“The Long Walk” adaptation made a few key changes to the Stephen King story that might catch some fans off guard.
The biggest change of the film came in the final moments. The winner of “The Long Walk” is completely different than who comes out on top in King’s 1979 dystopian thriller. But is the change a good one? Does it make sense? Is it earned or does it feel like a change just for the sake of it?
Here is how the movie and book endings compare to one another.
How the Movie Ends
The final three of The Long Walk remain the same in the book and film: Garraty, McVries, and Stebbins. From there, however, the movie veers into new territory. The first to go down of the last remaining walkers is Stebbins. He does so after finally bonding with the other two – telling them that he is The Major’s bastard – and then willingly chooses to stop walking.
When it is down to the final two, Garraty considers all that the two have talked about and the reasons for walking and realizes that McVries might have a real chance in rallying people behind a cause that could end The Long Walk. He chooses to stop his walk and gets killed, making McVries the winner.
With his wish, McVries asks for one of the truck troops’ guns just like Garraty planned to. He is granted his wish and, after a standoff, manages to kill The Major and walk off into the night.
How the Book Ends
The book is written inside Garraty’s head, so it was probably never a great surprise that he was the one to win the Walk. McVries bows out first of the final three, deciding it was his time after the Walk finally broke him.
The final two standing are Garraty and Stebbins. In the book, Stebbins is a much scrawnier kid who never really connects with anyone, and spends most of the book playing mind games with Garraty. He two snaps relatively quickly compared to how level-headed he was for 99% of the story, which makes Garraty the winner.
The book ends during the day as the two are walking through a city clogged with spectators. The Major is seen from a distance after Garraty wins, but he makes it out of the book alive. Instead, the story ends on a much bleaker sentence – as many of the books King wrote under the Richard Bachman pseudonym did – hinting that Garraty might have been better off dead.
“Eyes blind, supplicating hands held out before him as if for the alms, Garraty walked toward the dark figure,” King writes in the end. “And when the hand touched his shoulder again, he somehow found the strength to run.”
Which Ending Makes More Sense?
It can be a contentious choice to change the ending of a book. Most would ask what the point is, the story works the way it was, yadayada. In the case of “The Long Walk,” the ending change makes sense.
Throughout the entire story – especially the film version – McVries seems like the clear favorite and the real heart of the matter. He rarely struggles himself but always finds the time to help motivate Garraty and the others to dig deeper and keep going. The way he just snaps and gives up in the final pages of the book – ditto for Stebbins – feels like a quick about-face to wrap things up.
McVries deserved the win, and after many decades, he finally got it.
