La La Land ending explained

What happens

Five years on, Mia is a successful actress with a husband and a child. She walks into Sebastian's jazz club by chance. He plays their theme, and a fantasy shows the life they might have shared before reality returns.

The last image

Across the club, Sebastian and Mia trade a small smile and a nod, and he counts in the band as she leaves.

What it says

The ending is bittersweet, not tragic. Both got the dreams they chased, and the love shaped who they became. The fantasy gives the ache its due, and the smile accepts that some dreams come true because you let something else go.