Irish Wish Ending Explained
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Irish Wish
Summary
- Maddie learns that what she wants and what she needs are two different things throughout the chaotic love triangle in Netflix’s Irish Wish.
- At Paul and Emma’s wedding, Maddie realizes that she doesn’t want to be with Paul and goes back to St. Brigid to undo her wish.
- Irish Wish’s ending teaches that people need to embrace their true values and recognize the importance of genuine connections over selfish desires.
Netflix’s new rom-com, Irish Wish, has a wild ending with magic, love, and an overwhelming amount of chaos. The Lindsay Lohan movie starts with an editor named Maddie Kelly being head-over-heals, shoot-for-the-moon in love with her writer, Paul Kennedy. She decides to finally tell him, but before she has the chance, Paul meets Maddie’s friend, Emma Taylor. The two hit it off, and months later, everyone heads to Ireland for Paul and Emma’s wedding. When Maddie gets to Ireland, she waits for her bag. She believes she sees it, but it’s grabbed by a photographer named James.
The two fight over the bag only for Maddie to realize it’s not hers when the suitcase opens, and she finds boxers. Maddie then meets James again when taking the bus to Paul’s estate. After arriving, she goes down to the lake that inspired Paul Kennedy’s books. When she gets there, she wishes that she was marrying Paul, at which point St. Brigid appears and tells her that she can make this happen if Maddie sits in the stone chair and wishes it. This leads to the movie’s silly ending of magic teaching Irish Wish’s charming characters a lesson.
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Who Does Maddie End Up With In Irish Wish?
Maddie learns in Irish Wish that what she wants and what she needs are two different things. Though she wants Paul, he was never the right person for her. Firstly, the pair are entirely incompatible. Paul knows nothing about Maddie; plus, the pair simply want different things. Secondly, she realizes that Emma and Paul still love each other. As such, she decides that she doesn’t want to be with Paul. This is subliminally built throughout the entirety of the movie, finally coming to a head at Paul and Maddie’s wedding. Thus, Maddie goes back to the lake to beg St. Brigid to undo her wish.
The deity eventually succumbs upon realizing that Emma learned her lesson, undoing everything that occurred from the moment of the wish forward. After attending Emma and Paul’s wedding, Maddie leaves to find James, knowing that he’s what she both wants and needs. He’s a man who understands her on a deeper level, even if he doesn’t remember all the bonding moments that brought the pair together. However, Maddie and James immediately connect again, ending up together.
Does Maddie Write Her Book?
Instead of accepting this degradation, Maddie recognizes her worth as a writer, editor, and person.
When Irish Wish starts, Maddie is working on an editor for Paul, but she’s really doing the work of a co-author without getting the credit. Later, it’s revealed that she wrote most of Paul’s second book, rather than pursuing her dream of writing her own novel. By the end of Irish Wish, she realizes that he was using her the entire time. This comes to a head when he asks Maddie to write his next book while he’s on his honeymoon but refuses to give her a co-author credit because his name is the one that sells the books.
However, after going to meet James, she tells him that she’s decided to stay in Ireland to start writing a novel about the Cliffs of Moher. This shows that she’s found confidence in her voice. She could’ve easily continued having her writing skills and creativity exploited by James. Instead of accepting this degradation, Maddie recognizes her worth as a writer, editor, and person. While it’s not guaranteed she’ll finish writing her book – writing books is more challenging than it seems – she already has the foundation to succeed, given the fact that she already wrote Paul’s books.
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What Happens At Maddie And Paul’s Wedding?
Leading up to Maddie and Paul’s wedding in Irish Wish, events already start going wrong. Maddie’s mom misses her flight and then breaks a bone. James confronts Maddie about the fact that Paul knows nothing about Maddie, and that she’s lying about who she is to make him happy. However, when the actual wedding occurs, everything goes haywire. Maddie announces she doesn’t love Paul, and Paul blames James. A physical fight breaks out. Everyone’s fighting with each other and destroying the wedding.
This scene goes to show what happens when someone tries to defy fate. Maddie and Paul were never fated to be together, and their wedding shows just how wrong they would’ve been had they gotten together naturally instead of by magic in Irish Wish. Theoretically, Paul would’ve still loved Emma. Maddie would’ve fallen for James but got rejected by him. Everything would have gone wrong, rather than ending happily.
Maddie’s Wishes To St. Brigid Explained
Maddie’s first wish to St. Brigid in Irish Wish comes from a place of selfish desire. She wants to marry Paul due to this burning love that she’s held for him throughout their entire friendship and working relationship. In this way, she acts like the equivalent of a “nice guy.” She thinks she deserves Paul instead of Emma because she is nice to him, supportive, and loves him. However, she’s completely willing to ruin his happiness and Emma’s happiness when she doesn’t get her way.
St. Brigid and the Irish Wind is simply the vehicle with which Maddie and the other characters learn these important messages about life, love, and self-value.
However, her second wish to St. Brigid comes from a place of humility. She realizes that Paul was never right for her. She held him up on a pedestal instead of seeing him for the person he really is. This is further proven by the fact that she calls him by his first and last name, “Paul Kennedy,” every time she references him. This signifies idolization rather than true intimacy with a partner.
Additionally, Maddie understands that she hurt one of her closest friends – Emma – by intervening with fate in Irish Wish. She’s so desperate to make things right that she creates her own wind with her hands. This act of desperation, along with the fact that she truly understands where she went wrong, is the only reason that St. Brigid grants her wish.
The True Meaning Of Irish Wish’s Ending
The ending of Lindsay Lohan’s movieIrish Wish sends a clear message that what people need and what people want often contradict with each other. Maddie wanted Paul for a long time, but she needed to find her confidence. She needed to embrace her professional value as a writer and editor. She needed a relationship with someone who would see her for who she really is, rather than viewing her as an object.
Additionally, Paul wants fame and success in Irish Wind, but he needs to learn that he can’t take advantage of others. He needs to recognize the value that others bring to the table. He needs to stop taking credit for other people’s work. Ultimately, St. Brigid and the Irish Wind is simply the vehicle with which Maddie and the other characters learn these important messages about life, love, and self-value.
