One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ending explained

What happens

After McMurphy is lobotomized, the Chief smothers him rather than leave him that way. Then he lifts the heavy hydrotherapy console, throws it through a window and runs out into the open country, escaping the ward McMurphy couldn't.

The last image

The Chief runs across open country toward the horizon, a free man at last.

What it says

McMurphy's rebellion costs him everything, but it wakes the Chief, who finally acts. The film ends on an escape, not a victory: resistance can be destroyed, yet what it gave another person can still walk free.