After an 18-year-long wait, fans of Scott Westerfeld’s dystopian novel Uglies can finally rejoice as the movie adaptation has landed on Netflix. The film, starring Joey King as Tally Youngblood, largely follows the storyline from the book, but with a significant twist in the final act that has left fans buzzing with questions—especially regarding the fate of Tally’s best friend, Peris.
In Uglies, society is divided into two categories: Uglies and Pretties. On their 16th birthday, citizens undergo a transformative surgery that makes them “pretty” in the eyes of society, but there’s a dark side to the procedure. Tally is just months away from her own surgery when her friend Peris (played by Chase Stokes) undergoes the transformation, promising her that the operation won’t change who they are. However, Tally soon learns that the surgery does more than make people physically beautiful—it also implants lesions in their brains, making them compliant and passive.
After Peris leaves for the surgery, Tally meets a new friend, Shay (Brianne Tju), who introduces her to a hidden group of rebels called “The Smoke.” Shay is skeptical about undergoing the operation and shows Tally the possibility of living a free life without being “Pretty.” While Shay eventually chooses to run away and join The Smoke, Tally remains conflicted about her own decision to undergo the surgery.
However, before her 16th birthday, Tally is summoned by Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox), head of Special Circumstances, who offers her an ultimatum: help the city locate The Smoke or never receive the surgery. Dr. Cable warns Tally that The Smoke is planning to destroy the city and its way of life. Reluctantly, Tally agrees to infiltrate the rebel group in exchange for the chance to become Pretty.
Once Tally arrives at The Smoke, she meets David (Keith Powers) and his parents, Az (DeVon Johnson) and Maddy (Charmin Lee), who were once surgeons for the city. They reveal the horrific truth behind the surgery: it’s not just a cosmetic procedure but a tool for control. The lesions placed in the brain during the operation make people dull, suppressing their free will and critical thinking. The city’s rulers, led by Dr. Cable, believe that without these modifications, humanity would destroy itself again, as it almost did in the past.
Realizing the magnitude of what’s at stake, Tally sides with The Smoke and agrees to help them fight against the city’s oppressive regime. But her situation becomes even more complicated when she learns that Peris has been turned into a “Special”—an upgraded version of a Pretty with enhanced physical abilities. In a shocking twist, Peris is no longer the friend she once knew.
The climax of the movie takes place when Dr. Cable leads an army of Specials to The Smoke. In a departure from the book, Peris is part of this army and is directly involved in the raid. During the chaos, Peris kills David’s father, Az, under orders from Dr. Cable, devastating David and deepening the rift between him and Tally.
In a desperate attempt to rescue the Smokies, Tally and David infiltrate the city’s lab to free those who have been captured, including Shay. Unfortunately, they are too late to save Shay, who has already undergone the transformation into a Pretty. Tally, David, and Maddy manage to escape, but not before Maddy retrieves the nanosynth necessary to complete a cure for the brain lesions.
In a tense showdown, Tally tries to reach the human side of Peris, reminding him of their shared past and the scar they both carry on their hands. For a brief moment, it seems like she might succeed, as Peris calls her by her old nickname, “Squint.” But before she can save him, David intervenes, and in the ensuing fight, Peris falls from a rooftop into the water below. His fate remains uncertain, but given that Specials possess enhanced healing abilities, it’s possible Peris survived.
With the lab destroyed and the cure in hand, the group is left with a difficult decision: how to convince the transformed Pretties to return to their former selves. Shay, now fully Pretty, refuses the cure, arguing that forcing the transformation on anyone would be no different from the city’s oppressive regime.
In a bold move, Tally volunteers to be the test subject. “They’ll turn me, and then you’ll turn me back,” she declares, trusting that Maddy’s cure will work and that she can be an example for others. Despite David’s objections, Tally insists that she knows who she is now and won’t let the city take that away from her.
The movie ends with Tally waking up in her new home as a Pretty. Though she now looks like everyone else, she still has the scar on her hand, a sign that she hasn’t forgotten who she really is. As she gazes out over the city, it’s clear that her journey is far from over.
The ending of Uglies sets the stage for a potential sequel based on the second book in the series, Pretties. In the follow-up, Tally will have to confront the consequences of her transformation and find a way to restore her memories of her mission. With Peris’ fate left ambiguous, it’s likely that he could return in future installments, especially given his new status as a Special.
For now, Uglies leaves viewers with a tantalizing glimpse of the larger battle between personal freedom and societal control, with Tally caught in the middle. Fans of the books will no doubt be eager to see where the story goes next—if Netflix decides to greenlight a sequel.