Trap Ending: Lady Raven's Piano Scene With The Butcher Explained By Star

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Trap (2024)!

Trap star Saleka Shyamalan has explained Lady Raven’s piano scene with Josh Hartnett’s Butcher near the end of the movie, revealing the importance behind that part of the film. Throughout the movie, Hartnett’s Cooper is the star of the show, using his daughter’s love for the pop star to escape her concert without being trapped by authorities. However, Lady Raven winds up going to their home and playing a song on the piano. This sets the stage for the ending of Trap, as the perspective suddenly switches away from Cooper.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Saleka revealed the importance behind Lady Raven’s piano scene with the Butcher during Trap‘s ending. The singer and actor highlighted the perspective shift that happened in the moment, revealing how it offered a different viewpoint of Cooper after having followed his side of the story for so long. Check out what Saleka had to say below:

That scene is obviously very intense and was a hard one to shoot and write because it’s so specific. There’s so much weight there. So what is the choice that this character’s making to play that song? Why does she choose that song, and how is she feeling while she sings it?

When I show the movie to an audience, you see everyone going, ‘How did the movie shift like that?’ And that’s because I’ve shown you this Jekyll-and-Hyde person, and then I’m flipping it to someone who’s looking at the Hyde part of him.

Trap’s Piano Scene Was Vital To How The Movie Ended

It Made Cooper’s Escape Attempt More Complex

The first half of Trap focused on Cooper’s attempt to escape Lady Raven’s concert, going so far as to ensure his daughter got onstage with her so he could leave through the back exit. However, he’s forced to inform the pop star about who he is, threatening a captive’s life so she can clear him without getting searched. But, she goes back to his home, playing a somber song on the piano which acts as a moment where the perspective switches, turning Hartnett’s character into a villain instead of the core protagonist.

This quick change brings other characters in Trap to the forefront, with Lady Raven briefly becoming the main perspective for a majority of the final scenes. As Saleka highlights, this offers a shift for the movie, one that clarifies how Cooper is actually a monster for everything he’s done. While the first half of the film made him sympathetic because it was from his perspective, the pop star’s point of view helps emphasize his horrifying nature, making it easier to want him to be brought to justice. Crafting this conflict for viewers helps make the movie more engaging.

The moment at the piano is also made more powerful by Saleka singing as Lady Raven, using her talents as a musician to make the scene even more tense. It’s because of this turn in Trap that the movie offers a conflict not just for its characters, but for the audience who may have originally wanted Cooper to succeed. By fleshing out characters on all sides of the story, director M. Night Shyamalan makes the movie all the more intense as the events unfold.

Source: EW

Trap

3.0

Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner. 

Release Date

August 2, 2024

Studio(s)

Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema

Cast

Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Vanessa Smythe , Saleka Shyamalan , Malik Jubal , Jonathan Langdon , Peter D’Souza , Ty Pravong , Kaitlyn Dallan

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