The Old Guard 2 ending explained: What was Discord’s motive?

Directed by Victoria Mahoney and based on the screenplay by Greg Rucka, The Old Guard 2 is a sequel to the 2020 film of the same name. It was released globally on Netflix on July 2, 2025, and features a star-studded cast. That includes Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, and several others. The sequel revolves around Andy as she attempts to figure out her life after being turned mortal.

From there, the story kicks off with the introduction of Discord and Andy’s old friend Quynh (Veronica Van), who has now aligned herself with Discord. Together, the two immortals decide to take revenge on Andy and humanity after Discord rescues Quynh from her underwater prison.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the author's personal opinion and may contain spoilers for The Old Guard 2. Reader discretion is advised.

While Quynh was looking for revenge for imprisonment for over 500 years, Discord’s motives remained a mystery until the end. It is eventually revealed that Discord, like Andy (Theron), had become a mortal and was looking to regain her immortality.

---

Discord’s motive in The Old Guard 2

Netflix hosts the Los Angeles premiere of The Old Guard 2 (Image via Getty)

When first introduced in The Old Guard 2, Discord's motive remained a mystery to everyone, from Andy and her team to even Quynh. That was because Discord had given her teammates a false reason from the very start. Many believed her reasoning for going after the other immortals was because they were interfering with the lives of the mortals.

However, all that turned out to be a red herring, as Discord’s main reason for causing all the mayhem and confusion she had was to capture the Nile. At the end of The Old Guard 2, it is revealed that Discord, much like Andy for most of the film, was a mortal and not an immortal, as many thought.

While it is not revealed when she lost her powers, it is revealed that she was the first immortal, and many have speculated that things may have changed just before the film's events. Thus, she wanted Nile the most because she was the “last immortal” who had the power to take away one’s immortality by transferring powers.

As a result, Discord uses Quynh’s motives and the nuclear reactor to lure Andy and her whole team to Indonesia to capture them. Then, it uses the Nile to strip the team of their powers and transfer them to her. The Netflix film, however, ends with Discord escaping with Nile and the team after defeating Andy, leaving her to watch as they fly into the night.

---

Andromache "Andy" Scythia gets her immortality back

A still from The Old Guard 2 (Image via YouTube/@Netflix)

A big plot point in the 2020 film, Andy losing her immortality, changed the entire perspective of the first film and played a large role in The Old Guard 2. However, while she dealt with it as well as she could, Andy eventually gets her immortality back after Booker sacrifices himself.

The first film made it obvious that he wanted to die, especially because he couldn’t share his immortality with his family. However, after his short exile and return to his former team, Booker and Tuah (Henry Golding) discover that the Nile is the “last immortal.”

Thus, as a result, Tuah believed that the last immortal could turn an immortal into a mortal, but only by stabbing them. He reasons that it was how Andy turned mortal. He also posited that an immortal could transfer their powers to a former immortal when they’re about to lose their powers. However, they have to do so willingly and not by force.

Netflix Hosts the Los Angeles Premiere of 'The Old Guard 2' - (Image via Getty)

That is exactly what happens towards the end of The Old Guard 2 after Booker gets slashed by Nile during a sparring session. He realizes that he isn’t healing, which means his powers are gone, and he then secretly transfers his powers to Andy.

By the time she realized what had happened, he had sacrificed himself by fighting a horde of enemies trying to prevent Andy from hampering Discord’s plans.

---

Andy and Quynh’s reunion after 500 years

A still from The Old Guard 2 (Image via YouTube/@Netflix)

While The Old Guard 2 started with Quynh as a part of Discord’s team, it is only later revealed that she was locked inside an iron maiden, forced to die and resurrect on a loop for over 500 years. That was until Discord (Uma Thurman), who witnessed everything, rescued her and told her she could have her revenge on both Andy and the human race if she joined hands with her.

Quynh had no issues with that, especially as she believed that Andy and the other immortals left her for dead after she was sent to the bottom of the ocean. The truth, which is revealed as the film progresses, is that Andy and the team searched for years and years. However, with no modern technology at their disposal, they eventually had to give up.

That didn’t seem to matter to Quynh, and the fact that her former friend was willingly being humanity’s protector only seemed to make matters worse. That leads to a revenge mission to eradicate humanity by blowing up a nuclear reactor hidden in Indonesia. However, things change after Nile slices Quynh during a fight and turns her mortal.

While she is prepared to give her life to blow up the reactor for Discord, Andy gets through to Quynh and subtly convinces her that she isn’t a bad person. She decides against blowing up the nuclear reactor and instead joins forces with Andy as she chases after Discord to look for her team.

---

The film ends on that note, setting the stage for a third installment, with hints that Discord will likely be the main antagonist as she attempts to regain her immortality.