After almost 30 years, the Sanderson Sisters are back to wreak more havoc on Salem – with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy all reprising their iconic roles in Hocus Pocus 2.
This time around, the trio are inadvertently brought back by teenager Becca (Whitney Peak), who lights a Black Flame candle that was gifted to her by magic shop owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson) on her 16th birthday, unaware that in doing so she is awakening the witches.
And so it falls to Becca and her best friend Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) – and eventually their former pal Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) – to foil the Sandersons’ wicked plans and save Salem.
But do they manage to pull it off? Read on to have the Hocus Pocus 2 ending explained – with the warning that major spoilers this way come.
Hocus Pocus 2 ending explained
After returning to Salem, the Sandersons make it their goal to cast a spell that will allow them to make their stay beyond sunrise – which requires several key ingredients, including the head of an ex-lover and the blood of an enemy.
They trick Gilbert – who it turns out had wanted to bring them back ever since spotting them on their previous visit to Salem in 1993 – into retrieving the head of Billy Butcherson (a returning Doug Jones) while they themselves set about attending the Halloween carnival.
They intend to capture Mayor Jefry Traske (Tony Hale), Cassie’s dad and a direct descendant of the Reverend who was the witches’ nemesis in their youth, as the enemy whose blood they will use in their spell.
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Eventually, everyone convenes at the Traske house – where a Halloween party is going on – and the witches are briefly trapped in a salt circle by Becca and Izzy. However, they are able to engineer a way out of it, thanks to Mary’s trusty (and upgraded) vacuum cleaner and manage to kidnap Cassie who they then take to the woods – settling for her as the enemy rather than her father.
In the woods, they find Gilbert and Billy Butcherson and begin to put their spell into action – but it’s not going to be so easy. Becca and Izzy have tracked them all the way and in trying to rescue Cassie, Becca realises something incredible – on the night of her 16th birthday she has gained witch powers herself!
As they fight, with the young girls seeming to gain the upper hand, Winnie becomes desperate and decides to cast the ultimate power spell. But in doing so she hasn’t read the small print: in order to cast this spell, it is necessary to sacrifice something you love very dearly, and so as soon as she has cast it, both Mary and Sarah disappear.
Winnie is distraught that she has survived sunrise but her sisters have not – and pleads with Becca to cast a spell such that they can be reunited. Becca is more than happy to oblige, but rather than bringing Mary and Sarah back, she casts a spell that will send Winnie to them.
And so Salem is free of the wicked witches once again – but they might not be gone forever. In a post-credits scene, it is revealed that Gilbert’s shop also contains another Black Flame candle, meaning there is still every chance they could return one more time.
Hocus Pocus 3, anyone?
Hocus Pocus 2 is available to stream now on Disney Plus. Check out more of our Film and Fantasy coverage, or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year.
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