The more i watch Tenet the more the ending gets to me.
“Now let me go.”
It’s such a small but powerful phase. The first time i saw the movie i didn’t think anything of it. But now i understand. The way Neil says it with a sad smile and quickly turns around shows the emotion. He knew he was going to die and that he would never go back to his Protagonist as it was impossible. Their last interaction before Neil leaves The Protagonist asked “But can we change things, if we do it differently?.”
(The full interaction read if u want!)
“Neil wait.”
“Just saved the world. Cant leave anything to chance.”
“But can we change things, if we do it differently?”
“What’s happened, happened. Which is an expression of faith in the mechanics of the world. It’s not an excuse to do nothing.”
“Fate?”
“Call it what you want.”
“What do you call it?”
“reality. Now let me go.”
This was asked after he had realised that it was Neil who had saved him in the beginning of the movie and had taken the bullet in the chamber. He tried to do what Neil had done for him and save him by asking this. He was prepared to go back and do it differently just for him to survive. But as Neil says “Whats happened, happened.” Neil knew when he took the bullet that he couldn’t change it and it was the end.
And it will happen again. The protagonist will meet the Neil in this time and then the same events will happen that lead to Neil going back. That’s what makes it so sad. No matter what happen’s Neil will always go back and will always take that bullet, then the cycle will start again.
No matter what they can’t change the fact that each time Neil will never walk away from this mission alive.