White Snake — Ending Explained

The film's twist is that it is a origin story for a tragedy. Ah Xuan takes a deal from the Fox Spirit to become a demon so he can be with Blanca, but the transformation is irreversible and makes him the weakest demon (a dog). In the final battle against the Dark General and the Snake Master, the village is saved, but Xuan is mortally wounded. His spirit is captured in Blanca's jade hairpin just as she loses her memories of him.

The film ends with a time jump of 500 years. Blanca, now fully restored as the powerful White Snake lady, has been searching for Xuan's reincarnation. She finally spots him on the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou—he is now the human scholar Xu Xian from the original legend. She drops her hairpin (a deliberate act) to initiate their meeting, revealing that the entire classic legend is her way of repaying his sacrifice from 500 years ago.

Some viewers interpret the film as a Buddhist allegory for Karma. Xuan's sacrifice in this life (becoming a demon, dying for her) creates the 'karmic debt' that Blanca must repay in the next life, which explains her unwavering devotion to the often useless Xu Xian in the traditional legend. Others view it as a queer-coded narrative through Verta's intense, borderline romantic possessiveness of Blanca, which is further explored in the sequel Green Snake.