Blue Velvet ending explained

What happens

Jeffrey kills Frank in Dorothy's apartment, ending the nightmare. Dorothy gets her son back, Jeffrey and Sandy are together, and a robin sits on the window sill. Everything seems restored, but the neatness looks painted on.

The last image

A robin perches on the window sill, bright and almost too perfect, as the sunny suburban calm returns.

Two readings

1 · Order truly restoredThe darkness has been faced and beaten, and Jeffrey has grown up.

2 · Painted-over surfaceThe artificial cheerfulness hides the rot, which hasn't gone anywhere.

What it says

The ending loops back to the sunny surface of the opening, so you have to ask what has really changed. The film suggests innocence and darkness coexist, and Jeffrey, and you, can no longer trust the pretty surface.