The Notebook has an entirely different ending on Netflix in the U.K., and fans are not happy
Whether you love it or hate it (though let’s be real, everyone loves it), The Notebook is one of the most iconic romance movies of our time. Noah and Allie’s never-ending love for each other is transcendent, and the ending gets us every single time. But what if the movie ended differently? Apparently, for Netflix users in the U.K., it does. According to USA Today, the 2004 film is currently available for British users to stream, but fans have noticed a distinct difference during the finale.
In the version of The Notebook that most fans are probably familiar with (spoiler alert), the last scene entails an employee at Allie’s nursing home discovering that the couple had passed away together in their sleep. But, according to The Independent, the version on British Netflix ends with the pair holding hands while looking out at a lake, leaving what comes next open to interpretation. This is significant change and drastically changes the meaning of the ending (“Do you think our love could take us away together?”…”I think our love can do anything we want it to.”)
Obviously, Twitter took note.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1100032537898946560
Why has @NetflixUK changed the ending to The Notebook!? 😭 I was going to watch it but now I’m going to need to buy it instead 🙃
— Eliza ✨ (@elizadarlings) February 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1100445061324722176
If you want to watch The Notebook on @NetflixUK, don’t. They cut the ending. #thenotebook #netflix #itsthereasonyouwatchthenotebook #ffs pic.twitter.com/PPZQQaOv7R
— Sophie Swords (@sophieashwood) January 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1100652708086927360
However, it appears that Netflix isn’t behind the alternate ending. In a February 27th tweet, Netflix U.K. & Ireland wrote that “an alternate version of the movie exists and was supplied to us.” The streaming service also promised that it was “getting to the bottom of it asap.”
Things you should know…
– we did not edit the notebook
– an alternate version exists and was supplied to us
– we are getting to the bottom of it asap
– apparently some films have more than one ending?!— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) February 27, 2019
Some Twitter users even claimed that they had only ever seen the Netflix ending to the movie before, adding to the confusion.
Are you sure that #Netflix has changed the ending? I have seen #TheNotebook 2 or 3 times over the years, but I was surprised to learn today about such ending – that they both die embracing! I have never seen it ending like that! Maybe there are different movie cuts out there
— Elina Ogsta (@ElinaOgsta) February 26, 2019
It’s definitely plausible that there are two different cuts of The Notebook, but if that’s the case, not even Nicholas Sparksknew. The author, who wrote the 1996 novel that the movie is based on, said on Today that he found out about the Netflix ending “the same way everyone else [did].”
Whatever’s going on with the Netflix version of The Notebook, we hope the powers that be can figure it out—preferably before March 1st, when the epic romance is set to begin streaming in the U.S.. We want all of The Notebook, forever, every day.
