The rock scene in Everything Everywhere All at Once

The rock scene in Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most poignant and unexpected moments in a film that thrives on high concept emotional chaos. In a movie that bombards the audience with an overwhelming array of multiverses, absurd humor, and high-energy action sequences, the sudden transition to a scene of two rocks sitting silently in a barren landscape offers a moment of calm, reflection, and emotional depth. This scene is powerful not only for what it represents narratively, but also for how it uses silence, simplicity, and the vastness of nature to deliver an emotional punch that resonates deeply with both the characters and the audience.

• The rock scene is the first time Joy and Evelyn truly understand each other, using silence to strip away chaos and allowing vulnerability to emerge.
• Joy, as Jobu Tupaki, subtly asks for help from Evelyn, seeking proof that life has meaning beyond the void she feels.
• Evelyn’s use of the googly eyes symbolizes her effort to connect with Joy through playfulness and absurdity, reflecting her willingness to embrace life's unpredictability.
• Joy's leap off the cliff as a rock represents her desire to let go and give in to nothingness, but Evelyn follows her, symbolizing her refusal to abandon their relationship.
• This moment serves as a powerful break from the film's chaos, offering the characters and audience a chance to reflect, and highlighting the importance of love and connection in an overwhelming world.

You may laugh when you first watch the rock scene in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Two rocks, sitting in a barren landscape, exchanging text on screen—it’s absurd, almost humorous. But I sit quietly, knowing your life will never be the same after this moment. What seems like a quirky break in the chaos of the multiverse holds profound emotional weight, and when you realize it, it will hit you hard.

This scene is the first time Joy and Evelyn truly understand each other. The entire film has been a frenetic whirlwind of action, multiverse hopping, and absurd comedy, with the characters barely able to grasp the overwhelming chaos around them. Then suddenly, the film cuts to two rocks in a silent desert. No dialogue, no noise—just quiet. It's in this silence that the barriers between mother and daughter crumble. Stripped of everything else, they can finally communicate without the chaos drowning them out. And it’s in this stillness that they find what they’ve both been searching for: understanding.

Joy, as Jobu Tupaki, has spent the film seemingly bent on proving that nothing matters. She’s traveled through the multiverse, encountering infinite versions of herself and everyone she loves, only to conclude that life is meaningless. But here, in the form of a rock, she admits something she’s been avoiding—she’s asking for help. Joy sought out Evelyn, not to confirm her nihilistic beliefs, but because deep down, she wanted Evelyn to show her that she was wrong. She needed her mother to offer a reason, any reason, to keep going. What you might laugh at as a whimsical scene of rocks exchanging text is actually a heart-wrenching cry for connection.

And Evelyn, in her quiet wisdom, understands. She doesn’t offer some grand, life-changing philosophy. She doesn’t come in with all the answers. Instead, she meets Joy where she is—literally. She brings a googly eye, a symbol of absurdity and playfulness, placing it on herself to show her daughter that even in the randomness of existence, there’s joy to be found. She inches closer to Joy, closing the emotional gap that’s kept them apart for so long. It’s Evelyn’s way of saying, “I’m here. I’m with you, even in this chaotic, unpredictable life.”

Then, in a moment that cuts to the heart of the movie’s emotional core, Joy, as a rock, asks to be let go. She’s ready to fall into the void, to give up, to surrender to the meaninglessness she’s been wrestling with. And in an utterly absurd visual—two rocks tumbling down a cliff—you might feel the weight of their journey in your chest. Joy lets herself fall, but Evelyn refuses to let her go. She follows her daughter off the cliff, unwilling to abandon her, even in her darkest moment. Two rocks, falling side by side, become a symbol of love, persistence, and connection. It’s one of the most emotionally charged moments in the film, and you realize you’re crying over rocks.

This scene is more than just a break from the chaos of the film—it’s a moment of respite for everyone involved. For Evelyn, for Joy, and for us as the audience. We’ve all been swept up in the relentless energy of the multiverse, and now we’re given a moment to breathe, to reflect. It’s a reminder that, amidst all the noise and confusion, the core of life’s meaning comes from the relationships we forge, the love we refuse to let go of, even when everything feels impossible.

You may have laughed at first, but when you sit with the scene for a while, it transforms. You realize it’s about more than just two rocks on a cliff. It’s about the profound emotional journey between a mother and daughter, the struggle to find connection in a world that often feels overwhelming. And once you see that, once it clicks, you’ll sit quietly, too—knowing that your life, like theirs, will never be the same.