Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Smile 2!Smile 2features a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo of Rose Cotter, Sosie Bacon’s character from the first movie, and it changes the original film’s ending in the process. Due to the nature of theSmile Curse and its rules, theSmilesequel turned its focus onto an entirely new character rather than make Joel the main character. Through a chain of events that occur in the days afterSmile’s ending, Skye Riley becomes the curse’s latest target, and Naomi Scott’s pop star character’s story is largely disconnected from the franchise’s original protagonist.
While the majority ofSmile 2has next to nothing to do with the original movie and its characters, the first sequence is the complete opposite. The sequel begins by showing the days after Joel got the curse and his attempts to pass it off to criminals so he could live. His plan goes awry, leading toJoel’s death inSmile 2and Lewis becoming cursed next. While Kyle Gallner is the only originalSmilestar to return for the sequel, the film does have a small cameo of sorts from Rose that proves to be a harsh reminder.
Smile 2 Shows Rose’s Body Burning In Full
The Original Film Offered A Unique View Of Her Death
During Joel’s opening scene in the sequel,Smile 2has a quick Rose cameo by showing Joel see a body burningas he approaches the criminal’s house. The burning figure stands off the road and is a figment of his imagination from the Smile Curse. While Sosie Bacon didn’t come back to film anything for the sequel and the victim is fully engulfed in flames to the point beyond recognition, this is a clear callback to Rose’s death. The movie showed her pouring gasoline on herself and lighting a match, with her body beginning to burn at the end.
Every Confirmed Victim Of The Smile Curse & How They Died
Smile 2 reveals the exact chain of victims that led to the Smile Entity possessing Skye Riley, and here is every known victim from the franchise.
The importance of Rose’s appearance inSmile 2is that this is the first time the franchise fully showed what it was like for Joel to watch her die. The original film only showed a glimpse of Rose’s death through the reflection of Joel’s eye, with the screen cutting to black before it got too bad.The Smile Curse uses the form of Rose’s burning body to taunt Joelas he goes to kill someone to keep himself safe from the entity, offering viewers and Joel a reminder of what happened in the original film’s conclusion.
Smile 2 Showing Rose’s Death Is A Harsh Reminder Of Smile’s Ending
The Full Extent Of Her Death Is Even Darker
Since the originalSmilespared audiences from watching Rose’s death and obscured what it did show by using Joel’s eye, the full effects of her fate were not realized until thisSmile 2moment. The first installment is now darker in retrospect because audiences now know what it is like to see the whole act of Rose’s body burning. It’s also a harsh reminder thatthe sequel is only happening because Rose’s plan failed and she was killed by the entity. Rose had to die for the franchise to live on and this acclaimed sequel to be made.
Smile 2 does not show Skye Riley’s death in full just as Smile avoided showing Rose’s death
Furthermore, seeing Rose now be a tool for the Smile Curse’s tricks is grim. She’s no longer a character fighting for her autonomy, as she’s been consumed and defeated by the entity, which allows the curse to build on the traumatic events. Rose now appears inSmile 2as part of Joel’s trauma that the entity feeds from instead of his former romantic partner he tried to help save. And since her story is now resolved for good, Rose’s burning body being the last thing audiences see of her in the franchise is a dark result.
