Jason Statham made waves in movie theaters last month with Meg 2: The Trench, a sequel bigger than the original movie in every aspect. Well, in every aspect except the box office; Meg 2, as of now, has earned $393 million at the worldwide box office, compared to The Meg’s $529 million haul. In his second visit to the trench where prehistoric megalodon sharks roam free, Statham must also fight against a group of human mercenaries led by the devious Montes (Sergio Peris-Mencheta). Furthermore, Meg 2 reveals there are moles inside the Mana One marine research station, undermining the excellent work its scientists do. Finally, in the six years between The Meg and Meg 2, Mana One’s technology evolved so much that both heroes and villains have fancy new toys to play with. So, whether you already caught this wave in theaters or stepping into the ocean for the first time now that Meg 2 is available to stream on Max, it’s okay if you feel drowned in information by the time the credits roll, especially after that chaotic third-act battle involving all the main characters in the movie, human or otherwise. That’s why we’ve prepared a handy guide to break down the main events of Meg 2: The Trench and explain what happens in its breathtaking ending.
What’s the Secret Base Inside the Trench?
In the time between The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench, Mana One’s researchers have developed submarines loaded with electrical charges and exoskeletons which allow divers to walk freely on the ocean floor, ignoring the crushing pressure of 25 thousand feet of water above their heads. With the certainty they can keep megalodons at bay, Mana One’s crew has been exploring the uncharted lands under the ocean’s thermocline and documenting all the new species of plants and animals that live in the darkest corner of our blue planet. However, right at the beginning of Meg 2: The Trench, Jonas Taylor (Statham) and his teammates end up in a new quadrant of the trench, only to discover a secret underwater station there.
The underwater fortress is a mining station overseen by Montes, a mercenary with a grudge against Jonas. After the events of The Meg, Jonas began to work as an eco-friendly James Bond, infiltrating criminal organizations to expose their crimes against nature. Due to Jonas’ efforts to keep the oceans clean, Montes spent two years in prison, which gives the villain a personal reason to go against Statham’s frowning hero. Yet, that’s not the reason why Montes is at the underwater station. The mercenary was sent there by an investor of Mana One (Sienna Guillory), who has been using the researchers’ technology for her mining operation. Since big industries have not yet explored the trench, extracting rare minerals worth billions of dollars is relatively easy as long as the mercenaries remain hidden.\
To protect his business from Jonas’ intervention, Montes blows up the trench, burying the Mana One’s scientists in the rubble. That kickstarts the movie’s main events, as Jonas and his crewmates try to survive while their oxygen slowly depletes and the creatures of the trench mistake them for food.
Who Was the Mole Inside Mana One?
The secret mining operation wouldn’t be successful without someone inside Mana One feeding the mercenaries information. While Jonas leads the survivors of Montes’ explosion to safety, Mac (Cliff Curtis), DJ (Page Kennedy), and Jess (Skyler Samuels) do everything they can to reveal who’s the mole in Mana One. The trio takes a long time to access the footage that shows who destroys the rescue submarines and traps Jonas in the trench after the explosion. Unfortunately, when Mac finally downloads the footage from a satellite backup, he learns Jess is the saboteur. While Meg 2: The Trench doesn’t explain since when Jess has been a traitor, we do see her sharing a loving kiss with Montes, which means they were in a romantic relationship before she gets eaten by a megalodon. That and the money from the illegal mining operations are sufficient reasons for Jess to betray her coworkers and help steal technology from Mana One.
Who Dies in ‘Meg 2: The Trench’ Final Battle?
When he blows up the trench to bury Jonas, Montes accidentally creates a temporary hole in the thermocline that allows the prehistoric creatures to escape. So, once Jonas and the other survivors return to the surface, they face Montes’ mercenaries, three megalodons, a giant octopus, and a battalion of amphibian mini-Megs with sharp teeth. The final battle between all the parties happens in the appropriately named Fun Island.
On his way to Fun Island, Jonas duct tapes explosives to harpoons, so he can have an effective weapon to fight the megalodons. While Jonas is jousting with sharks on top of a jet ski, DJ and Rigas (Whoopie van Raam) are charged with finding a working phone to alert the authorities, a difficult task since Montes destroys the island’s cellphone tower. Meanwhile, Mac and Jiuming (Wu Jing) try to find more weapons they can use to help Jonas defeat the megalodons. Finally, Meiying (Sophia Cai) is ordered to remain hidden.
Jonas uses the explosive harpoons to blow a hole in one of the megalodons’ heads. In the land, heroes and mercenaries play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game while being chased by the amphibian mini-Megs. DJ and Rigas find a satellite phone in the body of a mercenary and call the military. At the same time, Jiuming uses fertilizer to make makeshift bombs he can use against the megalodons. The financier of the mercenaries’ mining operation is killed by the mini-Megs, leaving her helicopter unattended; Mac and Jiuming use it to go after Jonas and give him some support. Meanwhile, Jonas gets into a gunfight against Montes, which ends when the mercenary is eaten whole by a megalodon.
While everyone is busy on Fun Island, Meiying leaves her hiding place to help a drowning tourist. Unfortunately, the girl quickly becomes a target for the giant octopus. So, instead of assisting Jonas, Jiuming goes to save his niece. The octopus crashes the helicopter, leaving Mac stranded in the ocean. At his turn, Jiuming rescues Meiying and uses his makeshift explosive to try to slay the beast. Unfortunately, the octopus survives. Jiuming is about to be devoured when he’s saved by Haiqi, the Megalodon he helped to raise since she was a baby. Haiqi shreds the giant octopus while Jiuming escapes.
What Happens at the End of ‘Meg 2: The Trench’?
When Jonas realizes Mac is in trouble, he rescues his friend. Using Statham’s muscles and perpetual rage, Jonas raises one of the helicopter’s blades, waiting patiently for a second megalodon to jump in his direction and be impaled by the sharp object. There’s only one megalodon left, Haiqi. At first, it seems like Haiqi will devour the heroes. However, Jiuming uses a clicker to give the giant shark the order to swim away. Haiqi obeys, which Jiuming interprets as the fruit of his successful training. For Jonas, though, that only means Haiqi saw a group of dolphins that seemed juicier than the humans.
The authorities come to Fun Island after the fight is over. So, just to recap, Montes, the mercenaries, and their financer were killed by the megalodons or the mini-Megs. One megalodon is blown to pieces by Jonas with explosive harpoons. The second megalodon dies after being impaled by a helicopter blade. Plus, the giant octopus gets ripped apart by Haiqi. Finally, all the mini-Megs get shot down by the mercenaries or heroes. DJ even shoots the last mini-Meg to protect Meiying once she returns to the beach with Pippin, the same dog who survived the first movie’s events. It’s a happy ending for the heroes, but danger still lurks.
What Happens to Haiqi, the Friendly Megalodon?
At the beginning of Meg 2: The Trench, we meet Haiqi, a megalodon raised in captivity. One week before the movie begins, Haiqi begins to behave erratically and disobey her training commands. One evening, Haiqi escapes her cage. When Jonas and Jiuming depart to investigate the trench, they cross paths with Haiqi. They decide to follow the shark, which eventually leads them to the mercenaries’ secret base. More importantly, they discover Haiqi has been misbehaving because it’s mating season for megalodons. So, there’s a high chance Haiqi mated with another megalodon and is now pregnant. Since Haiqi is alive and free in the ocean, she could give birth to hundreds of hungry megalodons before the next movie. That’s undoubtedly something we would love to see Statham fight if Meg 3 ever gets greenlit.
