Day of a Lion

The ending of Day of a Lion delivers a quietly devastating conclusion to the poisonous dynamic between twin sisters Wanda and Dolly, one that reframes everything we've witnessed. Though the film withholds explicit violence on screen, the narrative strongly implies that Wanda murders both Geronimo and her sister, reclaiming agency through an act of grim transformation.

Following the explosive argument over their father's inheritance, the sisters settle into an uneasy truce. Dolly, having torn up the will and demanded Wanda vacate the house, spends the night locked in the bathroom with her boyfriend Geronimo. Wanda, meanwhile, gets drunk and unravels, her restraint finally shattering. The next morning, Wanda serves Dolly a cup of tea, and Dolly begins coughing—a telling detail, given she showed no signs of illness the day before. The film then cuts away, leaving Dolly's death implied rather than shown.

What's more chilling is the suggested fate of Geronimo. The theory presented is that Wanda, driven by jealousy and a need for retribution, seduces him while disguised as Dolly—using a wig from her extensive doll collection—before killing him. It's an act rooted in envy; Dolly, despite her failures in Italy, found genuine love with a man who adored her, the one thing Wanda never had. By becoming Dolly temporarily, Wanda briefly tastes the life her sister led before destroying it.

The opening scene, which initially seemed cryptic, gains new meaning in hindsight. A woman picks up a blonde wig and places it on her head before stepping outside. The film suggests this is Wanda, adopting her twin's appearance, preparing to inhabit Dolly's identity permanently. After the credits, we hear a knock at the door—perhaps a neighbor checking in—and in that moment, Wanda chooses to become her sister rather than remain herself.

The title itself provides the thematic key. Midway through the film, Dolly asks Wanda what animal she'd want to be, and after deliberation, Wanda chooses a lion. When Dolly urges her to howl, Wanda corrects her: lions don't howl. They roar and hunt. The title, Day of a Lion, marks Wanda's emergence as a predator, finally seizing what she wants after a lifetime of being overshadowed, dismissed, and denied her father's love.

The tragedy is that neither sister is purely villainous. Both carry wounds inflicted by their father—Wanda bore his abuse and neglect, while Dolly escaped but remained emotionally stunted and self-absorbed. Their mutual hatred stems from each seeing in the other what she lacked: Dolly had freedom and love but no responsibility; Wanda had duty and the house but no affection. In the end, Wanda's act of violence isn't just about property—it's about erasing the sister who embodied everything she was denied, then stepping into that life herself. The house, the dolls, the identity—all become hers, leaving us with a haunting portrait of grief warped into something predatory and final.