Paramount+’s Knuckles Ending, Explained

Paramount+’s Knuckles is the first major spin-off of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. While the show certainly has its moments early on, it begins to lose steam after its fourth episode and becomes fairly forgettable. But Knuckles‘ ending may set up potential plot threads for future entries. Here’s what happens.

Knuckles Ending, Explained

For most of the series, Knuckles, played again by Idris Elba, goes on a journey with Wade Wipple, played by Adam Pally, to teach Wade how to be a warrior. While most of the series is filled with general platitudes of what it means to be a warrior and how Wade needs to believe in himself, we do learn about how Knuckles got his power and what that may mean for the larger franchise.

In the fourth episode, we learn that Knuckles’ power is called the Flames of Disaster. For longtime Sonic the Hedgehog fans, that may ring some five-alarm bells since that’s a direct reference to Sonic 06. In that game, the Flames of Disaster was the raw power of the god Solaris, a diety that was split in two when it threatened to destroy space and time. It was sealed with Princess Elise, but in the film continuity, it seems that power is now held within Knuckles.

In the climax of the season, Knuckles fights against The Buyer, a former henchman of Dr. Eggman who wishes to use Knuckles’ power to create weapons of mass destruction for the highest bidder. In the fight, Knuckles is drained of his power but regains it with the help of Wade. Knuckles then fully utilizes his flame-based powers and defeats the Buyer, ending the series by riding off with Wade into the sunset.

While on the surface, it seems like an unremarkable ending with a standard conclusion, there are hints as to what the franchise’s future may be. With the future films in the series intending to be “Avengers-style events,” it’s not impossible to think that a theoretical Sonic the Hedgehog 4 may try to adapt elements from Sonic 06 into film.

After all, that game had the largest and most cataclysmic threat to Sonic and his pals in the franchise’s history. Plus, with Shadow being introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it’s not too unbelievable for Mephiles, the main antagonist of Sonic 06 and the other half of Solaris, to appear and cause chaos trying to reunite with the Flames of Disaster. He does take on the form of Shadow in the game, so it’s not inconceivable for this to be a roundabout way of introducing a new threat for Sonic to face early, especially given how Jim Carrey isn’t guaranteed to continue playing Dr. Eggman after Sonic 3. Paramount may need to find a new villain moving forward.

That’s all speculation at this point, but theorizing about what could be does make the Knuckles’ ending at least somewhat interesting. At least it makes me think positively about the ending of that show.

And that’s what happens at the end of Knuckles!