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 is looking for revenge for imprisonment for over 500 years, Discord’s motives remain 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 reason for going after the other immortals was that 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 was not revealed when she lost her powers, it was established that she was the first immortal, and many 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 used Quynh’s motives and the nuclear reactor to lure Andy and her whole team to Indonesia to capture them. Then, it used the Nile to strip the team of their powers and transfer them to her. The Netflix film, however, ended with Discord escaping with Nile and the team after defeating Andy, leaving her to watch as they flew 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 got her immortality back after Booker sacrificed 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) discovered that the Nile was the “last immortal.”

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

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

That was exactly what happened towards the end of The Old Guard 2 after Booker got slashed by Nile during a sparring session. He realized that he was not healing, which meant his powers were gone, and he then secretly transferred 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 was 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 was revealed as the film progressed, was that Andy and the team searched for 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 led to a revenge mission to eradicate humanity by blowing up a nuclear reactor hidden in Indonesia. However, things changed after Nile sliced Quynh during a fight and turned her mortal.

While she was prepared to give her life to blow up the reactor for Discord, Andy got through to Quynh and subtly convinced her that she was not a bad person. She decided against blowing up the nuclear reactor and instead joined forces with Andy as she chased after Discord to look for her team.

---

The film ended 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.