So, the shocking reveal in Straw’s ending was that Janiyah Wiltkinson, after going through the most harrowing incident in her life, lost touch with reality. [Spoiler Alert] Her daughter, Aria, had a seizure the previous night, shortly after which Janiyah and her mother took Aria to the hospital, where she sadly passed away. It was actually one of the first scenes we saw in the film, where Janiyah came out of a hospital room carrying Aria in her arms. Initially, this particular scene seemed like one of Janiyah’s recurring nightmares, as Aria was a preemie and suffered from serious health issues, because of which Janiyah had to take her to the hospital quite often. And as unsettling as it might sound, this was the last time Janiyah saw Aria, but she didn’t want to let go of her presence. The single mother did everything in her power to provide for her child. Her entire world revolved around her daughter, and therefore she failed to accept her death, keeping Aria alive in her imagination, living the following day like the rest of her days. She came back from the hospital, cooked noodles for herself and her daughter, finished her plate, and went straight to bed.
In the opening sequence, one could even spot a plate of noodles lying untouched on the table, suggesting Aria didn’t eat. Well, you know the reason why. Later in the film, Janiyah imagined a scenario where she blamed herself for Aria going to school hungry. I guess one could assume that Aria had a fatal seizure when she was in the bathtub trying to take a bath by herself. She even hurt herself, and once again Janiyah took the blame. These two events suggested that, all this while, the grieving mother was punishing herself for her daughter’s death, trying to come to terms with what losing one’s child actually feels like. And while doing so, she lost track of reality and started imagining things to fill the void in her life. I know it all became quite confusing in the end, so allow me to take a detailed look at Straw’s ending while I try to connect the dots between the real events and the ones that took place in Janiyah’s imagination.
Aria’s Death Was The Last Straw
One could say that Aria’s death was the last straw in Janiyah’s life, actually the straw that broke the camel’s back, and things weren’t the same after, even though Janiyah’s conflicted mind tried its best to convince her that Aria was still alive and therefore she needed to go on living normally. It was payday, and she thought that having her salary in time would make things better for her and her daughter, because that’s what the world, society in particular, had made her believe: that money could solve all our issues. You might recall that there was this old lady at the bank who said, “People don’t know how expensive it is to be poor.” Well, that’s actually true in Janiyah’s case, because if she hadn’t been poor, would she have actually been able to save her daughter’s life? Maybe she would have been able to provide her a better life. If only Aria’s father were around, Janiyah wouldn’t have to work two jobs to make ends meet for her and her kid. If only Janiyah had money in her bank, she wouldn’t have snapped on that fateful day and shot her boss, Richard. Here, I am assuming that Richard, the store manager at the Super Center, didn’t know that Janiyah had lost her daughter, because no sane human being would have treated Janiyah the way he did if they knew the truth.
So, just to recall the events again. Janiyah didn’t wake up near her daughter, as she likely left her body in the hospital. She didn’t bathe her, yet she was imagining an old conversation with Aria where the latter told her mother how the teacher humiliated her in front of the whole class, badgering her for the 40-dollar lunch debt. It got stuck in Janiyah’s mind. Probably it was one of the many unfulfilled desires her daughter had that made Janiyah so hellbent on getting those 40 dollars to her daughter’s school in order to finally save her child from embarrassment. It’s likely that Janiyah’s landlord didn’t know about Aria’s death either, and therefore threw her things out after Janiyah failed to pay the rent on time.
Moving further, Janiyah drove to school to drop off her daughter, which was where the teacher gave her a shocking reaction, as Aria was already dead and the teacher didn’t know what Janiyah was doing there. She kept playing some particular events from the past in her mind and even let her fears come true. She imagined getting a call from Aria’s teacher, and as soon as she arrived at the school, she saw Aria being taken by Child Protective Services. It seemed like child services had previously contacted Janiyah and threatened to take her daughter, which was the reason she was living with those fears, as she was too afraid to lose her child. You see, it was quite a tragedy that Janiyah’s worst nightmare eventually came true, and the only thing she had left of her kid was her backpack, which she held on to, till the very end.
After the failed robbery attempt at Janiyah’s workplace, it became quite apparent that the grieving mother wasn’t in the right state of mind. She had the robber’s gun the whole time and walked into the bank because the only thing on her mind was to somehow get those “40 dollars” so she could give the damn money to the school and pay for her daughter’s food. And that’s where the mess got messier.
Detective Raymond and Nicole knew the truth
Straw’s ending revealed that Detective Kay Raymond, Nicole Parker, the bank manager, and the entire police force knew from the very beginning that Janiyah had recently lost her daughter. I am not quite sure when and how the authorities found out about Janiyah’s eight-year-old daughter, but I am assuming that Raymond already knew about Aria’s death when she first talked to Janiyah. And it was Raymond who informed the same to Nicole, which was why the bank manager didn’t treat Janiyah like a criminal, even though she believed she had a bomb in her possession. Raymond even asked her superiors to take all precautionary measures not to hurt the mother, as no one could possibly imagine the things she was going through. In the end, they found out that the bomb wasn’t real, but the gun was, as she had recently shot her boss with the same weapon, and therefore no one wanted anyone else to get hurt. However, Janiyah’s constructed reality came crashing down the moment the FBI reached her mother’s house and asked her to personally refresh Janiyah’s memory of the last night. Janiyah was devastated, as she remembered what actually happened to Aria and once again imagined a scenario where she just wanted those armed officers to shoot her dead. Fortunately, Nicole and Raymond didn’t let this happen. They stood by her side and convinced Janiyah to come out of Benevolent Bank and Trust without causing any more trouble.
Will Janiyah Survive?
I think one of the bigger questions that every one of us may still be left asking is, what will happen to Janiyah? Well, she surrendered, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be charged for Richard’s murder. I mean, the judge and the jury are certainly going to consider the extenuating circumstances, especially the “last straw” that made Janiyah snap. And with such a huge crowd coming out in Janiyah’s support, it’s definitely going to help her case in court. I believe the authorities are also going to take Janiyah’s mental health into consideration and maybe send her to psychiatric care instead of a prison. But like I said earlier, does Janiyah really want to live through any of it? Is she even aware of what’s happening around her? I mean, she already imagined herself being shot by the officers, and maybe that’s all she wants. She cannot even imagine going through a day without her kid, which could suggest that she might never ever make peace with Aria’s death. And no matter what punishment she receives, in the end Janiyah is going to execute herself, probably holding herself responsible for her daughter’s death.
Yes, I am entertaining the possibility that Janiyah will sooner or later kill herself, but I really want to be wrong here. Because it wasn’t Janiyah’s fault that Aria passed away. And at the risk of repeating myself, I think the old lady at the bank already explained whose fault it was. The father who walked away when he should have stuck around and looked after his daughter. The doctor who could have provided Aria with better medical facilities instead of tormenting the mother for money. The teacher who just wanted her “40 dollars” and wouldn’t leave an innocent soul in peace. The landlady, the store manager, and everyone else who failed to understand the plight of the single mother pushed her to the brink of madness. Honestly, it’s not a single person to blame, but everyone is collectively responsible for Janiyah’s miseries. Even in the real world, only if we are kind enough to understand each other’s issues and try to help out like Raymond and Nicole helped Janiyah will the world become a better place.
