The Whisper Man star explains the chilling reason Francis Jr. had no idea Frank would kill him

The Whisper Man star Owen Teague explains why Francis Jr. had no idea his own father, Frank, was about to kill him, and why he never saw the ending coming.

The final scene of The Whisper Man is pretty brutal. After Francis Carter Jr. is exposed as the new Whisper Man and eventually arrested, he is taken to prison, where he finally gets the reunion he has been waiting for with his father, Frank Carter. But instead of getting the reaction he wanted, Frank turns on his own son and kills him.

What makes the scene even more disturbing is that Francis apparently never saw it coming. So, why was he so completely caught off guard?

The Whisper Man star Owen Teague actually explained what was going through Francis’ head in the final moments, and it makes the scene even more tragic.

Francis thought he was finally going to see his dad

Francis spends much of the film trying to get his father’s attention and approval. He has recreated Frank’s crimes and taken on the Whisper Man identity, basically hoping that his father will finally recognise what he has done.

So when Frank comes into his prison cell, Francis thinks this is the moment he has been waiting for. Teague explained that Francis sees the meeting very differently from the audience.

“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for my entire life,” he told The Direct. He explained that Francis is hoping his father will tell him he “did a good job” and that he has “carried on his legacy”.

That is why Francis is not expecting an attack. He thinks he is finally getting the father-son connection he has wanted for years.

He was basically still under Frank’s spell

Teague went even further when asked whether Francis genuinely thought Frank would kill him. “Yeah, he did not see that coming,” Teague said.

The actor said that there was a very specific reason for this. Francis is so desperate for his father’s approval that he would do almost anything Frank asked him to do.

Teague explained, “Frank Carter Sr. could say anything to this kid, and he would do it, like no matter how insanely self-destructive it was.”

He described Francis as being “under this guy’s spell”. Which is why the warning signs that seem obvious to us don’t register with him in the moment. So when Frank starts carrying out the same ritual he used on his victims, Francis doesn’t immediately understand what is happening.

Teague also discussed the decision the filmmakers had to make around the scene. The actor said they talked about whether Francis would simply obey his father if Frank told him to take his shirt off, even though it should be obvious that this is how Frank kills people.

Teague confirmed that Francis would definitely obey his father. He is so desperate to please Frank that he doesn’t stop to question what his father is asking him to do. His need for approval completely overwhelms his instinct for self-preservation.

That makes the scene particularly grim because Francis has spent the entire film trying to become more like his father, only to end up becoming one of his victims.

He never expected his journey to end like this

Teague also explained that Francis’ whole motivation comes back to this desperate hope of being accepted by his father. “I think he has a lot of hope, especially with what doing these killings will do for his relationship with his dad,” he said.

He described Francis’ “overarching feeling” as “this weird hope that [one day] he’ll be accepted by his dad”.

So, in his mind, Francis has finally earned the moment he has been chasing since childhood. Instead, Frank kills him. And apparently, Francis doesn’t even have time to understand that the person he wanted approval from is actually the person about to end his life.

The film doesn’t show Francis’ death in graphic detail, which left some viewers wondering whether he could have survived. But Teague confirmed that he indeed is dead. He said, “Yeah, I’m done.”

The really disturbing part is that he dies believing he is finally getting the approval he has spent his whole life chasing. And that makes Francis’ final scene in The Whisper Man even darker.

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