The end credits scene of ‘Antebellum,’ explained

• Warning: Major spoilers ahead for “Antebellum.” 
• At the end of the movie, Veronica (Janelle Monáe) manages to escape from the makeshift plantation.
• During her escape, she kills most of the plantation’s overseers.
• The fate of the remaining enslaved people in the park is seemingly addressed during an end credits scene. 
• The scene shows the FBI raiding the park, recording testimony from survivors, and, eventually, razing the plantation to the ground. 
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A lot happens in the final few minutes of “Antebellum,” the new horror movie starring Janelle Monáe that premieres Friday. 

For starters, Veronica (Monáe) makes her escape from the brutal “plantation” where she’s been enslaved after being kidnapped on a work trip. Veronica is an accomplished writer and lecturer in the real world, but once on the plantation (which is actually a racist theme park), she’s renamed Eden and is beaten, branded, and sexually assaulted. 

During her escape, she manages to kill most of the plantation’s overseers and even has a bloody confrontation with the southern belle, Elizabeth (Jena Malone), who was responsible for her kidnapping and enslavement. 

After she rides away to freedom, Veronica’s exact fate is unknown. But a scene during the credits seems to clear up what happens to the enslaved people left behind, as well as what happens to the plantation itself. 

Here’s a spoiler-filled guide to the end credits scene of “Antebellum.” 

Veronica escapes at the end of 'Antebellum,' and her exact fate is unknown 

The movie gives Veronica an ostensibly "happy" ending, as she's able to escape the park (riding with a hatchet on horseback through a battle re-enactment sequence) and is ostensibly reunited with her husband and daughter. 

During her escape, she also takes out most of the plantation's overseers, including the man responsible for her regular rape and torture, as well as various other racists. One of her companions is murdered, but Veronica is eventually able to ride to freedom. 

Even though her reunion with her family isn't shown, it's implied that Veronica is able to return to her normal life, albeit emotionally and physically scarred. 

A scene during the credits shows the FBI raiding the park and talking to survivors 

While it's never explicitly discussed as to how or when the park (called Antebellum) came to life, a mid-credits scene does show the fate of the park after Veronica escapes. 

We know that the organizers of the park, including Elizabeth, were racists who believed that Black people should be reenslaved as a "reminder" of their "place" in society.

And given the scope of the park organizers' crimes — hundreds of Black people appeared to be enslaved on the plantation — it's no surprise that the FBI becomes involved. During the end credits scene, federal agents are shown patrolling the fields of the plantation theme park and recording survivors' testimony about the park's conditions. 

It's not super clear as to what happened to the other white overseers, but given the FBI's careful documentation, it seems like criminal charges are imminent. 

The park is razed to the ground

One of the final scenes in the credits shows a bulldozer coming through and knocking down the sign to Antebellum, which proclaims its status as a "Civil War re-enactment" park. 

And even though the exact fate of Antebellum's remaining supporters and creators isn't mentioned, the credits scene appears to suggest they'll be held accountable.

'Antebellum' premieres Friday on video on demand

You can watch the trailer below.