The new Netflix thriller The Rip ends not with a loud gunfight, but with a quiet, powerful moment on a beach. After a night of deception, violence, and a dangerous mole hunt, Miami police officers Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne (Ben Affleck) sit together watching the sunrise. This final scene is the emotional core of the film, providing closure not just to the criminal plot, but to the personal grief that has driven both men. It is where the movie’s central questionโ”Are we the good guys?”โfinds its ultimate answer.
The Story That Leads to the Shore
To understand the weight of the beach scene, you need to know what Dane and Byrne have just survived. The film follows their tactical narcotics team after they seize $20 million in cartel cash from a stash house. Suspicion immediately erupts, as it’s clear someone on the team is a traitor working with corrupt DEA Agent Matty Nix (Kyle Chandler) to steal the money.
Dane spends the entire film acting suspiciously. He tells each team member a different amount of money was found, he avoids calling in the seizure, and he is seen secretly plotting with other officers. This performance convinces almost everyone, including his best friend Byrne, that he is the corrupt cop. However, in a third-act twist, Dane reveals his strange behavior was all an elaborate trap. He was “bloodying up the water” to see who would take the bait.
The true traitor is revealed to be Officer Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), the team’s newest member. Ro and Agent Nix were part of a “heist team” of corrupt cops stealing seized money. They murdered the team’s captain, Jackie Velez (Lina Esco), when she discovered their operation and began using the stash house as bait. Dane’s plan successfully exposed them, leading to a fiery confrontation where Nix is killed and Ro is arrested. With the money secured and the criminals caught, the immediate crisis is over.
The Meaning of the Tattoos: A Father’s Promise
On the beach, the intense professional stress fades, making room for deep personal emotion. A key to this moment is revealed when Dane explains the tattoos on his hands to Desi (Sasha Calle), the young woman who owned the stash house. On one hand, the letters spell “A.W.T.G.G,” and on the other, “W.A.A.W.B”.
“Are we the good guys?” he reveals. “Last thing my son said to me.” He points to the other hand. “We are and always will be. How? Cancer. He was ten years old.”
This promise to his late son, Jake, is the moral compass that has guided Dane through the night. Despite being deep in debt and drowning in grief after losing his son and his marriage, the idea of breaking that promise was never an option. His entire risky scheme to catch the corrupt cops was, at its heart, an effort to live up to those words and prove that he and his team were still the “good guys”.
A Moment of Shared Grief and a Sign from the World
As Dane and Byrne sit in silence, the scene offers a quiet resolution for their shared loss. Byrne was in a relationship with the murdered Captain Jackie, and his grief has been raw and vengeful throughout the film. The beach offers them both a chance to finally breathe and process.
The most poignant moment occurs when a little girl runs past them, playing in the waves. Her mother calls out to her, and the name she shouts is “Jackie.”. Both men hear it and share a look. This isn’t presented as a ghostly visit or a literal reincarnation. Instead, it works as a gentle, symbolic reminder. It underscores that while their friend is gone, life and innocence continue. The world keeps turning, and the memory of those they lost continues to exist in simple, beautiful moments.
For Dane, it is a final release. After upholding his promise to his son and restoring justice for his captain, he is seen taking off his police badge and placing it on the sand beside him. It is a silent act that speaks volumes. The night’s events and his long journey through grief have led him to a point of change. He has answered his son’s question with action, and now he can finally let go.
The Real-Life Heart Behind the Fiction
The emotional power of this ending is amplified because it is rooted in real-life loss. The Rip was inspired by the experiences of real Miami-Dade police officer Chris Casiano, who served as the film’s technical advisor. The story of the massive cash seizure is based on a real event. More importantly, the story of Dane’s son, Jake, is directly drawn from Casiano’s life. Casiano’s own son, Jake William Casiano, died from leukemia in 2021 at the age of 11.
Director Joe Carnahan worked closely with Casiano to include this detail respectfully. Carnahan stated he wanted to “create a vessel” for that grief and turn it into “a living monument to Jake”. The film is dedicated to Jake’s memory, ensuring that the heart of the story is not just the thriller plot, but a father’s love and a profound personal promise.
The final beach scene in The Rip ultimately shifts the film from a simple cops-versus-corruption thriller to a story about moral choice and personal healing. It shows that being the “good guys” is not about a job title, but about the choices made in the darkest moments. For Dane and Byrne, sitting together as the sun rises, they have finally found a moment of peace, having honored their lost loved ones through their actions.
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