Writer reveals real reason Don’t Say Good Luck never confirms if Sophie’s mum dies in the end

Just when Sophie is trying to enjoy the biggest week of her life, Netflix’s Don’t Say Good Luck keeps reminding her that her mum, Elizabeth, is getting sicker, so does she die in the end?

Don’t Say Good Luck is a coming-of-age drama about Sophie Birenbaum, a teenager who lands the lead role in her school production of Waitress. But while she is busy with rehearsals, friends and her crush, Sophie is also dealing with her mum’s worsening cancer.

So, does Elizabeth die in Don’t Say Good Luck?

Elizabeth does not die in the film. But the movie never tells us what happens to her after the ending. She is still alive when Sophie sings to her, but her cancer remains serious. There is no sudden recovery, and there is no clear indication of how much time she has left.

Basically, the film leaves Sophie exactly where it wants her: Knowing that her mum is very ill, but not knowing what comes next.

But why doesn’t the film show Elizabeth dying?

The ending is especially interesting because Don’t Say Good Luck was inspired by writer Laura Hankin’s real-life experience. When Hankin was a teenager, she got the lead in her school musical while her mother’s terminal cancer had returned. She remembers feeling guilty about carrying on with her normal teenage life while her mum was getting worse.

Hankin told Decider, “Is it okay to be going to rehearsal? To care about crushes on cute boys, and if I’m doing a good job with my solo number? Or should I give up everything so I can just spend all the rest of my time sitting with my mom on the couch watching Gilmore Girls?”

Her real-life story had a devastating ending. Hankin’s mother saw her perform and died a few weeks later. But the film does not simply recreate what happened to her.

Hankin explained, “From the beginning, I wanted it to be fictional. I threw in an extra brother. I don’t have two brothers. I set it in a different place. The family does something different.”

Laura Hankin didn’t want a neat tragedy

In the end, Elizabeth is too sick to make the family’s usual summer trip to the “Crane House”. So Sophie and her theatre friends bring the experience to her instead. Sophie then sings to her mum. But there is no death scene and no confirmation that Elizabeth dies after that.

During the writing process, there were apparently suggestions that would have made Elizabeth’s situation even more devastating.

Hankin recalled, “At one point, somebody was like, ‘Maybe Elizabeth is a single mom so when she dies Sophie’s an orphan.’ It was like, what? I always knew what I wanted the tone of it to be.”

The film could have built everything towards Elizabeth dying and Sophie being left without her mum. Instead, it stops before that happens. And we finally know why.

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.