Casablanca — Ending Explained

The climax of "Casablanca" takes place at the airport. Rick has led both Ilsa and Captain Renault to believe that he will use the letters of transit to escape with Ilsa, leaving Victor Laszlo to be arrested. However, at the last moment, Rick's true plan is revealed. He forces Renault at gunpoint to fill in the letters with Victor and Ilsa's names. He then explains to a heartbroken Ilsa that she must leave with her husband, arguing that she is essential to Victor's work and that if she stayed with him, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

As Ilsa and Victor board the plane, the Nazi Major Strasser arrives, having been tipped off by Renault. When Strasser tries to intervene, Rick shoots and kills him. In a final twist, Captain Renault, instead of arresting Rick, tells his men to "round up the usual suspects," effectively covering for Rick and siding with him against the Nazis. The film ends with Rick and Renault walking off into the fog, with Rick delivering the iconic line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." This ending solidifies Rick's transformation from a cynical isolationist to a committed hero, sacrificing his own love for the greater good of the war effort. It also reveals Renault's hidden moral core, as he too chooses to join the fight.

One of the most prominent alternative interpretations of "Casablanca" is the political allegory reading, where Rick Blaine is seen as a personification of the United States. In this interpretation, Rick's initial cynical neutrality and his gin joint, where people from all nations converge, represent America's isolationist stance before entering World War II. His eventual decision to "stick his neck out" for Victor Laszlo and the Allied cause mirrors the U.S.'s entry into the war. The name "Casablanca" itself, meaning "White House" in Spanish, is sometimes cited as further evidence for this interpretation.

Another reading focuses on the film as a modern myth. The characters can be seen as archetypes: Rick as the cynical hero who rediscovers his purpose, Ilsa as the conflicted lover, Laszlo as the noble idealist, and Renault as the trickster who ultimately chooses the side of good. The setting of Casablanca, a place of transit and uncertainty, can be viewed as a kind of purgatory where moral choices must be made. The film's enduring appeal, in this view, comes from its ability to tap into these timeless narrative structures.