time you died in-game.

Roy Pulver, played by a gorgeously ripped and surprisingly funny Frank Grillo(MCU’s Brock Rumlow), is a retired special ops soldier who finds himself stuck on the day he dies. In much the same way that Happy Death Day made Tre relive her final day over and over until she saved herself, Roy must do the same. The difference is it isn’t some cosmic reckoning, and there isn’t just one killer. There is an interesting battalion of men and women who all have unique killing styles, and all work for Mel Gibson’s Colonel Clive Ventor.

He is the evil military head of a super-secret program at Dynow Laboratories(I see you Die-Now). Unfortunately, Roy’s ex-wife Jemma(Naomi Watts) works for the dubious organization. The day before his time loop day, he visited Jemma, who acted nervous and told him to remember the word Osiris. Roy relives the same day over and over, being killed again and again. Eventually, he learns the killers are tracking him, and if he stays underground, he is hidden.

After nearly one hundred and fifty attempts to infiltrate Dynow and figure out how to save himself, he learns that Jemma started the Osiris Spindle, and if the machine is left on too long, the world will end. That is precisely what happens repeatedly, and Roy chooses at this point to enjoy his time with his son rather than fight Dynow any further. All of this changed when his son tells him Jemma was still alive after Roy restarts the day. That means he could save her and the whole world, including himself.

What happens at the end of Boss Level?

The most important thing to know about the final act is Star Trek Discovery’s Michelle Yeoh makes a fantastic appearance as Roy’s sword-fighting mentor. She is incredible in everything, and her appearance elevates the film. Roy uses his skills and experience reliving the same day to train himself to adapt until he manages to confront Colonel Ventor. Ventor’s big plan is to make himself God basically by controlling time and rewriting history whenever it suits him.

Here’s where things get questionable. Jemma explains that Roy needs to go into the Osiris Spindle to resync the dissonance(I’m paraphrasing here). She put him into the core sometime before he woke up that day. She had faith he would figure it all out and save everyone. Jemma explains the disjunctive time flow can’t be stopped, only restarted. That means Roy, the rogue element, needs to go back into the machine’s core, thus synching the dissonant with the constant and fixing time.

It’s a probability issue. The idea is; eventually, he will try enough times that his probability of successfully restarting time is high enough to succeed. Basically, you play Call of Duty often enough; you will eventually defeat the game and become Boss Level. Roy has achieved the highest level and is immortal. The catch is once he goes into the Osiris Spindle for the second time, he could cease to exist. The final scene has Roy inserting himself into the core, hoping to wake up but accepting that he may be sacrificing himself.

Who is Osiris and what is the Osiris Spindle?

The Egyptian God Osiris is the God of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead. He is the brother and husband to Isis. His younger brother Set killed him, and his sister/wife Isis brought him back to life. He was originally the God of fertility and agriculture. Next to Isis, he was one of the most beloved of all the Gods. His brother Set was extremely jealous of Osiris for his power. This problem was exacerbated by his duplicitous wife, who disguised herself as Isis and seduced Osiris. She became pregnant and gave birth to Anubis.

Set became so enraged he built a coffin and tricked Osiris into it. As soon as Osiris lay down, he slammed the door and threw him into the river. Isis managed to track his body down, but before she could resurrect him. Set hacked him into pieces and scattered them. Isis found all of his body but one important masculine part. She gave him life anyway. He could not rule the living as he was incomplete but could give her a child Horus. Horus eventually defeated Set and avenged his father. The story of Set and Osiris is a morality play of order over chaos.

In Boss Level, the Osiris Spindle is a time machine that allows the controller to relive events or days becoming God-like. It would enable the user to be all-powerful. Jemma was working on the project, and the assumption is she invented the tech needed to get it functional. The user is not ended, only temporarily dead each time they are killed. This allows the user to continue until they get it right. Roy is Osiris, Colonel Ventor is Set, and Jemma is Isis. She brought Roy back from the dead with the Osiris Spindle. He is not like ordinary living people, though. Ventor is a power-hungry monster who wants to control time for his own evil purposes, and Jemma is Isis who gave Roy life again.

Hulu’s Boss Level is easy fun. It’s a premise that has been done a billion times, but like Roy, Hulu has learned from all the other attempts. It’s not serious science fiction, and that’s okay. The science is just the framework that the comedy and action shots build from. This film feels like it might be better suited as a fun summer flick, but since we are all still stuck at home, it couldn’t come at a better time. It’s silly and self-aware and brimming with great action scenes. You can catch it on Hulu right now.