'Descendants: Wicked Wonderland' Ending, Explained
In Disney+’s Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (2026), Red (Kylie Cantrall) and Chloe (Malia Baker) accidentally create a villain by changing their mothers’ past. Keeping Ella (Brandy) safe and stopping Bridget (Rita Ora) from becoming a villain unintentionally sends Maddox (Leonardo Nam) on a different path. Seeing time travel that he can’t explain and wanting to do the same with a Pocket Watch he can’t find makes him the “Mad Hatter” in this new timeline. In his search, he causes chaos that gets him sent to the Isle of the Lost.
It’s really unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but I love that the one shot of Maddox on the Isle features a vandalized poster of King Ben (Mitchell Hope). It made me nostalgic for that original trilogy!
So, Red and Chloe, the only two returning younger characters from the last movie, band together with a new group of Villain Kids (VKs) and Hero Kids (HKs) to rescue Bridget again and stop Maddox from creating any more problems. There are a lot of new characters that go on that journey with them. Some of whom really challenge the facts of the first three movies, regardless of Red and Chloe messing with time. I choose to just go along with it the same way that Red does when she learns that she has a sister, Pink (Liamani Segura).
How Does ‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ End The Pocket Watch Story?
The characters must work together to stop Maddox, and they all have individual motivations to do so. For instance, Max (Brendon Tremblay) doesn’t want to be impacted by his father’s villainous shadow anymore. Preventing Maddox from causing more damage in Auradon, with or without the Pocket Watch, could mean better things for Max’s life. Red is sympathetic to that experience since she, too, was once viewed through her mother’s actions. She’s also in the unique position, after the timeline change, where she’s starting to understand what it means to be a hero and have so many expectations attached to you in that regard.
Even so, when Max learns the truth about Red’s time travel that inadvertently changes her life for the better and makes his life worse, he becomes vengeful, too. Chloe, who feels unmoored in her relationships with her mother and her best friend, also takes a turn to the dark side to help Max. They find the Pocket Watch, but Red reminds Chloe that she’s not heartless and that they’re in this whole adventure together. It’s a really sweet and necessary moment for their friendship after most of the movie pulled them apart. Then, as Maddox tries to use his powers one last time to get the Pocket Watch, Max realizes that the device will only create more problems for everyone.
So, the three of them agree that they have to hold on to what they have now and leave the Pocket Watch in a magical well. All the characters come together for the final number, “Go Live It,” where they sing about living their lives by being themselves. It’s a positive and productive place to leave everyone. After all, Red, Chloe, Max, and more spend much of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland calling each other (and themselves) heroes and villains. In the end, the word “hero” or “villain” can be limiting–a person’s actions can reveal much more.
What Does ‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ Tease For Its Sequel?
Relatedly, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland doesn’t do much to establish the sisterhood between Red and Pink. So, it falls a bit flat when the story tries to parallel Chloe’s and Pink’s frustrations with Red. The same is true when Pink speaks up for herself to Red. There’s really no reason to believe that Red thinks anything negative of Pink for her to do so. Then again, there is a universal message in Pink saying that finding joy in everything doesn’t mean that she’s naive. She shouldn’t be underestimated, as her mother says earlier in the movie. There’s a lot of character to mine there, and thankfully, it looks like the franchise intends to do so.
It’s a whole thing in a Descendants movie that the story is never really over. There’s always a tag where a character asks, “You didn’t think that was the end of the story, did you?” In Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, it’s Chessy (Awkwafina) who teases “new mischief” before posing the now-infamous question. The captions confirm a mysterious score as Pink looks under a table where the party once was. There, she finds a glowing, unidentifiable item. (I rewatched it a few times and tried to make out what it was but couldn’t.) Pink puts it into a fittingly red, heart-shaped box. “Pink + Red’s Treasures” is written on the outside.
As Pink skips away, that’s when Chessy pops up with the line, adding, “Of course not! That would be too sweet.” All of which hints at the next Descendants movie focusing on Pink a lot more. Since time travel seems to be in the characters’ past, it will be interesting to see how this item influences everyone’s present. Since it’s now in a box that means something to Pink and Red, I hope the next movie will have to rely more on their sisterhood. Really, there are so many ways this can go. Since I’ve been here since Descendants (2015), I can’t wait to see it. It’s just up to Disney to announce that it’s officially happening now. I’ll keep my hopes up until then!
