The ending of the movie Inception is many things: exciting, intriguing, surprising. But it's also somewhat confusing. Many viewers of the movie might not be sure what to make of it, especially when it comes to one question. Did the top ever stop spinning? In order to understand the answer to this question, it is essential to understand the top's purpose for the characters and the audience. It is equally crucial to understand Cobb's nature.

The ending of Inception is somewhat ambiguous, and that's why many viewers could take it either way. Yet if viewers explore Cobb's character throughout the movie, the ending, including the part with the top, might become more apparent. At the beginning of the movie, Cobb is working to steal an idea from Saito's mind. He almost manages to do it, but Saito figures out that he's dreaming, and Cobb's projection of Mal is there as well.

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Viewers later find out who Mal is: his deceased wife. Cobb seems unable to let her go, dreaming many times to see her. Ariadne eventually enters one of these dreams with Cobb, and she sees a lot of moments he regrets and wants to change. It is then that she decides to accompany Cobb on the job since she feels he needs someone there who truly knows what they're facing. Since Cobb does not want to tell Arthur about Mal, he agrees to let Ariadne accompany them. Then the job begins. Cobb and his team are on the plane with Robert Fischer to plant the idea in his head to break up his father's companies. Of course, they have to be careful how they do it. The concept needs to seem like it comes from Fischer himself. While in the first level of the dream, nothing goes as planned for Cobb and his team.

Inception

A huge train appears in the dream, and Saito winds up getting shot. This leads to him being sent to limbo, which could last for decades of dream time. The only person who's been there before is Cobb. Meanwhile, Eames pretends to be Fischer's godfather while other members of the team interrogate them, pretending that they're trying to get the combination to Fischer's father's personal safe. Cobb and Ariadne discuss what happened and how Mal is a big part of Cobb's subconscious. Ariadne realizes that as they go deeper into Fischer's mind, they're also going deeper into Cobb's. And that they might not like what Cobb has in his subconscious. Cobb then tells Ariadne that he and Mal were working together and ended up stuck in a dream for 50 years of dream time. They both forgot what was real, though it affected Mal more than Cobb. Once the two of them finally woke up, Mal thought they were still dreaming, as the dream world had become her reality.

She began to believe that for them to wake up, they had to meet their demise in the dream. And so, she took matters into her own hands. She made a plan around the time of their anniversary. When Cobb came back to their hotel room, he found the room a mess, and Mal was outside, getting prepared to jump. She wanted him to do it too, but he refused. He told her to think of their children, and she said that if she jumps without him, they'll take them away anyway. Cobb is confused, and Mal tells him that she filed a letter with their attorney that says she's scared because he threatened to kill her. Mal believes that she's saved Cobb from the guilt of choosing to leave their children and that they would be going home to their actual children. Cobb begs her to stop, but she doesn't listen and eventually jumps. Cobb then tells Ariadne that three different psychiatrists declared Mal sane, making it difficult for him to convince anyone of her lack of a grip on reality.

So Cobb begins to run, without even taking the time to say goodbye to his children. Meanwhile, in another layer of the dream, Cobb tells Fischer that he's dreaming, pretending to be someone named Mr. Charles, the Head of Security. That is a risky move since it draws Fischer's attention to the fact that nothing he's experiencing is real. It also draws unwanted attention to the dreamer, Arthur. Cobb, still pretending to be Mr. Charles, convinces Fischer that his godfather, who is really Fischer's projection of him in his subconscious, is lying and that he was behind their kidnapping. He tells Fischer to do to his godfather what he was going to do to him, and with that, Cobb and the rest of the team go deeper into Fischer's subconscious. Unfortunately, their plan goes badly when Cobb's projection of Mal shows up and shoots Fischer. At that point, they're doomed, but Ariadne has an idea.

She suggests they follow Fischer into the dream limbo, find him, and then ride the kick back up out of the dream layers. Cobb and the team decide to do what she says and try to find Fischer. Cobb tells Ariadne that Mal will have Fischer since she wants him to rejoin her in limbo. Cobb and Ariadne find Mal and Fischer, but Mal stabs Cobb, and Ariadne has to leave because the kick happens while Cobb stays to find Saito. At the end of the movie, it is revealed that Cobb put the idea in Mal's head that the world wasn't real, the idea that led to her demise. Cobb, at this point, mentions that he feels a lot of guilt for doing that. After waking up on the plane, Cobb goes to join his children, finally. All seems to be well. But is it?

Inception Payday

Did the top stop spinning or not? It would seem that it did, that Cobb succeeded and managed to rejoin the remainder of his family. Yet, it could just as easily be a dream. The function of the top for Cobb is to know whether or not he's in reality. And it serves a similar role for the audience. By watching the top spin, viewers can understand whether or not Cobb succeeded in getting out of the dream limbo or failed. The true answer to this question might be something only Christopher Nolan, the director and writer of Inception, knows. Yet, it is possible to make a good guess. Based on the fact that Cobb's trouble was the guilt he felt over Mal and that he seemed to have finally gotten over her in the end, that would suggest that the top did stop spinning, and he was indeed in reality. He succeeded.

Of course, the ending is somewhat ambiguous, so other viewers of Inception might feel otherwise. Yet if viewers follow Cobb's journey throughout the story, it's all about dealing with his guilt and grief. And in the end, he does so, which makes it very possible that he woke up.

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